Built me a metal carrier for my truck.

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Well I was getting tired of having to pay the metal store to cut my metal to fit in the bed of my truck so I cured the problem. I built a metal carrier that will alow me to carry full 20 or 24 foot length's of metal. This is the 2 racks that fit the bed I still have to make the front rack that will bolt to the front bumper.After measuring the hole size in my bed I found that they don't make 2"x 1 3/8" rectangle tubing and 2" x 1 1/2 would be too big so I had to go with 2"x1" 11 gauge.This is what the metal rack looks like after you get it home from the metal store.This is the metal measured and cut and ready for welding.This the the racks welded up and needing a little final touches.The first thing that I needed to do was figure out how I can keep the bottom stationary when they are set in the holes in the bed. After looking down the holes I noticed there are 9/16" holes in the bottom. I just need to weld a couple 9/16" guide pins on the bottom I am set.This is looking down in the holes in the bed of the truck.I quickly found out that finding 9/16 diameter rod was tough so I had to improvise. I found a couple old bilts in my old bolt box that had 5/8 hex heads. All I had to do now was to turn them down to 9/16 and make them round. I chucked the threaded part in my cordless drill and spun them against my disc sander until they where nice and round and just the right size.Here is the old bolts.Here they are after sanding them down.And here they are after I cut them down and fit them in the end peices that will be welded to the bottom of the tubing.After welding the alignment dowel to the bottom I had to shim the sides so it would be the perfect fit. I slid the racks in the holes and made sure they where perfectly vertical using a level then I measured how much shim I needed on each side to get the perfect fit I was looking for.Here is what the bottom end looks like with the added shims welded in place to keep the racks vertical.Here is the final product. I just have one more part to make and that is the front rack that bolts to the front bumper. I will post the front rack carrier when I get it finished.Last edited by 737mechanic; 07-19-2008 at 08:24 PM.
Reply:Great Idea.  I never thought of going over my cab, even though my full rack goes over my cab.  Would longer gusset make a difference?Nice, thanks for the Idea.  Look forward to seeing the front rack.
Reply:Looking good. For the little general purpose stakes we used to weld a plate around the stake (insert) at a level where the plate could help bear some of the load where it rests on the top bed rail. With your knack for details should be a snap to do.
Reply:Thats a good idea Sandy, I briefly thought about that and probably should have done that. I am sure the bottom of the bed holes are not designed to support much weight but I generally only get 2 or 3 pieces of metal at a time.
Reply:Looks great bro!My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:Looks great and can be functional for carrying other things!John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Great job,I love it when people make their own stuff.pro-level dumpster diver                                     Hobart 125EZ
Reply:nice job
Reply:Originally Posted by stevinatorGreat job,I love it when people make their own stuff.
Reply:Looks good, nice work and I like the miters on the corners.Now the bad news. You may want to rethink the rack being on the drivers side, and shift it to the pass side. The reason is that the front support wil b inyour line of sight more on the current side. It will block more of your view driving up there than it would on the other side. I know this because we had one truck with uprights on both front corners and the drivers side one was a PITA. When we built the rack for the newer truck we only used the pass side for the rack support. Since its temporay it may not matter much. You may also find that it's a LOOONG way between the front bed rack and the front bumper suport. On thin mateials you may have a lot of sag and it may bang on the roof. My guess is that span is over 8-10' on that truck. We had similar issues with one truck we modified temporarily while we were working on the new truckrack. (needed a temp long rack to get the steel for the new rack.) Our solution was top get a 20' 2x4 and used that as a support under the steel. Strapped the 1/4" flat to that and no more banging on the roof of the cab. Rebar is just as bad and thats what we use to haul rebar on the "temp" rack now.You may also think about making a "shelf" on the front rack and adding a stop to keep things from sliding forward.I did'nt look that close, do you have loops to tie straps down to the uprights? We had at least 4 loops on each upright so ratchet straps could be wrapped around materials and tied to the uprights on each end.Good luck.
Reply:Tried the rack for the first time the other day and it worked perfect. Picked up a piece of 24 foot 1-1/4 DOM tubing and it was a nice drive. Here are the pics.Pic of the front rack where it bolts to the bumper. After bolting it to the bumper I welded the nuts on the inside so I can take it on and off without using a backup wrench and having to reach under and behind the bumper everytime.Here are a couple other pics just showing how nice a 24 foot stick of tubing rides along. Attached Images
Reply:Excellent work and great idea, I'm going to have to build one of those for my chevy. It's great that it keeps the bed clean and ready to haul everything else.ER70S-2
Reply:nice work.  How stable is the front rack with a load.  Did you consider a receiver for the front? Might consider some roof protection, for when you are unloading, a little sag will leave marks and dings.
Reply:Looks good. I noticed it migrated to the pass side. You will need to remember to wrap something around thinner materials like flat stock to keep it from banging on the roof and F'ing up the paint.I also see you use the duct tape method of attaching small items/quantities to the rack. Just another bit of advise. The tape will leave  residue on the rack thats not the easiest to remove without solvents. The solvents may mess up the nice paint job you did. The tape residue collects dirt and crud big time. (We have yet to get the idiots at work to understand any of those concepts on the newly painted trucks) The best solution I have found is a couple of loops that you can hook a short ratchet strap to. For small items/quantities wrap the strap around the bundle and have the bundle away fron the upright a bit, the ratchet strap can then cinch down around the group and pull it tight up against the vertical to secure it. (Now our only problem is to get the idiots to  1) remember to completely remove the straps or tighten them when not in use. 2) To not use those loose starps for other things like secureing loose items on another truck, 3) if they do PUT THEM BACK in the correct truck)Thanks for posting the finished picts.