Other Ski's in Truck Bed

[Riding The Right Way]

Okay, so I'm new here .. But been reading for awhile now .. And I've read a few of the posts about loading skis in the bed of a truck .. But I haven't been able to find something close to what I was looking for ..
Basically I have Nissan Titan, short bed, (yes it's lifted so there will need to be some kind of half ramp that will pull out and rest on the tail gate to launch and load) and want to build a rack to carry them in the bed of my truck .. I have done all the measurements and have found out that if I use the utility track system in my truck that I will be able to load everything else under the skis (which is what I want) .. Have them up off the floor so I can still pack everything under them, even the ice chests .... I also want to be able to close my tail gate when the skis are not in the bed .. Oh, and I'm thinking to build it out of metal and and 2x4's .. One piece so it can be easily removable ..

So if anyone has any input on set up itself, please post ..

 

[infamy]

im not exactly sure what you mean, but ive seen these things for sale used on craigslist for super cheap compared to what they cost new. something like this could be used to load some skis.


http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...dsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:15,s:502&biw=1280&bih=620

http://www.discountramps.com/haulall-atv-truck-rack.htm

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:15&biw=1280&bih=620

 

[Waternut]

Not totally sure why everyone is so afraid of backing into the water with trucks but whatever. Anyway, there are quite a few guys on here that have built racks for the beds of their trucks. I'm all for simplicity myself. I put my ski in the plain bed and back it all the way into the water until the bed is at the water line. Just strap the ski in and call it a day.

When I went to Daytona, I had to carry a lot of stuff so I used my hitch hauler instead of putting the ski in the bed. Then the ski is even lower and further back so you wouldn't need to back in as far.

Just a few thoughts...

 

[whitca]

I put a makeshift rack made out of scrap 2x4's in the bed of my titan and anchored it with the utilitrack. I used conduit anchors (I believe are called ETG strapping) which fit perfectly in nissan's utilitrack. I can snap some pics of it tomorrow when it's light out if you'd like, although your design will probably differ a lot from mine with the lift and since mine was thrown together in 10 minutes. I'll attach the pics of those anchors though, they're pretty useful. They can be picked up at the home depot for less that $5 a bag.

 

[infamy]

Not totally sure why everyone is so afraid of backing into the water with trucks but whatever. Anyway, there are quite a few guys on here that have built racks for the beds of their trucks. I'm all for simplicity myself. I put my ski in the plain bed and back it all the way into the water until the bed is at the water line. Just strap the ski in and call it a day.

When I went to Daytona, I had to carry a lot of stuff so I used my hitch hauler instead of putting the ski in the bed. Then the ski is even lower and further back so you wouldn't need to back in as far.

Just a few thoughts...

my truck is lifted also and for me to back the truck up far enough to put the open tailgate in the water my truck has to be so far in that water is over my doorline. i dont think the water would be good on my leather seats.lol

 

[WILKEY]

yea definatly not backing my truck in salt water. you know what that would do to some weld rims hahaha. i dont wanna find out

 

[CJ407]

yea don't back in salt.. i just bolted a winch to my bed and dunk the rear end on lakes and winch it in...theres acouple threads on here about this

 

[Riding The Right Way]

I put a makeshift rack made out of scrap 2x4's in the bed of my titan and anchored it with the utilitrack. I used conduit anchors (I believe are called ETG strapping) which fit perfectly in nissan's utilitrack. I can snap some pics of it tomorrow when it's light out if you'd like, although your design will probably differ a lot from mine with the lift and since mine was thrown together in 10 minutes. I'll attach the pics of those anchors though, they're pretty useful. They can be picked up at the home depot for less that $5 a bag.

Yeah, If you could take come pictures that would be great .. And yeah I know most of the ones that I have seen are made out of like a wood stand in the bed ..
My buddy that is going to help me with it have a pipe bender and welder, and I want it to be strong and use it fur awhile .. Without having to really worry about it, thats why I'm going to use metal .. But pictures never hurt ..

my truck is lifted also and for me to back the truck up far enough to put the open tailgate in the water my truck has to be so far in that water is over my doorline. i dont think the water would be good on my leather seats.lol

Yeah my truck is the same way .. That's why I want the little bit of a ramp .... Plus I will more than likely have my dad's boat on the hitch when I'm lauching and towing ..

yea don't back in salt.. i just bolted a winch to my bed and dunk the rear end on lakes and winch it in...theres acouple threads on here about this

Yeah, I have found a few of them .. But none of them have the ski's off the bed and able to put items under the rack .... Beacuse I have to pack two ski's, a boat, normally 5 people, and 5 peoples worth a cloths and food in the bed .. And drive fur 5 hours .... haha

 

[red_ak_ranger]

I have a better pic somewhere but my truck is lifted 8 inches on 35s and I launch from the back.\

 

[Tyler Zane]

getting the job done with the danger ranger!

 

[whitca]

Here's the pic of my rack in my titan. I originally had it centered between the two utilitrack channels but offset it so I can fit a beach cart next to the ski so I can load and unload by myself.

 

[NVJAY775]

Something to keep in mind when backing any vehicle in to launch. Be very aware of the locations of axle, transmission vents. If you back in so the water level is above your vents..... Guess what. You now have water in your differential and possibly in your trans too. Some diffs use vent caps on the top of the diff and you are very limited as to how far you back in. Transmissions are the same. I removed the caps and ran lines with loops all the way up to the master brake cyl. Hard (and expensive) lesson learned some time ago.

 

[Riding The Right Way]

Here's the pic of my rack in my titan. I originally had it centered between the two utilitrack channels but offset it so I can fit a beach cart next to the ski so I can load and unload by myself.

Ha, it is pretty much my set up right now .. It take them back and forth to my buddys house .... But my plan is to use the top tracks, to get them off the floor .. And be able to have room to load everything under them ..

 

[Crab]

dont forget beer...

 

[whitca]

Ha, it is pretty much my set up right now .. It take them back and forth to my buddys house .... But my plan is to use the top tracks, to get them off the floor .. And be able to have room to load everything under them ..

I see. That would be pretty slick. Hope you plan to support it from beneath with something. I know if I tighten my ratchet straps tight enough using the clamps on the utilitrack on the sides of the bed they flex quite a bit. I'd imagine a rack with a 300+ lb. ski on it may do the same. A riding buddy of mine has a hydraulic platform like the ones you see people haul their snowmachines with above the bed of his F350 thats pretty slick. He welded up a new platform out of 2" square aluminum and put razor scooter wheels on it to hold 3 ski's. He can just pull a pin and switch between the ski platform and snowmobile platform. It's powered off a spare battery mounted in the bed and just slides off the back of the truck and lays flat on the ground. Off topic, but I guess it's an idea to make a rack that sits on top of the sides of the bed and uses the utilitrack to anchor it all the way around.

 

[OCD Solutions]

I have been talking about building a scaled down version of my old sled deck. It would only be as wide as the truck bed and flush with the top of the box leaving all the room under the bed still. The bunks would pivot at the back and slide down on bearings similar to the bunk system in FlashFX's surf van.



Edit: It only took 6 or so years but it did finally get built...

http://www.x-h2o.com/index.php?threads/the-ocd-truck-bed-ski-hauler-deck-tonneau-build.180588/

 

[NVJAY775]

I knew it was only a matter of time. His laoding set ups are super tidy. ^^^^

 

[fmx_Bud]

Here is my plan. $249.99 at good old harbor freight

 

[OCD Solutions]

That is pretty damn slick. I didn't find it at Harbor Freight online but it is available on Amazon for $369.97 it's a Larin TGL 500 Hitch Lift.

If it could be adjusted to pick from cart height up to a set of bunks in the bed it would be pretty sweet but still slow and prone to failure and maintenance.

I still bet a set of sliding and tilting ramps would be easier.?.?

Another cool shop cart along these lines is the CHASSI LHAT10 lift/hitch/AT10 Combo cart. Great for loading onto the truck at home but doesn't help you at the beach. It would also need a drill setup on the winch because hand cranking would get old real fast.

 

[Mr Bojangles]

Here is my ramp and winch setup. If I wasn't in salt all the time I would put a electric winch on there