Homemade Truck Canoe Rack

Pickup trucks are problematic when it comes to hauling canoes. The bed's not long enough and the cab is higher than the tailgate so the canoe sits at a nose-up angle which can cause a lot of drag when you're driving at any sort of speed. The solution is a simple box frame you can sit in the bed of the truck.

  1. Frame

    • You can build a frame of wood or metal, bolted or welded together. All you have to do is measure the bed and build two rectangles, one for the front of the bed and one for the back. They should stand taller than the cab by six inches. The top cross member should be attached three inches below the uprights. The canoe will sit on the cross member and the extra upright sticking up will keep it from sliding off the sides. The cross member must be high enough so that the canoe has two or three inches of clearance above the cab. Attach a second cross member to the feet of the uprights. Build an identical frame for the rear of the pickup bed. Next attach two wood or metal beams front to back on either side of the frame at the same height as the cross members. Attach two more at the bottom. You may have to attach the lower cross members higher up to clear the wheel wells if they protrude into the pickup bed. Make sure all parts of the frame are bolted or welded tightly together so the frame does not shift when loaded.

    Padding

    • Next you'll need to pad the base of the frame so it doesn't scratch the truck bed. One solution is to wrap the frame where it contacts the bed with carpet remnants. Zip-ties work well for holding the pieces in place. Another way that works well if you built the frame from angle iron or metal tubing is to split a foam swimming “noodle” lengthwise. Use the kind with hollow center and cut halfway through. Then pull apart the noodle and wrap it over the metal support. Zip-ties will hold the noodle pieces in place and the foam protects the truck bed. Next pad the cross pieces at the top of the frame in the same way so you have a soft surface to lay the canoe upside down on. This helps it not to slide around.

    Tie-Down

    • The best way to tie down the canoe with this rig is with a set of at least four ratcheted tie-downs. First tie down the frame so that it doesn't slide around in the back of the pickup bed. Then, tie the canoe to the top of the rack so that one end hangs out over the pickup cab and the other hangs over the tailgate;. The canoe will cause less aerodynamic drag when tied level on top of the frame.. If the back of the boat hangs more than a foot past the tailgate, you'll need to tie a red flag or reflector to it.