Rail Mount Fishing Rack!

I used a lot of advice that I found on this forum and was able to construct a fishing rod rack in my bed! I wanted to be able to keep my rods secure in the bed and out of the cab. The cross bars are made out of 1" square aluminum tubing that are attached to the bed rails using right angled pieces of aluminum (not sure what the name is). The right angled pieces are fixed to the rail using the T-bolts that I found at fastenal using info I read here! Since the crossbars are attached to the rails I can move it to any position that I want in the bed. I mounted a 4-rod rack on it for now, with plans to add different styles of rod holders in the future to hold fly rods and such.

 

Dang man thats great! Ill have to post a picture of mine me and my dad made. Same rod racks, but mine is hinged. Great job!

 

honestly cant believe that hasnt come to me. good stuff though i think i may just make one where to pole holders go vertically up the bed rail so they dont take up all that room

 

I have been thinking about a rod holder for a couple of weeks. I like this set up but I usually have some kids and some of my brothers in the bed of the truck while I am on my way to fishing. I was thinking more of the line of the pvc pipe rod holder style, but I really like how this one looks , nice job!!!

 

Thanks guys this was my first attempt. I have a literider cover and the rods are completely covered when the cover is rolled out. One thing I want to do is cut the right angle pieces down so I can raise the bar as currently they sit really low in the bed. The one downside is that it does take over the bed making it difficult to put other stuff or people in there. If I do need to put other stuff in I can slide the rails back/forward to get them out of the way. I also considered doing it vertically, but I have a lot of big saltwater setups that need a lot of space.

 

Looks great man. Im in the process of figuring something out for my rods as well. Also thinking of going vertical as others have stated here but your setup looks awesome.
Do you mind if I use your picture to illustrate what I have in mind?

Very interested in seeing the hinged setup, Sounds like it would be exactly what I want to do.

 

looks cool, but why not make the front rail shorter so the rods fit over a closed tailgate? If they're angled that high, then there really isn't any way another car or person will bump them or anything, and then your bed doesn't have to be open and you can safely leave you're day's catch in back. my $0.02

 

Go right ahead! I mainly didn't go vertical because I have literider cover and want to be able to 'hide' the rods in the bed if needed. I was also thinking that you could lay rods horizontally, but in a vertical configuration so they go up one side of the bed wall.

Most of my rods are 2 piece (the one in photo is 1 piece) so I should have no problem with the tailgate up and cover on. I was playing with that 1-piece rod in the bed yesterday and if I angle it over the tailgate, I found that I can close the cover and the rod tip just sneaks out between the gate/cover. I will end adjusting the crossbar height or adding additional rod holder configurations that allow me to get 1 piece rods up over the tailgate. I will post back when I make adjustments.

 

Looks nice!

I've been trying to come up with something for a while now for mine. Problem is I have a cap. With the current set up I have it's a pain to get them out. I almost have to climb on the tailgate to lift them out. It's a shame too because the current set up functions well otherwise.

As a test (not pictured above) I reversed the holders so that the loop is in the front (closest to the cab) and the hook is in the rear (closest to the tailgate) This has made it much easier to get the the rods into the truck but harder to get them out w/o getting up on the tailgate.

 

Great little rack. I'm looking for some solution that allows me to pack gear, and then have the rods project over the top of the gear. All of the rods I usually pack are 7' or larger, so the hard travel cases I have only fit diagonally in the bed and stick out up over the tailgate.

 

Here's an example of what I've been wanting to do. I'd like the rack to be able to swing out towards the drivers side so that it can be easier to load/unload the rods.

 

SXDX - That looks like a sweet idea too! I wanted me rods horizontal so I didn't have to worry about driving around town or on the highway. Another option is you could take those rod holders, turn them 45 or 90 degrees and mount them on the side rails. That way the tips are lower and you can access them from one side.