Transporting Plywood

I have to pick up some sheets of plywood for a house remodeling project and threw together this quick lumber rack for my DCSB. It is made out of a single sheet of 3/4 ply and is held together with glue and brad nails.

It is possible to transport a single sheet of plywood in the sort bed, but I don't want to put much more weight than that on the tailgate.



The rack consists of 5 parts: two rails, two cross bars, and the rear panel.



The rails fit into the slots in the rear and floor of the bed, this holds them in place. They are notched to fit over the tailgate and don't put any weight on it.



The cross bars then drop into slots in the top of the rails and fit tightly into the pockets in the bed.



Finally the rear panel is located by some dowels to make alignment easier, and then held in place by two knobs. The top of this panel is rounded over so you can lever a sheet of plywood up on the edge and slide it into the bed without damaging the plywood. It is positioned slightly less than 8' from the far end of the rail to make it easy to transport 8' dimensional lumber.



I use a couple of ratchet straps to hold the rack in place. The two rails fit together for storage and the whole thing takes very little space in the garage.

 

Looks like good work there.

 

Nice!!

 

Good job!

Painting the end of it red was a nice touch.

 

Nice work. I worry about my tailgate too. Already pretty beat up. Need to get the reinforcement plating. Forgot who makes it...

 

http://mobtownoffroad.com/product/tailgate-skin/

I'm gonna get one some day.

 

I have the relentless fab tailgate skin works awesome! Super stout tailgate now.

One of these also works very well too

 

amazing idea indeed, and for $60... I'll be getting one of these.

 

has anyone damaged tail gate because of a heavy load over it? Not careless denting, but damage directly from too much weight?

 

Definitely seen a few people with bent tailgates from loading motorcycles etc. I didnt even think about it, ~120-150 bucks when i bought my relentless full wrap skin.

 

Awesome job and write up @slomatt. Do you have a cut list? How many panels have you loaded? Good stuff!

 

Bed extenders are pretty handy, but unless you have a high clearance bumper I'd recommend looking around a bit for one with an angled arm. That 90 degree bend back there looks like a curb check waiting to happen if you're backing into a steep driveway with a heavy load. I got one of these:

Best Choice Products SKY1386 Pick Up Truck Bed Hitch Extender (Steel Extension Rack for Boat Lumber Long Loads)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008YMTCNC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also cut out a piece of thin plywood that lays on the bottom of my toolbox and put some brackets and bolts and such in it so the bed extender can be broken down and stored securely in there. I think it was worth the effort, there's been a few times I've needed it unexpectedly and the garage was far away.

 

Yes, the plastic is pretty much the only thing supporting it. There are metal kits which help with this.

https://www.relentlessfabrication.c...ma-tail-gate-reinforcement?variant=6192257284
https://mobtownoffroad.com/product/tailgate-skin/

 

Thanks, I designed this on a scrap of paper and don't have a cut list. I actually just threw it together this weekend and have not loaded it up yet, but it should be able to handle significant weight.

 

I just pop the tailgate off when I haul motorcycles if I think weight is going to be a problem.

 

I used a similar concept when I went to Patterson Louisiana to pick up my boat. I made mine so it would nest together for the trip down.

Boat is 12' long for reference

 

Wow, that boat fit!

Those tailgate skins are awesome. The shipping to Hawaii is murder. It costs more to ship than the product. Haha. FML.

 

Nice Job! I need to do this. I see what looks like 1.5 inch pieces on the top of the long runners minus the area the cross pieces cross over. What is the width of the long pieces before adding the 1.5 wide pieces?

 

Here are some pictures of the lumber rack in use.

 

A lot of time and energy just to transport a few boards.

I’d be getting delivery or a trailer.
Its still a ton of weight on the tailgate.