Pickup Rack?

[tvgordon]

I've been giving some thought into trading in my pickup with an 8' bed for one with an extended cab and a 6 1/2' bed.

I have a couple of questions though. 
What's the best way to hold sheet goods in place?  I know that thicker material can set up on the tailgate, but for drywall or thinner material the tailgate will need to be down.

Also, does anyone know of any good racks available to carry hardwood?  Lately I've been buying 100 to 150 bd. ft. at a time and some of the boards are 10' long.  Ideally the rack would be easily removed and possible to load from the ground.  I thought about buying a trailer but I don't really have a place to store it between trips to the hardwood stores.

Tom.

 

[robtonya]

I have an 8' bed too, but I was looking at A.R.E commercial grade bed cap. Here is a link
http://www.4are.com/product/dcu/

They have alot of interesting stuff, including roof racks with a pretty high weight limit.

 

[pteubel]

I have a KargoMaster rack for my truck. 1700lb weight limit. Pictured here is about 400bft of pine I had cut on my sawmill. It has a total of 4 cross bars, so it can provide good support for fragile sheet goods.

I wouldn't say it's easy to remove (4 bolts and two people), but it's off now because #1) I am not using it or plan to for awhile and #2) it was costing me 2mpg due to wind resistance. Hey, diesel is expensive!

If you want something that is easily removable (by yourself), check out TracRac.

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[Tom the Remodeler]

I use the Kargomaster racks on my Tundra, it has 12' of support with integral crossbars at 4' spacing, with additional crossbars available. As far as weight goes, the racks are rated for something like 1700lbs, so probably more than your pickup is rated for. I've been reasonably pleased, though my racks are rusting. I bought the newest series, which are supposed to be galvanized to prevent rust, but 1 1/2 years later some wear points are rusting. Not a big deal to me, as all my truck is supposed to do is transport myself and my equipment to and from jobsites, but if I were aesthetically conscious I'd maybe look into aluminum racks. Otherwise I've been very happy!

www.kargomaster.com

 

[Tinker]

I have Trac Rack with the extension over the cab.  When i am not using it for long boards i slide the back section all the way forward.  that way, when I am loading fertilizer and grass seed, i don't keep bumping my head.  It has fittings that can be slid in or out to fit your load.  i can set them to handle sheet goods or narrow boards.  Mostly, i set them to handle my 14 foot orchard ladder.  I set the front clips close together to fit the narrow top of the ladder and wide apart at the back to fit the spread legs of same ladder.

I don't like to get too heavy with sheet goods on the rack, as my pickup is only short wheelbase half ton and if I get on I-84, the wind does give some feeling of lift.  Especially on a windy day.

Tinker

 

[Dane]

I am a general contractor and tend to carry anything and everything.  Although not ideal, I have managed to build a 2000 sq ft house using a truck with only a 4 1/2 ft bed.  I couldn't have done it without this thing:http://www.realtruck.com/lund_hitch_hand_truck_bed_extender/R14843P1C1T.html  Carrys 750 lbs and I have moved 16 ft stock and 12 ft drywall in the bed with it.

 

[tvgordon]

I have an 8' bed too, but I was looking at A.R.E commercial grade bed cap. Here is a link
http://www.4are.com/product/dcu/

They have alot of interesting stuff, including roof racks with a pretty high weight limit.

Thanks for the link, my wife has something similar on her company truck (I think she paid around $1300 for it).  I have a cap on my truck now, but might not get one for a new truck.  I'm guessing you have a Tundra?  That's what my wife is driving, double cab, 4x4, TRD, SR5.  I've been looking at them for a while, but since I've driven hers a few times I'm trying to figure out how to come up with $30,000+ to buy one.

As far as roof racks go, I like the TracRac.  I seems once the rails are installed, the racks are quick to remove and replace.  The kargomaster looks a little too heavy duty and permanate for my needs.

But the lund bed extender might be all I need.  Easy to remove and material loads at waist height.  Is it easy to secure the load?  I couldn't tell by the photos.

Thanks for all your help,
Tom.

 

[chris mann]

I have a 6 1/2' bed F-150.  I built a wood rack to protect the cab up front, but nothing in the back.  It's easy to pop out if needed and when the wife borrows the truck and parks in the parking garage, it only costs a few bucks to replace.

Anything under 12' just goes in the bed with the tail gate down (with it down the 6 1/2' bed is now more like 8 1/2').  A tie down wrapped around the material and secured to the hitch in the back and one in the front of the bed keeps everything secure.  12' and longer gets rested on the rack and the top of the gate.  Again, two tie downs wrapped around the material and then ratcheted tight, keep it all secure.

I've been doing it this way for a few years now.  Have yet to run into anything it can't handle.  A few hundred board feet of hardwood, a bunch of LVL's, etc.  The only time I've been worried is hauling the 30 sheets of 12' drywall on a saturday cause the estimate was wrong.  But you'd be amazed how far it can bend w/o breaking. 

I'd love to get an a.r.e commercial cap at some point to make hauling all my tools easier though.  But that budget keeps getting eaten into by tools.

 

[robtonya]

I'm trying to figure out how to get $30,000 dollars too for a Tundra. I bought my wife the nice vehicle, and I drive a 2006 GMC basic contractor style truck. She got the $40,000 dollar Toyota Sienna though. I was wanting a cap because when I haul my tools around, I don't want to worry about theft, or rain, and I also haul alot of sheet goods too. So I was searching on the internet and the DCU caught my eye. I liked it, and asked for a quote, but have yet to here from them. I also liked the thing that is bolted (?) to the bed of the truck, it had a good weight rating, and once the cap was on, you wouldn't have to duck down to get in the bed to retreive something. I am 6'3" and 230 lbs. so I don't really like to crawl around in small areas alot.

I liked the KargoMaster too. I don't think there is any thing Peter Teubel does that isn't manly. If I was driving his big diesel around with wood stacked like that, I might grow a few more chest hairs.  ;D

 

[Concrete]

I secure the load with a ratchet strap around the material and the extender.  I have driven considerable distances with heavy loads like that and it doesn't budge.

 

[pteubel]

I liked the KargoMaster too. I don't think there is any thing Peter Teubel does that isn't manly. If I was driving his big diesel around with wood stacked like that, I might grow a few more chest hairs.  ;D

Ha!  You've got THAT wrong. While my wife dresses up in full Patriots regalia (American football) and yells at the TV when they are playing making a total spectacle of herself (all 4'11", 97lbs), I'm in the other room hemming her skirts. I'm pretty good with a sewing machine and even have a nice 4-thread serger machine. In fact, one of my future projects will be a nice big sewing table that can house both of my machines on lifts.

 

[Michael Kellough]

I liked the KargoMaster too. I don't think there is any thing Peter Teubel does that isn't manly. If I was driving his big diesel around with wood stacked like that, I might grow a few more chest hairs.  ;D

Ha!  You've got THAT wrong. While my wife dresses up in full Patriots regalia (American football) and yells at the TV when they are playing making a total spectacle of herself (all 4'11", 97lbs), I'm in the other room hemming her skirts. I'm pretty good with a sewing machine and even have a nice 4-thread serger machine. In fact, one of my future projects will be a nice big sewing table that can house both of my machines on lifts.

Well, at least you wear the pants  ;D

Seriously Peter, is there anything you can't do?

 

[greg mann]

I liked the KargoMaster too. I don't think there is any thing Peter Teubel does that isn't manly. If I was driving his big diesel around with wood stacked like that, I might grow a few more chest hairs.  ;D

Ha!  You've got THAT wrong. While my wife dresses up in full Patriots regalia (American football) and yells at the TV when they are playing making a total spectacle of herself (all 4'11", 97lbs), I'm in the other room hemming her skirts. I'm pretty good with a sewing machine and even have a nice 4-thread serger machine. In fact, one of my future projects will be a nice big sewing table that can house both of my machines on lifts.

Well, at least you wear the pants  ;D

Seriously Peter, is there anything you can't do?

He can't fit into his wife's Patriot regalia! ;D

 

[robtonya]

Well, I am surprised. Nothing wrong with that though. Maybe you can make a chainsaw powered sewing machine, then you'd have the manly points back. ;D

 

[pteubel]

Well, at least you wear the pants  ;D

Seriously Peter, is there anything you can't do?

Yea...plenty. If not, life would be pretty boring.

 

[tvgordon]

I am a general contractor and tend to carry anything and everything.  Although not ideal, I have managed to build a 2000 sq ft house using a truck with only a 4 1/2 ft bed.  I couldn't have done it without this thing:http://www.realtruck.com/lund_hitch_hand_truck_bed_extender/R14843P1C1T.html  Carrys 750 lbs and I have moved 16 ft stock and 12 ft drywall in the bed with it.

I took your advice and bought the Lund.  I just got it today, it seems that it will work well.

Tom.

 

[EcoFurniture]

I would never buy a pick up for my business... We had one at my former workplace and it really pi... me off that there was no place to securely fasten any high end cabinets to it. The next thing was the exposure to the elements when transporting stuff in the rain. Ok, you could put a canopy on, but who wants to crawl into it and lift heavy things in out out without putting out your back? I also noticed that when on the way to the jobsite you just couldn't stop at a store and pick something up without having to worry that someone would grab your tools and run... Maybe it's just me, but I never liked trucks.

Now I'm finally in charge of my own company and really enjoy being able to buy what I want  ;D  My old boss always said that festool wouldn't be worth it--now I have them ;D

As for the company van: I'm now driving a VW Eurovan with a 1.5 ton rating! Nothing is getting wet anymore and I can load up the night before I have to go out on a install. Not to mention the big side panels for advertising and the price I payed for it (well below $10 000)
http://www.ecofurniture.ca/econews/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/img_2695.jpg

Sorry for hijacking this topic