Suction Cup Usage

Yes,

Wet the suction cups and apply to a clean surface. Press firmly to squeeze all the air out.

Attach the rod.

Just tape it to the roof.

Or try various diagonal arrangements in the passenger compartment. (Might not work in a Tata Nano, though.)

6 feet isn't very much length. If there is a little bit sticking out an open window it should fit "almost" every car/vehicle. I transport 10 foot lengths that way in my "compact" car.

Always with the negative waves!

Why can't you just have some righteous positive thoughts sometimes?

Think positive thoughts about those suction cups and their ability to suck.

Rope? Rope? We don't need no stinking rope!

How's this for positive:

I'm positive this is crazy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-dTPo3_TZg

At least he had the hazard blinkers on. Everything's cool. And they even have three-lane roads there, how about that?

I had to laugh!! Even that Russian method is probably mechanically safer in most respects than relying on some of the side mirrors that I have seen, even with rope......but local police will not like it at all!!

Also, in a car accident, you may be blocking the only way out of the vehicle with such methods using the mirrors....possibly very nasty!!!

If someone does not have a proper roof rack or those special roof bars, securely mounted onto the vehicle, designed to carry loads, then the person concerned may run into serious problems with the local law......quite correctly too as most civilized countries have laws about safe loads....and how they to be secured.....

Using suckers, only a really stupid "sucker" would even consider it......and I am sure that the police will enjoy fining someone who tries this as well.......they LOVE SUCKERS!!!

Simply don't do it.

Ask a friend with a truck or similar to help out!! Give him gas money, it will be cheapest and safest method!!

You could damage your mirrors/car, even lose the curtain rod, as well as having a hefty fine to pay which will more than offset any savings over having them sent by mail order.......or simply buying a set of cheap roof bars.....which you can use again and again!!

This idea is definitely stupidity at its worst!!!

Looks fade, stupid is forever......

Yeah----wonderful suction cups. My wife has them all over the walls inside the shower to hold wash cloths, soap dishes, etc. About once a week one of them falls down. It is real exciting at 3AM when the soap dish hits the tub. ---- What was that sound???? I don't know. Go back to sleep. No - you go check it out!

These people did not get the message.

Now why would you only haul 3/4's of a bicycle? Unless your really good at riding wheelies or a unicycle (not me anyhow)

GA. Somebody voted that as OT, I can't imagine why, but at least I neutralized it.

I did.

You want a guy to spend $60.00USD + another who knows how much to ship it, and then wait a week to haul a 6 foot long 10 pound curtain rod home?

Chances are the curtain rod cost 1/10 that much and they could have it delivered for $10.00 and the roof rack will never be used again.

Duct taping it to the roof would be better and cheaper.

I don't deny that, but the rack could be useful time and again. Also recall that my first recommendation was to put it in the passenger compartment, if possible.

I know, we're not turning copper into gold here

Granted, it could be used again.

But, so could jack of all trades's duct tape as suggested in #2.

With this:you could start your own delivery business.

OP doesn't say how far he is going to travel. Short distances, if he has a passenger with him, they could just hold onto the rod through open windows until they reach their destination. Why go to any bother of attaching it to anything at all??

Well done, I would have done the same if I had been here earlier.....

The reasons for someone OTing that are patently obvious, not all here have a usable brain!!

Look at some of the first posts here, people who even thought using mirrors and suction cups are a good idea......

As I said in my previous post, "Looks fade, dumb is forever!"

"Look at some of the first posts here, people who even thought using mirrors and suction cups are a good idea......"

I thought those posts were some of the classic CR4 Satire/Sarcasm/Snark. You know, the first reflexive responses to a complete East Frissian-style question?

Safer and cheaper and reusable.....as well as being fully legal!!

THIS! Exactly this!

(After my GA vote it was 3GA/2OT, I could understand one person voting against it by mistake, but TWO? How is this not the perfect answer to 'How do I transport material that is too long to fit inside my tiny car?' And before you people claim I'm picking on tiny cars, I drive a Jeep Wrangler, plain, not Unlimited, so I know all about 'no space inside for cargo.')

Once again,

The question was NOT "How do I transport material"?

The questions was, "Can I use the heavy duty suction cups on the side mirror (passenger side) to carry the lengthy load (6 ft. long curtain rod)".

Again, You want a guy to spend $60.00USD + another who knows how much to ship it, and then wait a week to haul a 6 foot long 10 pound curtain rod home?

Think about it.

Does anybody here REALLY think this guy is going to spend $60.00USD + another who knows how much to ship it, and then wait a week to haul a 6 foot long 10 pound curtain rod home?

Really??????

The roof rack is not an answer to the question!

My vote was not a mistake! it was deliberate.

"The questions was, "Can I use the heavy duty suction cups on the side mirror (passenger side) to carry the lengthy load (6 ft. long curtain rod)"."

And for that question, the short answer is 'No.'

The long answer is 'No, that's not safe, here are some safer alternatives to carry that load."

Sometimes we need to look past the narrow question asked to see the problem that is leading to that question. otherwise we end up looking like some of the police in Germany:

A women walked into a public square in Munich, where a policeman was patrolling near a large fountain. The woman disrobed and stepped into the fountain, and the policeman called out "Halt! it is verboten to bathe in the fountain!" The woman replied "Then why didn't you stop me as I was taking my clothes off?" The policeman stated, "It is not verboten to disrobe next to the fountain."

You have no way of knowing that the suction cups and mirror will not support a 6 foot curtain rod.

[ Holds up a mirror to the previous comment ]

You have no way of knowing that the suction cup and mirror WILL support a 6 foot curtain rod.

Now that we've both been shown what we do not know, let us move on to what we *DO* know.

1. In most countries, the 'rules of the road' are written to try and insure safety for ALL people and vehicles that use the road.
2. The original Poster has not stated what country he or she is in, so we can assume either they are in a country with rules about safety, or we can assume they are in a country without rules about safety.
3. If it is a country without safety rules, then the answer is 'do whatever you want, nobody cares if anyone lives or dies.'
4. If, however, they are in a country with safety rules, then the answer is 'we need to find a safe way to carry the load.
5. Since, from point 2, we do not know the poster's location, we have to look at the possibilities of assuming wrong about his country choices about safety.
6. If we assume 'no safety laws' when there are safety laws, our advice will get the OP in trouble, and/or possibly hurt someone needlessly.
7. If we assume 'there are safety laws' when there are none, then the OP carries the load safely, and nobody gets hurt or gets in trouble.
8. From points 6 & 7, we will do better for the OP by assuming there are safety laws in his country.
9. Most safety laws about cargo boil down to 'the load must be secured so it will not fall off or fly off by accident and hurt someone or damage property.'
10. Suction cups work well at tension stress (trying to pull them straight off) but not shear stress (sliding them off or 'rolling' them off).
11. A suction cup on the side will be under shear stress from the weight of the load, as well as the vibrations of the vehicle, so it is not a good choice for securing a load.
12. The roof of the vehicle is strong against compression loads (things trying to crush the roof down) so it is a good choice for storing cargo, which would be a compressive load there.
13. many people do not wish to scratch up their paint jobs by loading cargo directly onto the roof of their vehicle.
14. Load bars will not only protect the roof from scratches from the cargo, but will also distribute the weight of the load towards the edges of the roof, where it is stronger, as well as providing a flat, level(ish) mounting plane for the cargo.

If the OP does not wish to get a roof rack, there is a cheaper alternative: placing a tarp on the roof to protect it from scratches, placing the load on the tarp, and then tying the load down with rope going through the open side windows. This is still a 'roof rack,' although best described as a 'redneck roof rack⁽¹⁾.' and it solves the problem of transporting a 6 foot shower rod.

Notes:

1. With apologies to HiTekRedNek.

In many countries citizens are not aware of laws in force but they vote in elections. Government and politicians should take measures to educate people on laws of the nation and policemen too should enforce it. In some third world countries dogs without any protective mouth cover are allowed to wander in public places,even accompanied by owners,but police don't notice it. There are reports of dogs attacking passers by in pavements too.Who will take the blame.First policemen should be punished for not enforcing laws protecting civilians. Owner of any dog without a colllar indicating identity of owner should be punished.

And no way of knowing it will either. OP does not indicate where he is located either. Only one way to find out, isn't there??!!

When I first read this post, I thought someone was baiting us, " to carry the lengthy load (6 ft. long curtain rod) " It didn't state rods as in plural, multiple rods. So I took the OP as some kind of joke to see what kind answers (plural) they could reel in while fishing. There's no Rocket Science to the question, but just common sense. A 6 ft curtain rod are generally hollow tube, and depending the plating on the single hollow rod, it shouldn't weigh more 1.5 pounds full length. But, this too, is an aSSumption on my part.

It boils down to a common sense question, if this person has to pose such a question on an engineering forum for a common sense question, then I pity this person. What ever happened trial and error. Common sense would tell you if one thing didn't then try another way. Then if it's still to complicated, then seek outside help. And chances are, if the OP showed signs of frustration trying secure this "one lengthy 6 foot curtain rod" while in the parking lot of the store they bought it that, more than likely some good samaritan would come to their recuse.

This OP is like most all post we see here, people can't think for themselves anymore and became too dependant on the internet to do their thinking for them. I'm just hope I'm not around in 50 years to wittiness the failure of the human brain due to internet dependency that lacks common sense

The suction cups will not hold on the outside of the mirror and if you use the mirror glass the police will tell you off for blocking your view.

Use rope!

Does the back seat fold down? 6ft isn't all that long. If the font passenger seat folded down too, then you could get 654 pounds of curtain rods in there! Gees, No Rocket Science there

GA. For a curtain rod one of those partial fold down rear seats is all that is necessary. They are called "curtain rod fold down access seats". They also work with pieces of molding, 2x4's, conduit, and other things. If the items are too long to close the trunk use a bungee cord, rope, strap or other suitable item to hold the trunk closed, Use a red flag if necessary.

Good Luck, Old Salt

Dazzled and amazed at some things posed on this forum. Haven't heard or seen a Cavalier here lately Did they too go by-way of the dinosaurs too?

If he was driving a Cavalier then it would be better to just walk home... He would never make it home if he had to drive!

If all else fails, duct tape the curtain rods to the radio antenna, that way you get better reception at the same time !

Sure you can. But your making the assumption that the structure that supports the mirror will handle the load. When all it was designed for is to support the mirror glass.

Put blankets under it and tie it to the roof thru the windows. That unless your moving it from New York to L.A. You left that part out as to how far you are planing to transport this very valuble curtain rod. That you would consider damaging a mirror which most likely cost more.

Just ship it via Fed-X, or borrow a larger car.

Talk to this guy..... He's got it down!!!! And those are 10 feet long too!!

if a red flag is attached at either end of prortruding items,will police book.

I don't know about police, but I would not go into a pasture where a 1500lb Angus bull hangs out.

Yes, they figure it out already.

Get a passenger to hold the curtain rod and beat them with a stick if they let go.

Walk home, with the thing on your shoulder.

GA.

He could stick it through the sleeves of his shirt and put gloves on the ends for safety.

GA

We completely disregarded the safety aspect of the actual transport of the curtain rod!

Would the gloves be yellow?

They can be any high-visibility color, but the rod must be inserted in the middle finger.

That makes sense.

It is the longest and most visible!

I'd say one red glove on the left (port) side and one green glove on the right (starboard) side.

And a T-shirt that says "I need a hug".

You are on a friggin roll!

What happened to the OP, did they just take our ideas and suggestions and run off without a Thank You or Something? Not even a

Guess we're already use to it, huh?

IMHO:This should not be considered as advice or encouragement,but merely pointing to other examples of improvised ad hoc engineering.

Just look at this example redneck improvisation:

http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Humor/Workshop/Overload.html

I say the police officer had a duty to cite the driver and impound the vehicle for unsafe load.

If that came off the vehicle at any legal highway speed, it would probably cause a multi car accident!

From the report, the rear tires were flat and the rear shocks had been pushed up through the unibody. The only way that car was moving is if it was being towed.

Those people just out and out killed that vehicle. If this had been in one of the Pixar Cars movies, I could just see the scene:

[ Mater (the tow truck) drives up, answering a call for help, sees a dead car with the back end completely destroyed from the overloading of cargo. ]

Mater: Oh mah word! (turns away from camera, retching sounds are heard as he heaves, turns back to wrecked car) That poor feller nevah had a chance with a load like that. His rear axle's totally crushed. Better call the sheriff, he'll want to take pictures of the scene before I 'disturb thah evedence.' On a side note, Ah'm glad ah said no when Icey⁽¹⁾ wanted to be on top when she was in town last week⁽²⁾."

Notes:

1. Since many of the characters were named after their brand, Lightning's 'chaufer,' was a semi named Mack, Icey is in IC Bus company school bus (IC only makes the 'full-sized' school buses, not the 'short buses' which are built on van bodies or 'duece and a half' truck chassies), in other words, Icey is a Big Lady compared to Mater.
2. Adult bonus joke snuck in under the kids radar. Look up 'Futurama,' 'death by snu-snu,' and 'crushed pelvis' if you don't get the joke⁽³⁾⁽⁴⁾.
3. Where did you THINK new cars came from, Detroit?
4. What, Mater can't have a girlfriend?

ADDENDUM:

Look at these guys for inspiration:

http://www.swapmeetdave.com/Humor/Workshop/OL.htm

Perhaps you could adapt one of these.

Try using a rope or nylon strap tied around the hood hinge, and another one tied around the trunk hinge, and dangle the curtain rod along the side of the car. I have successfully used this arrangement for 2x4s and other long, relatively skinny items. It's best if they aren't much longer than the car and not too heavy.

I have also seen guys tie long items underneath the vehicle if it rides high enough.

Providing the curtain rod is not made of 3/4 rebar, someone could support the rod temporarily while loops with knotted ends are placed around the rod and through the open windows. the windows are then closed to secure the loops. Upon arriving at destination, the windows are opened and the rod is unloaded.

*Disclaimer*

Of course this suggestion my be construed as the product of a brain that was developed without the benefit of a superior genetic base, and should be considered as a joke only, with no practical use.

Why can't you just fit it between the seats diagonally? Is it a little hybrid car?

<I'm outa here>

Curtains could be installed on the rod with both ends projecting through the windows from side to side and the curtains outside. This arraignment would then be driven off the cliff in a fluttering followed by a resounding crash, representing the rise and fall of this thread.

How long is your car?

If less than or slightly longer than the rods,tie them under the car to the framework

supporting the bumpers.

Use visual inspection to avoid exhaust pipes and wiring,etc.

I learned this trick in RedNeck Elementary school;didn't everyone?

(By the way,it will also work with mules or horses if the irrigation pipe is too long for

the trailer,just be careful of the under carriage plumbing and overhead waste disposal).

Most rear wheel drive autos have a drive-shaft that runs down the center of the car. This is most suitable for tying the curtain rod to. This way it will be sufficiently far away from the hot exhaust to avoid damage.

"That was easy."

Just stick it through the rear windows, nearly rolled up. No one has any problem with 6-foot wide objects rolling down the road. Even the front windows might work.

Now that is convenient. Holding up the load, and giving the world the finger at the same time.