How to make a rod holder from PVC pipe and fittings

After looking at multiple fishing rod and reel holder's and seeing the prices that were anywhere from $20 to $75 I figured there had to be a more simple solution for this.  So I looked into the options and figured I could possibly make one that I can customize to my needs.  

With a little bit of research and taking measurements of my fishing gear I determined a rod holder can easily be made from common PVC pipe and fittings that can found found at your local home improvement store.

If you are a do it yourself type of person you probably already have many of the tools required to complete the job in your garage or shop.

Tools Required:

Tape Measure

Sharpie

PVC Cutter / Hand saw

Channellock Pliers

PVC Parts List:

1" Tee Fitting - $0.88 each

1" Cross Fitting - $2.66 each

1" Pipe (10' in length) - $3.83 each

1" 90 degree elbow (optional for stand) - $0.68

1" PVC Tee Fitting

Photo of a 1" PVC tee fitting.  This fitting will be used as the base of the rod holder.  The butt of the fishing rod will rest in the tee fitting. 

1" PVC Cross Fitting

Photo of a 1" PVC cross fitting.  This fitting will be used as the top part of the rod holder.  This fitting will stabilize the rod and hold it vertical.  The 1" fitting should easily fit both freshwater and saltwater fishing rods.

1" PVC fittings indicating how they will be spaced to hold rod



 

Photo of the 1" PVC fittings and how they will be spaced for the fishing rod holder.  The base and the top fitting should be anywhere from 5 to 8 inches apart depending on how big your fishing rods are.

1" PVC Tee and Cross Fittings joined together by PVC pipe

Photo of the PVC fittings joined together with 1" pipe sections cut to length.  The length of pipe separating the fittings may vary depending on the size of fishing reel.  A safe length to use between fittings is 4 1/2 inches.  It is important to make sure the base and top fittings are spaced appropriately and aligned evenly.  This DIY rod holder configuration allows you to make a rod holder for how much fishing gear you have.  If you need to make it larger all that is required is to purchase more fittings and cut sections of pipe and the rod holder will store your additional gear.  This rod holder can easily be mounted to a wall in a garage or basement using the screw on pipe clamps.  

The base section and top section of the rod holder can be joined together by using additional tee fitting on the bottom and connecting the top section with a 90 degree elbow on each side.

The PVC rod holder can also be painted to look more appealing depending on where decide to locate it.