Bedrack mounted 5 gallon water cooler?

[OneFastGeek]

I'd like to mount my 5 gallon water cooler to my bedrack. So far I'm considering these 3 setups...

• Fab Works OEM (no mounting hardware) $40 + shipping
  
  
• Xtreme Series Water Cooler Rack (no mounting hardware) $70 + shipping
  
  
  
• Rack-It Water Jug Option (hardware included but not sure it fits 1.5" rack, designed for 2") $120 local
  
  

Does anyone know of a better cooler holder? Specifically, one that would mount to a vertical 1.5" pipe? Also, can anyone suggest some affordable 1.5" pipe clamps or mounts to attach the cooler holder to my bedrack? So far, I was thinking maybe something like this "Extension Split Pipe Clamp".

Thanks for any input :sombrero:

 

[BrianTN]

Im sure something could be fabbed with some four treks modular mounts http://fourtreks.com

 

[OneFastGeek]

Im sure something could be fabbed with some four treks modular mounts http://fourtreks.com

Thanks Brian! The Modular Perpendicular/Parallel Mounts look like what I need. I appreciate the link.

 

[rayra]

Those bracket prices strike me as ridiculously high. Certainly you could have a welder work up somethign appropriate for less, especially if you provide the design, latch(es) and steel.

$52 shipped, and even that is way too much.
http://www.fabworksoem.net/etrwcr.php

A few pieces of strap steel and a couple minutes with a welder. How can that cost so much?

 

[rayra]

OneFastGeek, by your emphasis on clamps I presume you don't want to drill any holes in the pipe? It's not clear in your post and if so it adds quite a bit to your cost. But would likely be a more solid mount for suspending ~45-lbs.

 

[OneFastGeek]

Those bracket prices strike me as ridiculously high. Certainly you could have a welder work up somethign appropriate for less, especially if you provide the design, latch(es) and steel.

$52 shipped, and even that is way too much.
http://www.fabworksoem.net/etrwcr.php

A few pieces of strap steel and a couple minutes with a welder. How can that cost so much?

Yeah, but the only welder guy I know lives on the polar opposite side of town (2 hour round trip). I think the amount of time and effort to find a guy to fab one up for me would likely cost more than the $52 one. Although I could be wrong. If any Glendale (or West-side Phx) welders wanna hook me up, please PM me

OneFastGeek, by your emphasis on clamps I presume you don't want to drill any holes in the pipe? It's not clear in your post and if so it adds quite a bit to your cost. But would likely be a more solid mount for suspending ~45-lbs.

Yeah, I don't want to drill any holes in my rack. The FourTrek clamps aren't cheap at about $49 each + shipping, but they look nice and would allow me to move the mount around or to another section of my rack. I'm also doing the same thing for a 20lb Propane tank, but I found a mount for that for $22 shipped on Amazon. So that wasn't too bad.

So to accomplish my goal, I think I'll be spending $74 for mounts (5 gal cooler & 20 lb propane tank) and about $110 for the clamps. So about $184 total. I'm still open to any ideas from others though. :ylsmoke:

 

[evldave]

Two foam canoe block around the upright bar and two tie straps will do it for about $15...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00BC...&dpID=41eBodLg+ML&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

 

[Binkie]

Those prices seem pretty reasonable to me. Even if you can make something, home finishing and painting is never as good as factory painting or coatings.

As far as clamps, hydraulic pipe clamps, commonly referred to as Stauff clamps can be used without damaging the pipe. You need to bolt to something though, the clamps are just the start of your solution...

Marc

 

[Binkie]

Here is the catalog page for the heavy series:

http://www.stauffusa.com/customer/stcorp/catalog/pdfs/Clamps/Clamps_Heavy_Assemblies.pdf

There is also a standard series...

I kinda wish I could put one of those water coolers in my 4Runner somehow. I see work trucks with those all the time, I never thought of it!

 

[OneFastGeek]

In case anyone is interested, I think I found an excellent source for mounting my stuff to my rack. Axia Alloys has some great tube mount brackets.

 

[Binkie]

Those are sweet, but ouch! You can also use high quality hose clamps for mounting to bars. The tee bolt and nut type only get to about 10 in dia, but higher quality gear types can get quite large, and you can join them together. Ss is a must. Get them from an industrial hose dealer, not an auto parts store.

Marc

 

[rayra]

Look at Mcmaster-Carr's website for pipe brackets or clamps. Old school TV antenna pole clamps would be a good starting point, they were a twice-folded sort of C-channel bit of metal with a ziggurat kind of stair-stepping teeth on the arc meant to bite on a pipe, and held on with a u-bolt like a muffler clamp - there's what you can use, a muffler clamp for the right diameter - but the thing to do is modify the clamp piece with a piece of sheet metal on the pipe-facing edges, so you don't tear up your piping. Then you could clamp the affair to your pipe without tearing it up. Put a sheet of rubber between things too, and you'll get a non-sliding friction fit that will further protect the finish while making things less likely to slide. Or just drill a hole thru the middle of the pipe clamp body and just tap a bolt into the middle of the bar, and passing it thru the cooler retaining strap as well. Two bolts / straps, one high one low. Two tapped bolt holes you can plug up later, weld shut, whatever.

 

[rayra]

This one time, in toggle-bolt band clamp...

 

[SWITAWI]

This one time, in toggle-bolt band clamp...

I just had coffee go up my nose. :coffeedrink: Damn that's funny.

 

[OneFastGeek]

I went with the Fabworks OEM mount for the cooler. Still waiting for it to show up, but in the meantime, I used the Axia brackets to mount my propane tank.



The brackets and bottle mount and misc. hardware came out to about $75.