Input on fabricating a lumber rack...

[bs46488]

I would consider myself a "weekend warrior". I sit at a desk all day, yet in the evenings and weekends I like to work on projects around the house and in the garage. I am also the owner of a 2005 F150 Supercrew. For those of you that are not familiar with the model, it has 4 full size doors and a USELESS 5.5' truck bed. It is wonderful since I have young children and do daycare drop off in the morning, but the truck bed is the weakest link, I can barely carry a 2X4 home from the store.

So one day when I was bored at my desk job, I found a ladder rack on Craigslist for a full size, 8' bed pick-up truck, $80, needed a fresh coat of paint. I ended up buying it, taking my sawzall and welder and removed 31" off the rack. I even chopped 4" off the rack to get it to sit closer to my roofline. Then used some rattle can paint. Life is good! A couple of weekends ago I bought some 16' redwood boards to fix the railing on my deck. A project that previously would have been impossible prior to the rack.

So now to my problem.....my office was relocated and the new building has an attached parking garage, not an open parking lot like our old place. Clearance at the parking garage is 6'11", the height of my rack is just a little higher than that. (Trust me, it doesn't fit. I'm not going to admit to how I found out ). So now I have to find street parking every morning and walk back to the office. Some mornings its great, some mornings it sucks. I also have to go to meetings at other buildings and it is a big hassle.

I have been thinking about firing up the sawzall, grinder, and wheeling out the welder to modify the rack again; but I don't know how much or what parts I can take off without compromising the strength/structure of the rack. I want to cut off the upper "hoops", but I'm afraid that might compromise the strength of the front bar. The front already has these little gussets, does it need bigger ones under?

Thanks for your input....