Forum Discussion
DutchmenSport
Jul 27, 2017Explorer
First Travel Trailer with our Suburban:


First duly pick-up truck with foam supports under the canoe on the roof of the cab:

First duly pick-up truck with my own home made ladder rack, made out of chain link fence pipes, a few long screws, 2x4 wood planks, and wire:

Then we got a real shell, but it did not have a ladder rack. So I made one myself out of chain-link pipe, lots of flattening, and lots of drilling holes for self-tapping metal screws and such. I found lots of uses for those pipe too, but it did carry the canoe just fine!

Then we got a different truck and we got a different construction style shell with the ladder rack already installed. Now we finally arrived:

This shell has been on the last 2 trucks we've had. Unfortunately, I had to take the ladder rack off the shell, because the newest truck bed is over an inch and a half higher that the previous truck. With the ladder rack on, it's now too tall to fit inside my garage door. So I've removed the ladder rack.
We're also getting older and have not used the canoe in the last couple years. It's getting too heavy for me to left now. We've had it 13 years now!


First duly pick-up truck with foam supports under the canoe on the roof of the cab:

First duly pick-up truck with my own home made ladder rack, made out of chain link fence pipes, a few long screws, 2x4 wood planks, and wire:

Then we got a real shell, but it did not have a ladder rack. So I made one myself out of chain-link pipe, lots of flattening, and lots of drilling holes for self-tapping metal screws and such. I found lots of uses for those pipe too, but it did carry the canoe just fine!

Then we got a different truck and we got a different construction style shell with the ladder rack already installed. Now we finally arrived:

This shell has been on the last 2 trucks we've had. Unfortunately, I had to take the ladder rack off the shell, because the newest truck bed is over an inch and a half higher that the previous truck. With the ladder rack on, it's now too tall to fit inside my garage door. So I've removed the ladder rack.
We're also getting older and have not used the canoe in the last couple years. It's getting too heavy for me to left now. We've had it 13 years now!
About Travel Trailer Group
44,052 PostsLatest Activity: Oct 29, 2025