Ladder rack ideas - mason dump truck

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My landlord has a couple mason dump trucks with Rugby dumb bodies like the one pictured below. He asked me if I could build him a ladder rack for it and I said of course. It has the pockets on the top of the rails for lumber sides that he thought we could use as a place to drop it in. He wants to have some sort of side to it (either lumber or expanded steel mesh) so he can use it to haul away brush from job sites. The rear cross bar also needs to be removable for tall items. The side bars will be straight up and down so I need some ideas for triangulating the frame for strength without taking up too much spaceI have a basic understanding of what I'm going to do here but wanted to see if anyone had done a rack on a body like this before, and had any tips or ideas to share
Reply:how many vertical posts? where will they be located on the bed? now far forward do they want to rack to go forward of the bed? how many ladders are they planning on carrying, and at what lengths? Is there potential for verticle clearance issues when they want to dump the bed if they add another 4'+ to the top of the front of the bed?How often are they planning on using the rack? do they want it quick removal, or perminant?what are the size of the post holes already in the bed?There are no problems. There are only solutions. It's your duty to determine the right one.Hobart Handler 210Airco 225 Amp MSM Stinger
Reply:I did one for a guy a while back but don't have any picts unfortunately. I used 2" square tube because I mounted it with 2" recievers front and back so he could remove the rack when he wanted to use the dump for dirt/stone and not have the loader operator F up the rack like they did to one he had permanently mounted on his old dump. He chose to use a simple one post rack rather than have one that went all the way across. so it was sort of like an upside down "L" with uprights added. He uses it to carry 2x4's or rebar. The plan is later to do a front post as well, so he can carry longer stuff also. I also mounted 2 recievers sideways so he can store the rack along side the body when he doesn't want them over the bed..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