DIY Boat Rack for a Truck
- 1). Measure from the top of the truck cab walls to the top of the truck cab. Take that measurement and add seven inches to it. Measure that total on a 2-inch steel pipe, and cut four pieces measuring said total from the length of 2-inch pipe.
- 2). Measure your truck cab's width. Place the tape measure at the center of the top of one of the truck cab walls and run it to the center of the top of the other. Add four inches to this number. Measure the total number on the steel pipe, and cut two pieces measuring said total from the length of pipe with the saw.
- 3). Place two of the cut pipes from Step 1 parallel to each other, leaving a distance between them equal to the truck cab's width.
- 4). Place one of the cut pipes from Step 2 across the two pipes from Step 3. It should be 5 inches from the top of the pipes and perpendicular to them. Use a square and a level to confirm it is perpendicular. Tack weld the pipe at both ends. Create a full bead around the seam of the two pipes with the filler bar. Repeat the entire procedure for the other two cut pipes from Step 1. These will be the two supports for the rack.
- 5). Cut two 3-inch-by-3-inch 1/4-inch plates from the sheet of steel plating with your saw. Drill 1/8-inch holes on the outside edges of the metal plates.
- 6). Weld the plates from Step 5 to the bottom of the rack supports.
- 7). Place the rack on the truck bed walls and mark the bed walls through the holes you drilled in the plates. Put the rack aside. Drill through the marks you made on the bed walls. Install the rack using 1/8-inch steel screws.
- 8). Measure the distance between the rack's two supports. Add four inches to that number. Measure the total number on a steel pipe, and cut that length with your saw.
- 9). Align the pipe you cut in Step 8 with the rack supports, marking holes on each end of the supports so you can mount the pipe to the support with screws. Drill 1/4-inch holes through the marks you made. Mount the pipe to the rack supports by inserting a 5-1/4-inch bolt through the holes and securing it in place with a washer and a nut on both ends. This pipe supports the rack and lets you remove it from the truck easily.
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