My extended-cab pickup has a short, narrow bed that won’t carry a full sheet of plywood flat on the bed. So I built a rack that fits on top of the bed. It consists of two pairs of beams with cleats and notches that self-lock to control the location. Place the cleats so that the outboard pair bump against the bed rail at the front and the tailgate at the back.

To use, simply pop the rack in place and secure it to the bed of the truck (I use bungee cords to tie the lengthwise beams to cargo hooks in the bed). Put the load on the rack, and tie it all down either to hooks on the bed rails or inside the bed.

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Drawings by Jim Richey.

Drawings by Jim Richey.

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