DIY Truck Rack

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rootbeer

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I wish I was a welder or had a good friend that could, but I don't. I've been scouring the local buy and sells for a cheap rack for my truck so I could carry my 1236 and get it out of the bed of my truck. New racks just are not in the budget for the foreseeable future.

I've looked around on the internet at a few racks that people have made out of wood, but I'm wondering what people here have done.

Would be great to see some pictures of truck racks that people have built.
 
Have you given any thought to metal pipe with threaded connectors ???
I don't know how your budget is or your skill set, but it can be done.
you would have to put together a drawing, figure out how much pipe you need
as well as connectors, then go price it out.
I have seen some nice ones made out of wood also.
of course the weight of your boat dictates the structure as well as how you gonna load and unload it.
boat rack.jpg

This is also something that might help. https://www.simplifiedbuilding.com/store/components/kee-klamp.html
but, the connections could cost more than a custom welded rack.
 
I've used similar clamps in the past on much lighter weight stuff. Ones with a set screw don't hold the pipe tight enough, even if you tighten it so that it dimples the pipe. I ended up drilling a hole in the pipe so that the set screw goes all the way through the pipe wall. That worked to keep the pipe from slipping out of the connector, but it still wiggled with about 45° of total play. There's nothing wrong with properly built wood structures and without a welder, that or threaded pipe would be my route. Black pipe is relatively cheap, but you'll need to prime and paint it as soon as you get it. There's a pic of a 10" piece and floor flange in my scrap rod holder thread that has quite a bit of rust already. Every speck of that rust was within 8 hours of purchase. It could have been from humidity, but if it rained at all overnight, it wasn't enough for me to notice in the morning.
Good luck on that project
 
I made one for my truck. I actually made it so it's a little modular. I had an older rack from a utility body truck that I cut the legs off of. Then I built my own rack for the front and rear of the bed, just wide enough to flop the other frame on top of. Drilled some holes and bolt it together to make a full rack with an extension over the cab.

The front and rear portions I built are nearly the same, except for the wire mesh on the front, and some accommodations for the bed liner. I used a combination of clamps (for truck caps) and some "L" bolts that I made that attach to the stake pockets in the bed. Very secure. I made the "L" bolts by welding two different bolts together, one long body welded the cap of a heavier bolt. I can disassemble the whole thing in about 15 min if needed. Normally I leave the front headache rack on, and the top rack and back frame are stored at the house.

I also cut a bunch of chain links in half and welded them to the frame to make additional tie-down locations.

I'd guess it took about 1 week of nights to complete it.

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Good luck!
 

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