Pickup Truck Bike and Kayak Rack

Article By Burt Revell

Hi Shorty,

Up until now I just laid our bikes on top of each other in the bed of the pickup separated only by a blue tarp. Some how during one of our bike trips the pedal of one bike broke the spoke on the other bike and the wheel got out of round so I took it to the shop for a new spoke and to have them tune the wheel. That got me thinking about building one of those pickup bed bike racks. The internet is filled with ideas anywhere from PVC to pallets but since I like working with wood I decided to make mine out of 2 x 4s. A four foot 2x4 has angle brackets attached that were bent to slide over the forward end of the bed and that board is hinged to the rack so the rack could swing down between the wheel wells and lay on the bottom of the bed. The hinges have removable pins so I can just leave the one board on the truck for extra tie downs when hauling things.

The boards are custom fit to the width of the tires for a tight squeeze in fit. One rack for the hybrid bike and two for the mountain bikes. 4"x4" blocks force the wheels to one side of the rack so the chain and derailleur are not touched by the side of the rack, just the tires. The distance from the top of the rack to the bottom was made to fit the larger 27" wheels on the hybrid bike with just enough room for the tire to touch the inside of the top and the inside of the bottom boards and still allow the tire to rest on the bed of the truck.

I found that you got less wobble from the bikes by putting the rear wheels in the rack and using tie downs to steady the front of the bikes which are at the back of the bed. A coated braided steel cable goes through both wheels and the frame and is locked to the padeyes at the back of the bed.

Now I can attach the kayak rack and have the bikes safely stowed below them and off we go for another adventure on the water or trails.