ideas on a boat rack?

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Now that I am getting time to do little things with my welder, I am hoping to put the front receiver hitch on the front of my 96 GMC truck, as I tow a fifth wheel and I want to be able to carry a boat.Now I figure if I take what I have left over of the heavy 2" square tubing, I should be able to make a mounting point on the front hitch to attach some sort of long bar to, any ideas on a good design?I was thinking of a single long vertical piece going up to clamp to the transom, then either a roof rack on the extended cab or I have an old piece of rack from a ford truck made to bolt to the front of the box, that I could modify to fit this truck and then the boat would rest on it and the front support.Does this sound workable?Any pictures out there of this style?
Reply:Nothing for a boat, but I've done several similar things for work trucks. A few thoughts from building them. Single points tend to sway quite a bit on the receiver mounted front/ rear supports I've done or seen. It's one of the issues that we had with the rear support rack I posted. You would be better off with 2 receivers even if you only have one post. Tow hooks are great mounting points to use on something like this. Unbolt the hooks, mount the bracket either for receivers, or a pin type mount, and rebolt the hooks with longer bolts. The next thing would be some sort of rail between the front support and the roof rack. That would give you something to rest the boat on as you load/ unload it. You'll probably have a fair amount of weight out over the hood, and as soon as you un hook it, I can see it crashing down on the hood and denting it. The rack on the gray truck, the "rails" are bolted to the main rack, and to the front support. The guy wanted me to build it this way, since his guys were forever hitting tree limbs and bending the rack on the green truck thats welded solid. This way he could pull it off to repair it. The rails also give you additional spots to tie down the boat, and work great if you want to carry long stock that might not reach the front post. One other thing, I'm a big fan of some sort of front stop like whats on the racks shown. I see way too many guys loose stuff off the front of a rack, because they use bungees or don't get the straps as tight as they should. Attached Images.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:How big is the boat?  I had a 14 ft Lund on a crew cab Ford years ago. Loaded it bow fwd through the box of the truck.  Had a rack behind the cab with a small winch to pull it most of the way. A post off the front bumper with a tee on top had 2 eye bolts to fasten the front. I will look for a pic to scan if you like.  Fred
Reply:It will most likely be a 12 footer aluminium, with a fifth wheel on it appears the only way to carry it is if there is a rack coming off the front and something just either on the cab or the front of the box, as I don't want the fifth wheel to be able to catch it when in a sharp turn.Any pictures are appreciated.thanks.
Reply:thanks for all the help.
Reply:how tall is the 5th wheel? could you attach it vertically to the back of the 5th wheel? stern down bow up. back the 5th wheel down to waters edge. lower bow, move boat away, pull 5th wheel to parking lot.I agree that single bars have a tendency to wobble in a receiver. this can be prevented/fixed though. I can post pictures of the braces I made for my snowboard rack to prevent the wobble. I can also track down pictures of another receiver locking device that helps to eliminate the wobble. of corse shims can also do the same thing. I don't know if you've noticed, but there is usually a bit of a difference in the way a bed moves, as compaired to the cab of a truck. not much, but it's there. and it's enough to cause vibration/wear to anything connecting the two solidly. I would suggest if you're attaching something to the frame in the front, you should also attach what ever you're putting in the back to the frame as well. Maybe a head ache rack in the back to a T bar in the front.There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger