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....

[Palf70Step]

It looks sturdy enough, just take the little loopty-loops off front and back. If anything you could cross brace from underneath and have just a little nubs to keep the lumber from sliding off the side.

[notsolo]

How often do are you going to need the rack, no doubt it's really handy to have. Any chance to stow it or hang it out of the way?

[bs46488]

Thanks for the feedback.

I took the plunge and got the grinder and welder out this weekend. I was able to finish the back half.

The front is a little wobbly compared to before. I'm still wondering if it needs some additional brace?

I'm going to add some removable stops on the top to keep the lumber from sliding around.

[Palf70Step]

That is a toughie on the front half. I don't see much in how you can brace it from underneath. It looks a lot longer than most I see hanging over the cab. I wonder if you might have to shorten the distance some to get rid of the extra flex. What is the total front to rear on that, 9 ft?

[bs46488]

Excuse my crude drawing, but I was wondering if bracing it like something like this would help?

I was thinking of using 3/16 flat bar stock around 2-3" thick. I'd stitch weld the stock onto the rack to make a larger gusset (it wouldn't be 1 solid piece, I'd have to weld it all together).



The rack is an odd shape. It was originally for a full size pick-up. 8ft bed with a 4 ft overhang in the front. I cut it down to my 5.5ft bed with the 4ft overhang.

[drewskiren]

Cut the front length off by about half and you won't be needing as much bracing. Do you really need it to go so far forward???

[Cape Codder]

Just a thought, The front part doesn't carry much weight unless carrying long stock. If you rigged some removable uprights at the four corners of the bed and carryed longer stock on edge instead of flat you really wouldn't need the front section.
I just have a rack behind the cab of my 6' bed and with the high verticle posts I can carry long stock and even have carried boats up there. I keep the gate closed and have post that stick into the rear bed pockets to tie the rear to.


Sorry no pics of it in use.