# Side rails on pickup question (Have you seen the BackRack Siderails?)



## Soilarch (Mar 18, 2009)

Who has, or has seen, these?







Thinking of making my own. Don't really want/need to buy a trailer. For it to be big enough to be worth the trouble it would have to also be heavy duty....a.k.a. worth the same as my truck. Figure with these bumped up to a full 12" height I could get really close to a full cord. These, a safety rack, and some helper springs come in under $1K. 

My truck is a 2500HD with a payload around 3100#

Trouble is I don't see how the normal no-drill anchor stuff would work.





Any ideas?


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## thejdman04 (Mar 18, 2009)

Dont see much use in the sie rails, wont help you that much. As for the back rack make it out of mesh so you know them smaller logs wont hit your back window.


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## Soilarch (Mar 18, 2009)

thejdman04 said:


> Dont see much use in the sie rails, wont help you that much. As for the back rack make it out of mesh so you know them smaller logs wont hit your back window.



Even if they were a foot tall? They, combined with a back rack (which WOULD be mesh), net me another 40 cubic feet if I'm lucky.


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## rx7145 (Mar 19, 2009)

I have home made ones on my truck. My uncle made them for his truck and then gave them to me.


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## turnkey4099 (Mar 19, 2009)

thejdman04 said:


> Dont see much use in the sie rails, wont help you that much. As for the back rack make it out of mesh so you know them smaller logs wont hit your back window.



Agree. They are nothing more than a yuppie dress up option. For practical use one needs real racks and a real headache rack with either bars spaced close or mesh to keep chunks out of the window.

Harry K


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## 371groundie (Mar 19, 2009)

i have a home made copy of one of these:

http://www.mainetruckracks.com/

still looking for some screening to put in the front. they are pretty sturdy. if you read the testimonials one guy talks about it acting as a roll bar when he rolled the truck. i aint worried about breaking it, thats for sure.


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## dnf0929 (Mar 19, 2009)

Those BackRacks are pretty in pictures but pretty useless for firewood and just about everything else I would imagine. I've seen some pretty sharp ones made with pressure treated lumber and if you want to get real fancy use some Trex or GeoDeck composite boards. I'm still shopping for a wood hauling truck but I'll post pictures of my creation.


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## Richard_ (Mar 19, 2009)

http://www.protech.net/


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## NHtech (Mar 19, 2009)

here's what i did for side boards when i don't need them they just slide right out and i just made them out of stuff laying around 

before 






after 







and a pic while i was staining them





don't know if that helps but it is cheap


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## husky455rancher (Mar 19, 2009)

i made mine outta 3/4" plywood and 2x4's for the stake pockets. theyre 18" tall off the bed rail.

sorry no pics this weekend ill have to take a bunch of pics of all my crap i never have pics to post.


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## trailmaker (Mar 19, 2009)

A company called Rack-It makes one with a mesh headache rack and rails. More functional and better looking IMOhttp://www.rackitinc.com/sportrack.html


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## dave_dj1 (Mar 19, 2009)

an FYI to all, back rack also makes a wire mesh headboard (i have one on my gmc)
I think your idea of adding sideboards similar to the back rack ones is cool, maybe not quite a foot tall though as some logs might escape? maybe 8" or so?
i like fabbing my own stuff.


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## Wood Doctor (Mar 20, 2009)

I made these using ash:















They increase the amount of wood I can carry safely at highway speeds by about 30%.


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## Soilarch (Mar 20, 2009)

Doctor, your woodworking skills are beyond mine, but I definitely like your pinned joint. (Some guys I know get very particular about how you use words like "mortise & tenon" and "dovetail"....so I'll leave it at "joint")


I've seen the mesh BackRack headache rack and it is what I intended to get. Simple, clean, and priced well and having somewhere to hang/strap rachets, come-alongs and grease guns would be nice on the farm!


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## cjcocn (Mar 20, 2009)

Soilarch said:


> ..... Trouble is I don't see how the normal no-drill anchor stuff would work.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I made my own back rack and covered the front portion with expanded metal to protect my windows.

Drilling was not a problem for me, but if I had my heart set on using those anchors I would do one of two things.

1. Take off the anchor part, dump the rest, and buy some threaded rod to make them longer so that they came up through the top of my side rails.

2. Take the easy way out, build my side rails so that the stake pockets were only covered by flat steel, cut out the required holes in the flat steel, and attach the anchors as normal. They should be long enough so that the 1/8" or so flat steel would not prevent them from working as they were intended to.


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## BeeVee (Mar 22, 2009)

I welded up my own .




I find that the side rails are very useful for tying stuff down .
The headache rack is not for ornament but as an anchor point to hook/hang/tie pulleys , come-a-longs, winches, chain blocks or rope to pull things out of the bush, yard, etc. ,....I've pulled everything from trees, deer and moose with my head ache rack .
I hafta build an easily attachable /detachable mesh screen for the part covering the rear window .....I do a lot of driving on frozen lakes and would like another means of egress, should the truck fall partway through the ice .


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