I tried the bolt-in truck rack that the local sporting goods store sells. It had too much side to side wobble, and attached by clamping onto the bed rails. It just seemed like it would deform or damage the bed of my truck over time, and I ended up taking it back. I looked at another one at a shop here, but it required drilling through the bed rails to attach it. I don't like the idea of drilling into the body, so I passed on that one.
So, I searched for home made truck rack on google images, got a few ideas, and got started. I wanted something that wasn't permanent, wasn't time consuming to set up, and something I could easily store in a shed without taking up too much room.
First, I thought that if I built a square frame close to the tailgate, I could strap the boards to that, and the other end to the roof of the truck. This is what I came up with.
I built it to sit flush against the floor and sides of the bed.
Once I put a board on top, I hated the idea and figured it would never work, or be very safe.
After rethinking my plan, this is what I came up with.
I ditched the diagonal supports on the back. I made another frame for the front. The top rail is a 2x4. This is supported by another 2x4 that I ripped down to 2x2, and then counter sunk screws every 6 inches across. There's also two 3/8" eye-bolts running through both boards. The front and rear frames are attached with a 2x4 running from front to back, held in place with carriage bolts. Every joint has glue, except for the two boards that run from front to back.
I added another 3/8" eye bolt at each corner, so I can strap it down to the truck bed.
Once strapped down, I can grab the top of the rack and shake the whole truck.
It sits just above the roof line, with the rear being somewhere around 1/2" - 3/4" higher than the front.
Here's the first test, carrying eight 12ft boards of crown moulding. They are strapped down using the eye-bolts on the top, with roughly about 3ft overhang in the front and rear. At 60mph it was pretty solid and never shifted.
As for the color, I had some Red Mahogany wood stain that had been sitting in my garage for a while, and decided to make use of it. After it was complete, I gave it 2 coats of Spar Urethane.
To take it out of the truck, I just remove the carriage bolts from the side boards (4 bolts total) and it comes out in 4 pieces. The front and rear section, and the two side boards. It takes me a total of about 4 minutes to unstrap, unbolt, and remove it from the truck. I can store it up against a wall taking up about as much space as some fold up sawhorses.
I haven't tried it yet, but am curious to see how it will handle a canoe on top, especially considering the canoe will be catching a lot wind resistance.
So, I searched for home made truck rack on google images, got a few ideas, and got started. I wanted something that wasn't permanent, wasn't time consuming to set up, and something I could easily store in a shed without taking up too much room.
First, I thought that if I built a square frame close to the tailgate, I could strap the boards to that, and the other end to the roof of the truck. This is what I came up with.
I built it to sit flush against the floor and sides of the bed.
Once I put a board on top, I hated the idea and figured it would never work, or be very safe.
After rethinking my plan, this is what I came up with.
I ditched the diagonal supports on the back. I made another frame for the front. The top rail is a 2x4. This is supported by another 2x4 that I ripped down to 2x2, and then counter sunk screws every 6 inches across. There's also two 3/8" eye-bolts running through both boards. The front and rear frames are attached with a 2x4 running from front to back, held in place with carriage bolts. Every joint has glue, except for the two boards that run from front to back.
I added another 3/8" eye bolt at each corner, so I can strap it down to the truck bed.
Once strapped down, I can grab the top of the rack and shake the whole truck.
It sits just above the roof line, with the rear being somewhere around 1/2" - 3/4" higher than the front.
Here's the first test, carrying eight 12ft boards of crown moulding. They are strapped down using the eye-bolts on the top, with roughly about 3ft overhang in the front and rear. At 60mph it was pretty solid and never shifted.
As for the color, I had some Red Mahogany wood stain that had been sitting in my garage for a while, and decided to make use of it. After it was complete, I gave it 2 coats of Spar Urethane.
To take it out of the truck, I just remove the carriage bolts from the side boards (4 bolts total) and it comes out in 4 pieces. The front and rear section, and the two side boards. It takes me a total of about 4 minutes to unstrap, unbolt, and remove it from the truck. I can store it up against a wall taking up about as much space as some fold up sawhorses.
I haven't tried it yet, but am curious to see how it will handle a canoe on top, especially considering the canoe will be catching a lot wind resistance.