Stake pocket kayak rack

DESIGN

The rack had to be in two separate parts so we could move it back past our travel trailer when it's parked in the driveway. We decided to make it out of 2 x 4s and framing hardware. Here's the plan...



... the side elevation (left shown)...



... and the end elevation (rear shown).




The stake pockets all have sockets in the bottom. Turns out the rears are slightly tighter than the fronts, so I drew plans for those too.



And elevations.

CONSTRUCTION

Before I made any of the rack's actual parts, I cut a test stake out of a short piece of 2 x 4. This turned out to be an excellent use of time and material because it helped me to set up tools and refine

methods.




The stakes Were the first parts I made. I set up a stop block on the mitre saw...



... and cut the four stakes




I marked the rear stakes 1.5" from the bottom...



... and, with the band saw, removed the 1/8" that would allow them to fit in the rear stake pocket sockets.




Next, the sides of the stakes were removed...



... and the four stakes were cut.




Because the stake pocket holes have rounded corners, the stakes need to be rounded. For this I used a router table with a 3/8" roundover bit.



Stakes rounded.




Here are the stake feet.




Stake feet and crossbars attached.




Time for paint. As with most all of our outdoor lumber projects we're using semi-gloss exterior latex. Three coats... durable finish, easy cleanup. Bill, you watching?




Painting complete - time for another test fit.




Mounting the forward tie-down rings.



The front of the rack is secured to holes in the leading edge of the bed. This is a backup measure in case the front of the rack wants to lift.




We already had two sets of Thule Hull-A-Port PRO folding kayak racks (I just call them J-racks). We bought a third set for Emily's kayak.




There's just enough room to fit a 2 x 4 between the carriage bolts. The bolts, however, are too short AND they're metric (M6). We looked for replacements so we could use the stock knobs but nothing was

readily available so we converted to 1/4-20 and replaced the knobs with washers and nylock nuts. Here are the outer J-racks installed.

LOADING

We started with Dawn's kayak.




We loaded my boat on the passenger side, then positioned and installed the J-racks for Emily's.




Securing Em's kayak.




All three on, tonneau cover closed; per the design, the cover can be opened and closed with the rack in place. And yes, my kayak is a little far back but with no bikes on the trailer this trip there was no

interfence. We pushed it much further forward for the trip home and that worked fine.




This system was designed with easy loading in mind (it can be done by one person but it's quicker and easier with two). Here are the steps.


Step 1: Rest the bow on the tailgate.




Step 2: Pull the kayak into the bed.




Step 3 - Rest the bow on the forward rack.




Step 4: Slide the boat forward until the stern clears the aft rack.




Step 5: Pivot the boat on the forward rack and place the stern on the aft rack (be sure not to hit the cab roof with the boat).




Step 6: Position the boat on both racks.



Step 7: Tilt the boat cockpit inward and secure to the rack with straps.




In our case the middle boat - Emily's - is racked left of centre with the cockpit facing the passenger side. And while the boats can be loaded by one person, it's faster and easier with two.

Our first camping trip with the kayaks loaded on the rack provided an acid test. Roads varied from rough rural at 80 km/h to smooth freeway at 100 km/h. Close to our destination we crossed a set of railroad

tracks at about 70 km/h and were surprised by a severe and unmarked hump which resulted in a crashing bounce for the truck and trailer. When we checked we were pleased to see that everything was still

secure.

Really nice work.

Nice write up and pictures.

This is exceptional! Write up is amazing. You must have special software and skills in drawing!! Love the engineering involved and the ease of use taken into consideration! I'm continually amazed by the ingenuity on this forum. Thanks for showing us how to solve a problem with creativity!

Great write-up. Thanks for doing this.

I guess with the tonneau cover you didn't want to use the inside bed tie-downs, and that's also why there's no tie down on the rear stakes.

But maybe there are holes in the stake pockets for securing the stakes?

Thanks for the kind words, folks.

brulaz wrote:
Great write-up. Thanks for doing this.

I guess with the tonneau cover you didn't want to use the inside bed tie-downs, and that's also why there's no tie down on the rear stakes.

But maybe there are holes in the stake pockets for securing the stakes?

In my estimation (and backed by our practical experience) there's not need to tie down the rear stakes. In fact, i don't think there's a need to tie down the front ones either, but it's nice to have a backup.

In use we bind the front and back stakes together with a ratchet strap. There's a lot of friction holding the rack in place.