Car Perch I Made!

Blancaej · Jul 28, 2013

I built Savannah a car perch this morning to use going to and from my store. I use back country roads to drive to and from work. I made the perch this morning and she drove into work with me on it. She did great. I took it slow (you can do that on back roads. LOL) so she wouldn't fall off the perch as it was her first time using it.
I don't plan on using this perch for any other rides in the car for safety reasons. I have to be extra cautious when she is riding up front with me. A trip to work only takes 10 minutes! I think she will enjoy this much more then the kennel! Here are some pics!
Back View

Front View - after I got her in the car I forgot newspaper, so I covered the seat in paper towels for this trip only. LOL!

Savannah on her perch chewing on her harness.

Savannah looking at me. "Get Me Off Of This Thing"

Some photos Morgan took from her seat of Savannah

At least you can't tell how messy my car is! With a 7 and 3 year old, it's hard to keep clean. LOL!

JerseyWendy · Jul 28, 2013

Holy smokes, Blanca, you outdid yourself!!!

That is one AWESOME car travel perch!!! I LOVE it, especially that you used real wood for the actual perch where she sits!!!

Do you take orders? :54:

Blancaej · Jul 28, 2013

I decided to disassemble the t-stands I made my guys out of PVC. They are not stable enough. I am going to build the ones that you sent me a link about. With the 3" PVC. I love those! Can't wait to start on that project!

Anyway, I used parts from the t-stand and left over parts from the play stand I made. I didn't have to cut a piece of pvc this morning. I used all left over parts. LOL!

LOL! If I can do it, you can, too!

But for you...I would!

JDlugosz · Jul 28, 2013

It's interesting how PVC is like tinkertoys for adults. In the case of the joints behind the headrest, you'll want to secure them rather than just press-fit. (Edit: I see when I blow-up that you have screws or something in the connectors. I guess that lets you change it around again rather than making a permanent bond. Can you point to details on how you fastened it?)

Also, for more structurally robust needs, you can find stronger/thicker PVC in the same connection sizes. They are called "schedules", and are often color coded. In addition, the CPVC is a little thicker walled, I think. Furthermore, irrigation PVC stacked up at the big box store might vary, as I've gotten super thin walled stuff without noticing.

You can see from this table that Schedule 80 (colored grey) is half again as thick-walled as sch. 40 (normal white), but fits in the same connectors as the outside diameter is the same. Meanwhile, the generic sprinkler pipe might be thinner-cheaper than the "normal" sch 40 I found out the hard way.

Blancaej · Jul 29, 2013

All joints are screwed to the pipes. I choose not use glue because of the chemicals. I don't plan on taking it apart anytime soon and its not coming apart on its own! Lol! This is 1 1/4 pipe and is plenty thick and strong for my parrot needs. My local HD doesn't carry that many varieties but doesn't need to. The pvc they do sell is plenty thick! Thanks for the info in either case.

JadeC · Jul 29, 2013

Wow, very nice!!! She looks to be enjoying it too!

crimson · Jul 29, 2013

I can see that being ordered from all over!....do we get discounts??,LOL

very well done!...I think you are truly on to something....$$$$$

Blancaej · Jul 29, 2013

Thanks Jade - The ride back home yesterday went well. She seemed more relaxed then going in. I think with time she will love riding on it!

Crimson - LOL! I can't take credit for the design. JerseyWendy showed me some pics of car perches and I based my design on one of those pics. You can buy them online but they run from $30-$75! Making mine was may more cost effective. The one big difference with mine is I use natural wood for the perch. None of the ones I saw online do this. I think the birds like it so much better!

kq_fan · Jul 29, 2013

Oh my gosh, I love it!!! And Savannah looks so happy and content. She is a beautiful bird!

JDlugosz · Jul 29, 2013

Blancaej said:
All joints are screwed to the pipes. I choose not use glue because of the chemicals. I don't plan on taking it apart anytime soon and its not coming apart on its own! Lol! This is 1 1/4 pipe and is plenty thick and strong for my parrot needs. My local HD doesn't carry that many varieties but doesn't need to. The pvc they do sell is plenty thick! Thanks for the info in either case.

The "glue" used for PVC pipes is a solvent gel. It welds the plastic together. It will not hurt even the most sensitive organism if you let it set overnight so all the acetone has evaporated. My only problem is buying a small enough quantity as I won't use it up before it goes bad. And, for actual plumbing use, the primer stains everything it touches.

I'm asking how you put screws in: what kind of screws, how to they hold in the plastic?

Blancaej · Jul 29, 2013

Thanks JD. As for the glue, it's not so much because of the chewing on it, but the smell is very strong while being applied for the first 24 hours. Some of the pieces I have built with pvc are large and doing them outside would be difficult & the weather has to be good! So the screws are a great alternative! The screws I use are stainless steel. I predrill then screw them in. They hold very tight. I don't know the exact kind at the moment. I don't have the packaging. But I do know they work awesome!

Blancaej · Jul 29, 2013

kq_fan said:
Oh my gosh, I love it!!! And Savannah looks so happy and content. She is a beautiful bird!

Thank you Kq_fan! I think she really wanted to come in again today, but I want her to have breaks in between days coming in. I think I will bring her in 3 times this week as she seems to really enjoy being at the store now!

crimson · Jul 29, 2013

Blancaej said:
Thanks Jade - The ride back home yesterday went well. She seemed more relaxed then going in. I think with time she will love riding on it!

Crimson - LOL! I can't take credit for the design. JerseyWendy showed me some pics of car perches and I based my design on one of those pics. You can buy them online but they run from $30-$75! Making mine was may more cost effective. The one big difference with mine is I use natural wood for the perch. None of the ones I saw online do this. I think the birds like it so much better!

Wendy is just a fountain of info isn't she!, still, I think people would definitely be interested in those particularly due to the cost being less, I would order one from you in a heart beat if I had a bird that would go in the truck with me....just something to consider

:22:

Blancaej · Jul 29, 2013

OMG! I guess she is! LOL! I don't know how much cheaper they would be online then buying them from me as I have to account for my time to make them. Thanks for the encouragement in either case!

JerseyWendy · Jul 29, 2013

crimson said:
Wendy is just a fountain of info isn't she!, still, I think people would definitely be interested in those particularly due to the cost being less, I would order one from you in a heart beat if I had a bird that would go in the truck with me....just something to consider :22:

Nah....I'm just good at GTSing

(Googling that s...) :54:

ConureCrazy · Jul 29, 2013

Love it! She looks so interested in it too!

Blancaej · Jul 29, 2013

Wendy - You are a pro googler in my book!

ConureCrazy - She was a little nervous, but I think she liked sitting up front with her Mama!

haleybird · Jul 30, 2013

I love the design! Especially with the natural wood.

I would have never thought to fasten it over the head rest..genius!!

...I've always thought of having something like a seatbelt fastened tray (like the kind they put car seats on) with some sort of perch bolted to that, but came up with two problems: perch stability, and tail room! This design solves BOTH of those problems.

I want to make one! It would be so cool to vet wrap the entire perch so it wouldn't even look like PVC! (Or make it match to your car's interior.) The possibilities are endless!! PVC are definitely tinker toys for adults!

JDlugosz · Jul 30, 2013

Someone should market building blocks that are compatible with PVC pipe and fittings, but are not for plumbing, but for building. E.g. a hinge joint that is the same shape and size as a PVC 90° elbow, but is a hinged joint. With that example, you could make the car perch fold up when not in use.

Hmm, if people don't cement them anyway but just press-fit (like tinker toys), someone could make things with a 3D printer.

Blancaej · Jul 30, 2013

haleybird said:
I love the design! Especially with the natural wood.

I would have never thought to fasten it over the head rest..genius!!

...I've always thought of having something like a seatbelt fastened tray (like the kind they put car seats on) with some sort of perch bolted to that, but came up with two problems: perch stability, and tail room! This design solves BOTH of those problems.

I want to make one! It would be so cool to vet wrap the entire perch so it wouldn't even look like PVC! (Or make it match to your car's interior.) The possibilities are endless!! PVC are definitely tinker toys for adults!

If I can do it, you can too! It really wasn't hard! Savannah does not like the vet wrap, lol! But that is a great ideaa

JDlugosz said:
Someone should market building blocks that are compatible with PVC pipe and fittings, but are not for plumbing, but for building. E.g. a hinge joint that is the same shape and size as a PVC 90° elbow, but is a hinged joint. With that example, you could make the car perch fold up when not in use.

Hmm, if people don't cement them anyway but just press-fit (like tinker toys), someone could make things with a 3D printer.

Love the hinge idea! That would be fantastic! We can only dream. Lol!

Car Perch I Made!

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