How can I transport my rockets without them getting destroyed?

Every time I go to a launch, at least 1 or 2 of my rockets get crushed in the back of the SUV with all the crap back there. Has anyone figured out a way to protect several rockets during transport? I'm talkin paper tube rockets from bt-50 to bt-80, no more than 36" long. I'm sick and tired of fixing crushed rockets!

I like to use those shallow plastic boxes made for storing crap under a bed. I add some anti-slip material sold for lining kitchen drawers so they don't slide around in the box.

bytesiz said:

I like to use those shallow plastic boxes made for storing crap under a bed. I add some anti-slip material sold for lining kitchen drawers so they don't slide around in the box.

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GREAT TIP! :clap: I hadn't thought about the drawer liners!

Thanks!

Jeff:

Nose-down in a deep cardboard box, or standing on their fins if strong enough. You can stand quite a few in with or without a divider of some sort. I believe my favourite is actually an Aerotech mailing box about 12"x18"x3' deep. It has a 1.4 sticker on it anyway.

I use the plastic bins as well, but I fill them half full of packing peanuts and nestle the rockets down into the peanuts for transport. I used to just put several rockets in a box, but found that if I left them laying on their fins in a hot car in the summer, the glue would soften and the fins would deform. I'd pull them out to fly them and the fins would no longer be straight. The peanuts support them by their body and keep everything straight and true.

I use plastic bins too (for transprtation and for storage), but instead of packing peanuts I use layers of bubble wrap.

FatBoy said:

I use plastic bins too (for transprtation and for storage), but instead of packing peanuts I use layers of bubble wrap.

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This is what I do but instead of packing material such as bubble wrap, I use plastic bags such as used to wrap loaves of bread and such.

Heat will always be a problem.

i once saw a guy with a midsized SUV (if you are on here maybe you can give a better explanation) that looked to have a removable PVC pipe rack inside the back of his SUV. the pipes made a grid and he slid the rockets right in where they would sit without crushing the fins. i thought this was very cool and would keep rockets undamaged for sure.

We're down to either plastic bins, or one large bin with multiple slots. Sounds good, thanks guys.

I use variations of several of those but we also use ziplock storage bags for padding. Full of air they make great spacers but if you add (or subtract) rockets you can add or remove air as well to adjust. Some of the bags are also filled with dogbarf with is great padding but also insures that we are never without wadding.

A box, bucket, or tub you can lay them in so that the other materials don't crush them.

I don't typically put mine in anything; but when I load, everything else is in such that it cannot shift, and the rockets are on top. Otherwise, I stick them in a box or bucket. Nothing fancy, no fancy padding.

-Kevin

jeffgeraci said:

Every time I go to a launch, at least 1 or 2 of my rockets get crushed in the back of the SUV with all the crap back there. Has anyone figured out a way to protect several rockets during transport? I'm talkin paper tube rockets from bt-50 to bt-80, no more than 36" long. I'm sick and tired of fixing crushed rockets!

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I've also used the large flat "gift wrap" and under bed storage Rubbermaid plastic box/bins but they are often limiting to what I can get in them.

Here is a really simple to make, Nesting Up-right standing carrier/display rack I developed for my own Van but seems to work well in other folks SUV's and larger vehicles.
They are each made from a cheap 1"x 3" or 1" x 4" x 8 foot long lumber, 1/2" dia hardwood dowels, a few wood screws, and 2 10-24 machine screws with washers and wing nuts.
With the addition of some spent 18 & 24mm motor casings these 8 rocket racks can handle just about any size model with a motor mount. Racks can be carried loaded in almost any position and have holes in the flip out feet for Tent Stakes to prevent wind turnovers outdoors.

I made up 10 of these racks back in 89-90 for transporting my fleet to large launch and demos almost blanketing a 5 square foot section of the van bed. Sure made loading and unloading a snap eliminating Broken fins and bent tubes. On the field that can be interlocks with eachother with the outside 4 feet staked down that will servive the worst Gusts and winds without a problem.
Since then I've made and given away about another dozen to flying friends and guys in the club. Some who only drive cars but like to use the stands out of the field.
Hope they or something similar helps in your transport needs.

Micromeister said:

I've also used the large flat "gift wrap" and under bed storage Rubbermaid plastic box/bins but they are often limiting to what I can get in them.

Here is a really simple to make, Nesting Up-right standing carrier/display rack I developed for my own Van but seems to work well in other folks SUV's and larger vehicles.
They are each made from a cheap 1"x 3" or 1" x 4" x 8 foot long lumber, 1/2" dia hardwood dowels, a few wood screws, and 2 10-24 machine screws with washers and wing nuts.
With the addition of some spent 18 & 24mm motor casings these 8 rocket racks can handle just about any size model with a motor mount. Racks can be carried loaded in almost any position and have holes in the flip out feet for Tent Stakes to prevent wind turnovers outdoors.

I made up 10 of these racks back in 89-90 for transporting my fleet to large launch and demos almost blanketing a 5 square foot section of the van bed. Sure made loading and unloading a snap eliminating Broken fins and bent tubes. On the field that can be interlocks with eachother with the outside 4 feet staked down that will servive the worst Gusts and winds without a problem.
Since then I've made and given away about another dozen to flying friends and guys in the club. Some who only drive cars but like to use the stands out of the field.
Hope they or something similar helps in your transport needs.

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Geez John, that's impressive. I actually thought of a similar rack, bit it used 1/8 steel rod for the launch lugs- your idea of mounting an expended motor on the dowel for a snug fit is genius, absolutely genius.:clap: Hands down, this is the way to go for me, and this way, I also have a way to display and store them at home. Thank you thank you!!

jeffgeraci said:

Geez John, that's impressive. I actually thought of a similar rack, bit it used 1/8 steel rod for the launch lugs- your idea of mounting an expended motor on the dowel for a snug fit is genius, absolutely genius.:clap: Hands down, this is the way to go for me, and this way, I also have a way to display and store them at home. Thank you thank you!!

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People have been making hat racks for a very, very long time.

jeffgeraci said:

Geez John, that's impressive. I actually thought of a similar rack, bit it used 1/8 steel rod for the launch lugs- your idea of mounting an expended motor on the dowel for a snug fit is genius, absolutely genius.:clap: Hands down, this is the way to go for me, and this way, I also have a way to display and store them at home. Thank you thank you!!

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Thanks for the kudos Jeff:
One more suggestion:
Don't glue or epoxy the spent casings to the dowels.
Chuck a short piece of 1/2" dowel in an electric drill and clean out as much of the curd as you can from a bunch of 18mm and 24mm BP casings, I keep a gal ziploc of them hanging beside the rack storage area.
They should easily slip onto the 1/2" dowel and into your motor mounts after a little nozzle end alteration. I've found it's will necessary to sand the Nozzle end down just a bit where they expand during the Nozzle compression manufacturing process.
Once done you just pick the casing or combination for the models your carring that day. 13mm mounts fit easily on the bare dowels. 18mm casings can be inserted into the model or slip onto the 1/2" dowel before the model. For D,E & Clustered models. adding a 24mm to the 18mm casing is all that's needed. If you can find spent 29mm casings they can also be shimmed to hold those models as well. anything Up to the 1500gram LMR limit hasn't been a problem at all with these racks. Staked down I've had from time to time, all my big 4,5 & up motor Clusted Upscale and the 10foot tall Grumpy Dog displayed on them outdoors often without problem.
Need a special mount for Gliders or smaller 10.5 or MMX models. Use an 18mm motor casing as the "connector" with an extension dowel or rod or reducer to the special motor hight or size needed. I sometimes use clear acrylic rod for Glider extensions to get the power pod up far enough for the glider to hang naturally perhaps held in place with a rubber band.
Hope this helps.

I'd be a little leery about transporting rockets on rods threaded through the launch lugs -- if you get much lateral jostling during your drive to the launch site I would guess the lugs could be prone to breaking off.

Plus 1/8 rods are not usually too resistant to bending or flexing -- it's the phenomenon we know as "rod whip" during launches but it could come into play in this situation as well.

Myself, I usually use the Rubbermaid-bin solution. Throw a few plastic bags packed with dog barf on the bottom of the bin to provide a soft bedding for the rockets, then lay them down in alternating forward-backward positions so fins aren't pressing down on each other. Bigger/heavier rockets to the bottom.

I haven't used packing peanuts but I think I will the next time I take more than a half-dozen or so rockets to a launch.

I see on Google one company does make biodegradable (water-soluble) packing peanuts out of corn starch, which would probably be a better idea than the usual styrofoam. (Of course I normally police the area after I pack up for the day, but if you miss 2-3 styro peanuts they linger forever while the cornstarch ones would be gone in a week or so.) The biodegradable peanuts are available at Staples.

I have a separate smaller bin for my boost-gliders -- they are light enough they can safely be stacked on top of each other and they probably aren't going to be damaged, unless your whole car takes some kind of impact in which case whether your boost-gliders' wings get dinged will probably be the least of your worries. :y:

I also have an entire separate bin for all my motors, tools, GSE, launch systems, etc etc -- all the heavy stuff. I have them packed in plastic tool boxes inside the bins so there's a limit to how much that stuff can rattle around against itself.

I use Micro's technique for painting my rockets, and those spent 18mm motor casings do fit rather nicely over a 1/2" dowel. I also have a couple of storage racks built similarly, but no where near as nice or functional for transporting (simply have the dowels glued into holes drilled partway through 2x6s). I usually use a Rubbermaid bin for transporting as well. I used to load and unload the bin from my storage racks before/after every launch. But here lately, I have only removed the ones that are more fragile (e.g. boost gliders) and left the rest in the bin for storage too. My larger rockets like the Batray, Lil Nuke, and Executioner are stored horizontally on some long pegboard hooks at my work bench.

I guess I'm lucky. My '94 530i has rubber straps that loop on the floor above the spare tire pocket and that keeps the heavy stuff from rolling around. So far the rockets have lived in the trunk or the back seat unscathed.

But the big tub is one heck of a good idea. I think I'll do that and not tempt fate.

I mostly use Sterilite type plastic containers, as others have mentioned, and sometimes cardboard boxes, depending on the models and space limitations.

Attached below is a photo of my car, packed for the return trip for NARAM this year. Used several Sterilite boxes with models in them, and engines in another. Also made use of a few cardboard boxes. Someone returned to me a model I'd shipped to them in Spring of 2010, so that is why it's fin assembly is visible as I didn't have space to fit it anyplace else for the return trip.

Also have a big wooden box (42 x 12 x 15) that was built in 1986, for air travel purposes. In the second photo, my wood model box is a bit to the right of center, with a couple of wheels that bolt on after arrival. Since that box gets bounced and flipped around during luggage transport, the models are packed in with lots of styrofoam peanuts

- George Gassaway

bradycros said:

People have been making hat racks for a very, very long time.

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Bradycros,

"Jealousy" is a stinky cologne my friend, and you wear it well.
Ha!

jeffgeraci said:

Bradycros,

"Jealousy" is a stinky cologne my friend, and you wear it well.
Ha!

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Ouch! You big meanie.

jeffgeraci said:

Bradycros,

"Jealousy" is a stinky cologne my friend, and you wear it well.
Ha!

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How and when did you decide that we were friends?

Make this out of wood and foam board. Easy.
I made this frame from Aluminum and steel rod with welded corner brackets. Can easily be made from trim molding wood.
I have one that holds 20 rockets.

bradycros said:

How and when did you decide that we were friends?

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You keep talkin like that, and you're gonna lose me one day...:cry:

jim fustini said:

View attachment 59932 Make this out of wood and foam board. Easy.
I made this frame from Aluminum and steel rod with welded corner brackets. Can easily be made from trim molding wood.
I have one that holds 20 rockets.

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Hey Jim, do you have a build thread for the Monster rocket in the picture? Nice.

jeffgeraci said:

Hey Jim, do you have a build thread for the Monster rocket in the picture? Nice.

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Sure here is a link on EMRR https://www.rocketreviews.com/001---fun-fat-rocket---cycline3.html
It is just this rocket painted like a Monster can with a Monster decal. Flies really well on a D12-5

Here is a better photo for paint.

Search LPR Box from cobra1336. Or could someone link it? Not home and I'm still learning this new phone.

For the kids' rockets, we just line 'em up in a 5gal cat-litter bucket. For mine, we lay 'em on the back bench of the van with a blanket over 'em (and hope I don't forget to move 'em before I put the seat down!)