If you can look at a broken situation and decide that a bungee cord, half a roll of duct tape, and complete confidence in yourself are all it’s going to take, you might just be a Redneck. And that’s not a bad thing! You can find a fix before someone else even finds the number of a professional.
Redneck engineering gets a bad rap because the results are objectively unhinged and occasionally load-bearing. But the internet has been collecting the best of them to give them the respect they deserve. These are the fixes that should not work, the repairs that would make a structural engineer dry heave, and the solutions so aggressively practical that they loop back around to brilliant. Duct tape was involved in most of them.
#1 Do You Have An Obsolete Console And A Bike Without Handlebars?
Image source: scottyftw
#2 Broken Headlight?
Image source: RedStarDawn
#3 Redneck Soap Dispenser Xpost Perfectfit
Image source: [deleted]
The phrase “necessity is the mother of invention” was coined by Plato and has been used to justify some genuinely world-changing innovations. It has also been used to justify attaching a car mirror with a zip tie and a prayer, which is a slightly different application of the same principle but operates on identical logic.
When resources are limited, and the problem needs solving today, the human brain does something remarkable: it looks at what is available and starts connecting dots that no engineering textbook would ever connect. The results range from structurally impressive to alarmingly dangerous, and the line between those two categories is thinner than most people would admit.
#4 Spare Door Knob? Perfect!
Image source: SlaveOfSignificance
#5 No Clean Dishes?
Image source: ChiliFlake
#6 Boat Camping, Why Not?
Image source: MogRules
Duct tape is the star of the show, though, because it is not the joke product its reputation suggests. It was developed during World War II by Johnson and Johnson for the US military, originally designed to keep moisture out of ammunition cases. Soldiers immediately discovered it could fix almost anything else as well, and the name came from its water-repelling properties.
Modern duct tape has a tensile strength of up to 40 pounds per inch, which means a sufficiently motivated person with enough rolls can theoretically hold together something that has no business being held together. The redneck fix that involves duct tape is not always wrong. It is sometimes just ahead of schedule.
#7 Flatscreen
Image source: [deleted]
#8 I Don’t Need A Got Dang Steering Wheel
Image source: Eulabeia
#9 A Little Love For Those European Rednecks!
Image source: DistinguishedSwine
WD-40 occupies the other half of the improvised repair toolkit and has an equally legitimate origin story. It was developed in 1953 by the Rocket Chemical Company for the aerospace industry, specifically to prevent rust and corrosion on the Atlas missile. The name stands for Water Displacement, 40th attempt.
That means it took 39 failed formulas before they landed on the one that works on everything from squeaky hinges to removing sticker residue to, in the hands of the right person, solving problems it was never designed for. Between duct tape and WD-40, the unofficial rule is simple: if it moves and it should not, use the tape. If it does not move and it should, use the spray.
#10 No Snow Where I Live Yet, But I Really Wanted To Go Sledding
Image source: [deleted]
#11 Nothing Quite Like Oversized Tires For The Car
Image source: CyanPeppa
#12 Don’t Have A Razor?
Image source: [deleted]
The professional world has its own version of the redneck fix, and it is called an expedient repair, which is the same thing with better insurance coverage. NASA’s Apollo 13 mission in 1970 is the most famous example: engineers on the ground used only the materials available on the spacecraft to build a carbon dioxide filter from a plastic bag, a cardboard cover, and duct tape, saving three lives in the process.
The fix was ridiculous by any standard engineering measure and completely, undeniably correct. The improvised solution has saved lives in operating rooms, on construction sites, and in countless situations where waiting for the proper equipment was not an option. The redneck fix is just the version without the press release.
#13 Best Grill In The Market
Image source: billyzero
#14 Asked For A Hammer At Work Today
Image source: neverve
#15 Thought You Guys Would Like Me Xbox Headset
Image source: redditpics_123
The psychological satisfaction of fixing something yourself, regardless of method, actually has a very satisfying name. Research on what psychologists call the IKEA effect found that people place significantly higher value on things they have built or repaired themselves, even when the result is objectively inferior to a professional version.
The effort involved creates an emotional investment that changes how the outcome is perceived. This is why the person who fixed their fence with a wooden pallet and some determination is deeply proud of that fence, and why they are not wrong to be. They solved a problem with their own hands. The fence is standing and the opinion of a structural engineer was not requested.
#16 Who Needs Steel Bolts If You Got A Pen?
Image source: MoronimusVanDeCojck
#17 Redneck Server Farm
Image source: He11razor
#18 I Want To Know How That Car Got On The Truck?
Image source: [deleted]
Sorry to be a wet blanket, but these fixes should come with a word of caution, because not all improvised fixes are created equal, and some of them are actually life-threatening. Electrical work, structural repairs, and anything involving gas lines are the categories where the redneck approach produces outcomes that insurance companies and emergency services have strong feelings about.
There is a huge difference between a creative fix for a cosmetic problem and a creative fix for something that can end you, and the people in the thread mostly understand this distinction. Mostly. A few of the submissions in what follows will make you grateful that the person involved is still alive to post about it.
#19 Needed To Grind Alot Of Pepper
Image source: [deleted]
#20 Got Some Power Windows For My Truck
Image source: bigtalltree
#21 Sheets Kept Coming Off The Bed, So I Sewed Some Underwear Elastic To The Corners
Image source: [deleted]
What the collection ahead ultimately celebrates is the human stubbornness that refuses to be beaten by a problem just because the correct tools are not available. It is creative, it is occasionally structurally unsound, and it is deeply, specifically human.
Other species use tools. Only humans look at a broken situation, assess what is within arm’s reach, and decide that a combination of ingenuity and complete disregard for conventional methods is going to get this done before dinner. The professionals will have opinions, but we are not here to hear them out, because the thing has already been fixed. Safely or not.
#22 Redneck Bench Press
Image source: jbvj
#23 No Bumper? No Problem! Just Slap Some Plywood And Paint On There And Call It A Day! (X-Post R/Shitty_car_mods)
Image source: JoshSchlink
#24 The Owner Of The Building Where I Work Decided To “Fix” The Leaky Roof. The Tubing Goes To A Floor Drain
Image source: Primal_Thrak
#25 Safety Is A Priority!
Image source: Cyber_Cynic
#26 So My Toaster Dosen’t Work Without The Button On The Right Being Down, But Now I Have To Use A Knife And A Bowl To Keep It On
Image source: Slimen93
#27 Motorbike Saw
Image source: xscz
#28 My Best Guess: They Wanted To Move The Fireplace 2 Feet To The Right (Xpost From Crappydesign)
Image source: bmdavis
#29 Broken Glasses? Break A Clothes Hanger. Sorted
Image source: [deleted]
#30 Girlfriend Saw This
Image source: MuscleP4nda
#31 The Only Thing Missing Is A Lift For That Trailer. Smh
Image source: BrokenMethFarts
#32 I Hate To Rake
Image source: Sutekhseth
#33 Big Truck-Check. Deep Fryer-Check. Mullet. Check
Image source: cduran1
#34 Feeling Hot?
Image source: alsobrante
#35 No Flag? No Problem
Image source: blastbeat603
#36 Let Me Just Tape This Shut
Image source: zhiwei
#37 Was Told You Would Like My Dish Washing Video Hat. Makes Time Go By Much Faster! Never Doing Dishes Again Without It!
Image source: chordnine
#38 Is Yer Car Made Before 1989 And Lacking The Safety Features Y’all Family Deserves? No Problem!
Image source: scottyftw
#39 My Coworkers Bumper!
Image source: [deleted]
#40 DIY TV Tray
Image source: Kancer86
#41 Hot Water Faucet Not Working, Got The Fix For You
Image source: He11razor
#42 Shower Heads Are Like $7
Image source: Spercificate
#43 Redneck Fixes, Estonian Edition
Image source: Ricin-Renne
#44 My TV Antenna Needed To Be A Foot Higher. So I Duct Taped It To A Rake
Image source: /pepsiru1es92
#45 No Cufflinks? No Problem!
Image source: santol
#46 We Don’t Have One Of Those Fancy Rich People Basters. We Have Duct Tape
Image source: WhatTheFoxtrout
#47 Strap Down That Dirt
Image source: AndyWayne
#48 The Skin On My Boots Were Breaking So I Fixed Them
Image source: God-Someone-Kill-Me
#49 Hand Me That There Duct Tape, Hon! I’m Fixin’ To Fix My Truck
Image source: LordCupre
#50 Sneak Your Drink Into Nascar!
Image source: Codyd51
#51 Made One Of Them Fancy Rain Showers That All The Rich People Have
Image source: bigtalltree
#52 My Brother Got An Apartment For Himself And Needed To Hang His Shower Curtain
Image source: ThreePointEightSix
#53 Ain’t Got No Tailgate No More? Don’t Matter Cause I Gots Some Plywood!
Image source: [deleted]
#54 Gas-Cap Door Fixed
Image source: deathmangos
#55 Newegg’s Brand New Product
Image source: billyzero
#56 Broken Lock. Lactose Intolerance, Uh Uh, Finds A Way
Image source: [deleted]
#57 $50 For A New Hood Latch Thay Said. Forget That I Got A Bungee Cord
Image source: greenasstro
#58 New G8!
Image source: Hansipas
#59 House Cold? Redneck Insulation Can Help!
Image source: AppleBerryPoo
#60 Cold Air Intake Done Right.
Image source: VietBeasting
#61 Air Freshener Using A Fan And A Fabric Softener Sheet
Image source: [deleted]
#62 This Car With A Pickle Jar For A Headlight In A Walmart Parking Lot
Image source: Deviousherbert
#63 I’m Sure It Keeps Him Quite Cool
Image source: Gaggamaggot
#64 Lazyboy Abrams Edition 🤣
Image source: MogRules
#65 Putting The “Fun” Back In Funeral
Image source: CyanPeppa
#66 Ah Yes This Will Fix It
Image source: Roselovehorses
#67 Custom Stereo Kit
Image source: TheNanidellaEffect
#68 Redneck Ceiling Fan
Image source: Kancer86
#69 Mounted My Phone To A Tripod With A Capo
Image source: Totoro-san
#70 My Dad’s Solution To A Bad Plug Fixture. Seems Legit
Image source: mms94
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