Goodbye to my old...

...utility trailer, hello to my new and improved fast attack kayak camping trailer.   Thought the title would get some views !  Low, I know, but hey.

Anyway I had this dodge truck bed trailer I use for dump loads and things and I finally got around to fabricating a kayak rack for it.  I wanted something to hold two or four kayaks, camping/ fishing gear, etc and this is what I came up with.  I also wanted the rack to be light enough to be easily removed when I want to haul stuff or load our quad in the trailer.

I ended up with this particular design to have the option of carrying up to four kayaks and to load them easily from the side.

Pic 1- Started by taking 1" square tubing and built it up to 1 3/4' square so it would fit in the trailer holes.  Did this by telescoping the 1'" with 1-1/4", 1-1/2", and 1-3/4".  I did this because I wanted the main structure made of 1" square tubing so it was lighter and not as bulky as larger stock tubing.

Pic 2- Full pic of the lower crossbar.

Pic-3 Completed lower crossbar.  The two vertical uprights in the middle are what hold the telescoping top rack.  Wanted it to be removable.  I ended up with a slight bow in the center due to the heat from welding the uprights on.  I used .120 stock but still got the bow.  It's only cosmetic and shouldn't be an issue.

Pic-4 Lower racks with paint and padding.

Pic-5 Two kayak option.

Pic-6 Four kayak option. 

I have done some stick welding and gas welding, but this was my first experience mig welding for me.  Pretty simple after i figured out the right settings.

A couple things I might end up doing to complete the project.  I may add keeper pins to the top section of the rack where it telescopes into the lower section.  Or I will use heavy duty short ratchet straps to hold it down, front and back.  Pins would be cleaner but I already painted it by the time I remembered I didn't drill the holes.   I may also add rings or eyes to the crossbars for securing straps.  Same thing here got to excited and started painting cause I could see the end in sight.
Last thing I may add is a rod safe of some sort that will go between the uprights I have about 10 inches of space there that would work well for that.

I also forgot to consider the added padding when measuring for the height of the uprights to hold the top rack.  Luckily, ended up with a half inch to spare!   It's close but it'll work fine.

The bed of the trailer holds 4 Stanley boxes that can be used to carrying camping gear or whatever.

Pretty cool setup.