You have plenty of D rings, if you use them right. Also, if you are having problems with your tube folding up on you, you probably need to air it up a bit more. When fully and properly inflated they do not change much when you sit in them.
I make two loops…between 5 and 6" long…and attach them to the two side D rings. Then I slip the rod tubes down through them. I make the rod holders so two of the tubes are just the right apacing to fit. I secure the bottom with bungee cord, rather than tieing. It holds them firm enough but with some give.
Those little loops are cheap and easy to make. If your rods ride too close, make a couple a bit larger. That is the adjustment. But, on my tube, the rods ride only a little bit slanted out before launching and straight up on the water. I am over 250 pounds so it is not the tube design.
The bungee cord on the bottom made all the difference in the world to keep my holder in place. I had been using a rope but everytime the air in the tube was different the poles set different. With the bungee on the bottom you don’t have to have the tube air pressure the same every time to have it stay in place.
… I am by no means an expert here but just thought of something.. and what you and TD say about using a bungee cord makes a lot of sense… soooo
.. I have seen adjustable bungee cords in many different stores and was wondering if using one of those instead of the standard cord would make any difference?? again.. just a thought and curiosity..
Tubedude makes the length he needs from some cord. He can explain what it is better then I can. I was in a hurry and didn’t want to wait so I took a small bungee and added a clip. Nothing fancy but it works for me.
…I saw that in one of the posts that he uses rope loops on the one end and then use a bungee cord on the other to hold it in place tightly without it being over tight.. my thought was that if someone were to use one of the adjustable bungee cords it could possibly give them a little more fexibility on tightening or loosening that second connection as needed..
I use the small bungee as well and it works. My problem is that I have holes in my tube. The seam is wearing out.[unsure] Anyway, even with loosing air and having to blow it up every 15 minutes my poles stay out of my hair. I have the loop design like TD to slide the rack in. Then use a rope that is connected to a 6" bungee. When I did it, I just had to trim the rope until the adjustment was good. Hope that helps.
You have plenty of D rings, if you use them right. Also, if you are having problems with your tube folding up on you, you probably need to air it up a bit more. When fully and properly inflated they do not change much when you sit in them.