Step 4: Constructing the Straps

The straps are really the secret to the whole thing. They are made of one inch wide, nylon strapping (see the Materials Needed section, earlier in this article).

The strapping is measured, sewn, and cut to perform two important functions:

• Hold the store-bought carrier to the homemade mount
• Hold both the carrier and mount securely to the tank

There are 4 strap pieces sewn to form a rectangle, slightly smaller than the bottom of the carrier. My carrier dictated a rectangle of the following size: 7" x 13". See diagram below.

Note that fasteners are sewn to the ends of certain pieces. The photos below should clarify which fasteners to sew to which ends. Especially note that I sewed a different type of fastener to the front cinch strap than I sewed to the rear cinch strap. This was done because the front of the mount came so close to the speedo that there wasn't room for a quick-release, side-lock type fastener. The first photo shows the buckle for the front of the carrier/base. The second photo shows the buckle for the rear of the carrier/base.

The straps are cut to length and sewn to each other. These straps wrap around the mount's platform top, and cinch tightly to it. See photos below. The first photo shows the front strap. The second photo shows the rear strap.

In addition, two other straps are sewn to the strap-frame to cinch the carrier/mount tightly to the tank. These must be sewn at a forward angle, roughly at the mid-point of the carrier side (but at the bottom). Be sure to sew these on prior to sewing the strap-frame to the bottom of the carrier. See photos below.

Tip: The straps should be sewn to each other before being sewn to the carrier. Otherwise, the strength of the system will depend too much on the strength of the carrier. It is likely that the straps are far stronger than the carrier. Sewing the straps together first also makes it possible to use a heavy-duty sewing machine, instead of sewing everything by hand.

The way I fastened the strapping to the carrier was to hand sew one long stitch-line around the rectangle, to hold the strapping firmly in place. Then I used epoxy glue to finalize the bond. See photo below.

Finally, this winter or next spring I plan to sew a small, simple, loop strap around each of the four cinch straps. These are used to tuck the strap tails, so they do not flop around in the wind. Currently, I just tuck the strap tails between the strap and the tank. They don't flop around in the wind, but it doesn't look as neat and tidy as it could. See photos below.