row2k Features
Trailer Tricks
Rowing Hack: Tennis Net-ing Your Trailer Cargo
January 30, 2025
John FX Flynn, row2k

A "tennis net-equipped" trailer spotted at MegaWorlds

Need a long skinny net to secure the cargo on your shell trailer? You might want to follow the example of some of the smartest Rowing Hackers out there and get an old tennis net.

Why? Well, old tennis--or volleyball--nets just happen to be a good length and, when doubled up by zip-tying two halves together, the right width for most rowing trailers...plus there is a good chance your school might be getting rid of some old ones that you can score for free.

Admittedly, this trick that has been in circulation for a few years: row2k even spotted a "tennis net-equipped" trailer at MegaWorlds up in St. Catharines last summer for the photo above, so this Rowing Hack has made the rounds, but it had to get invented somewhere.

We have it on good authority that it all started at The Ohio State University, when the grounds crew parked a pallet of used nets next to the Buckeye's rowing trailer. It didn't take OSU Boatman Joe Pipia long to realize the nets could be that perfect, and unique, size for securing cargo in a long shell trailer bed.

This hack makes a cargo net for the full run of your trailer bed (photo thanks to Steve Peterson, IU)
This hack makes a cargo net for the full run of your trailer bed (photo thanks to Steve Peterson, IU)

After using some para cord to tie two of the tennis nets together along the long-edge, Pipia had himself an up-cycled cargo net that got a whole second life hitting the road with OSU's rowing equipment.

"Just trying to be Scarlet, Gray, and GREEN," Pipia says, adding that he is glad the idea is catching on so more folks are, in his words, "saving perfectly good half sized cargo nets from the landfill."

Since then the trick has made its way throughout the Big Ten: Minnesota boatman Aaron Schnell tipped off row2k about this hack while he was making one, after seeing Indiana coach Steve Peterson using tennis nets in the IU trailer.

Peterson, who learned the trick from directly from Pipia, pointed out that tennis teams replace their nets fairly regularly, making getting one or two used ones pretty easy. From there, the build for the Hack can be as easy as requires cutting the net to the right length for your trailer and using zip ties to connect the halves.

"You lay it over the equipment in the bed of the trailer and then just strap it in," says Peterson. "We also put tarps over our ergs when we are traveling with them, in case it rains during the trip. Putting the net over the tarp is an easy and effective way of keeping that tied down as well."

(photo thanks to Steve Peterson, IU)
(photo thanks to Steve Peterson, IU)

Whether your trailer does long-hauls or short trips, you can't beat having a good--and inexpensive--way to easily secure everything you take on the road, so hit up your local tennis coaches for a right-sized cargo net and put this Rowing Hack to work for you.

Do you have cool trailer trick like this one to use when you hit the road? If so, share your ideas--and hacks--in the comments below.

If you have a great rowing hack to suggest for future inclusion, then please send it to us like these Rowing Hackers did and we will feature your idea in a future column.

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