I bought my tail bag a couple years ago and I use it constantly. It is held on with four bungee cords which have tended to pucker and draw the bottom together. On top of that, the sides were starting to collapse in on the bag. I was just starting to look kinda sad. I started thinking about ways to reinforce the original shape of the bag and this is what I came up with.
I measured the inside bottom of the bag and then laid out those dimensions on thick cardboard box I had lying around,
I cut out two panels of cardboard that fit the shape of the bottom and then I taped the two pieces together, completely wrapping the two with tape. Taping them together greatly strengthened the rigidity of the panel. Now I could fit the panel in the bottom of the bag and when I tied the bag down , the bottom held it’s shape.
Now for the floppy sides, I traced a pattern from the outside on a piece of newspaper then transferred it to the cardboard , times two, and cut them out. The side pockets are not that deep, so only a single thickness panel for them. However by wrapping them with tape, they gain a lot of rigidity. I didn’t even try to make them pretty, they are purely functional.
I’m pretty happy with the results too, almost good as new!
The cardboard is thin and surprisingly stiff, The bottom panel is less than a half inch thick and weighs next to nothing, the side panels are less than a 1/4” thick, and it cost me nothing but about 30 minutes of my time.
My kind of project!
I measured the inside bottom of the bag and then laid out those dimensions on thick cardboard box I had lying around,
I cut out two panels of cardboard that fit the shape of the bottom and then I taped the two pieces together, completely wrapping the two with tape. Taping them together greatly strengthened the rigidity of the panel. Now I could fit the panel in the bottom of the bag and when I tied the bag down , the bottom held it’s shape.
Now for the floppy sides, I traced a pattern from the outside on a piece of newspaper then transferred it to the cardboard , times two, and cut them out. The side pockets are not that deep, so only a single thickness panel for them. However by wrapping them with tape, they gain a lot of rigidity. I didn’t even try to make them pretty, they are purely functional.
I’m pretty happy with the results too, almost good as new!
The cardboard is thin and surprisingly stiff, The bottom panel is less than a half inch thick and weighs next to nothing, the side panels are less than a 1/4” thick, and it cost me nothing but about 30 minutes of my time.
My kind of project!