First Attempt at a PVC Cockpit/Stand

[deba94]

Hey guys,
I bought my first wheel last week, the Fanatec Carrera 911, and it's absolutely amazing . Only problem is where I'm forced to use it...

Currently it's clamped to this. The table itself is great, but the iron-board-like legs make it tough to reach the pedals. After a week, I gave up and decided to build my own stand/cockpit.

I'm somewhat limited with space, so I decided to make it out of PVC and make it somewhat dissassembleable so I can slide it under the bed.

Went to my local hardware store today, grabbed what I needed and got started ASAP. Here it is so far (after about 5 hours):

I'm done for today, but have decided to move that centre cross bar down further towards the 45 degree angle and use it to mount the pedals. I'll also be adding a cross bar on the ground near the centre which will also hold the board for the pedals. A 45 degree triangle will also be added from the ground to where the current T is in the centre.

My major concern at the moment is stability/rigidity... The joints are greased with petroleum jelly at the moment for easy disassembly so the rig isn't exactly stable . I'll be gluing the side parts together eventually but will keep the centre bars/boards removable for storage. How stable do you guys think this'll be? I'm sure once it's glued it'll be very rigid, but surely light. Maybe I'll fill the sides with sand to weigh it down.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Thanks

 

[deba94]

Day two started today at 10AM. Been about 3 hours and I am confident the rig is now complete (PVC wise) .
Pics (don't mind the rugs ):

Left to do:
-Glue!
-Attach a plank of wood across the top of the two parallel bars to hold the wheel
-Attach a plank of wood across the bottom bar and the angled bar to hold the pedals
-Attach the wheel and pedals!

It's quiet stable surprisingly, even before glue. I'm afraid it's a bit light though. I will possibly be filling it with sand once its glued together depending on its stability/weight after gluing.


Some thoughts/comments would be nice this time

Now I'm off the the hardware store to return the parts I didn't use (including 36 feet of tubing! Haha!). Gotta love 30 day return policies

 

[Sintek]

Looks like an excellent portable rig. Have fun cementing! I'd never worked with PVC before, and cementing my PVC cockpit was an adventure in frustration and slightly crooked fittings. Yours doesn't look to have many fittings or odd angles so hopefully it goes smoothly for you.

Also, and apologies if I'm giving you information you already know, make sure to use primer. I honestly can't tell if that's ABS or just black PVC, but if it's PVC, without PVC primer your fittings will come loose.

 

[deba94]

Ah, thanks for the tip

Yea, it's ABS. I'm no plumber, so I just call any plastic tubing PVC, heh. Does ABS require any special treatment? I guess I was just going to head out and pick up the cheapest can I could find that said ABS on it, but this could be a faster way to get some very helpful information.

Thanks again

 

[deba94]

FINISHED​

After an incredible journey, my rig is complete .

I ended up making a few trips back and forth to the hardware store since I kept screwing up the cement... (which means, when everything is stuck together perfectly, and the next piece is crooked, the whole thing is trash). I used standard grade yellow ABS cement. For the boards (which are old shelves ) I used 8 1.5" metal straps (4 for each board -- two on each tube) to secure them to the tubing.


Entire cost: Around $60-70

The biggest challenge was cementing the damn pipes. I have zero plumbing experience, so maybe it's just me .

Time for some pics (again, don't mind the flooring :

I'm not entirely satisfied with the planks, I've installed them with the intention of replacing them in the near future.

I'll be posting pics of the dissassembled parts plus the rig in full working order soon.

 

[Sintek]

Looks great, and I completely feel your pain regarding cementing.

Have you considered metal plates? Any hardware store should carry them, from regular 12"x12" to rectangles.

 

[Coxis]

Here's a picture of mine, also based on SIMUL8R's:

It's fully cemented, with the exception of the center joint, so I can split it in half for storage.

If you take a look at the pipes and joints, you'll see that I marked them with a sharpie. I assembled it after I had all the pipes cut and everything ready, marked it and then I cemented it all, following this markings. Following the markings ensured that no errors would result in pieces not fitting, although it is a lot of work.

Now, fully cemented the thing is rock solid. I've heard comments from people that bolted the entire cockpit and they say it's not as sturdy as if it was cemented. Hope this helps. 👍