Building a rack

[avery4jc]

Hi everyone, I'm new around here but love the activity this site has compared to other UTV sites.

I'm in California and wanted to build a rack to haul my Rhino so I don't have to go 55 with the trailer. Plus not having the trailer frees me up to run around easier since all of our dune riding is Pismo and it's nice to be able to run into town for dinner and stuff.

Started last night and worked all day today and here's where I left off. Still more to do but it's progress.

 

[ALEX]

Welcome where about in Cali you from I visit Pismo pretty often as well,love it there.your racks turning out good you gonna make your own ramps too.

 

[crazywatson]

Looks good!

 

[avery4jc]

Welcome where about in Cali you from I visit Pismo pretty often as well,love it there.your racks turning out good you gonna make your own ramps too.

I'm in Fresno. Yes, I'm making ramps that will lock in place along the length of the rack when not in use. Hopefully get those knocked out tomorrow.

Looks good!

Thanks.

 

[Spicoli]

Looks good.

 

[Daharp]

I'm in Fresno. Yes, I'm making ramps that will lock in place along the length of the rack when not in use. Hopefully get those knocked out tomorrow.


Thanks.

Nice job with the rack. Is there any riding near Fresno? My cousin wants to get into it and lives in Course Gold.

 

[avery4jc]

There's some cool trails up above shaver lake not too far from here. It's where we take our rock crawlers but some of them would be fun in a side by side.

 

[GOVACHO]

That is nice. Thinking of making it tilt like a flat bed tow truck or you just making ramps to load it ?

 

[avery4jc]

That is nice. Thinking of making it tilt like a flat bed tow truck or you just making ramps to load it ?

Making ramps.

 

[avery4jc]

Welded on some d-rings on the bottom of the rack so I have good spots to tie it down in the bed that will pull at an angle, not just straight down.
Built the ramps out of the same 2" X 1" material the rack is made out of but the ramps are .120" wall instead of .083" like the rack.
I welded on a big piece of angle that they set in. I'm going to come up with something that quickly flips over the top to be 100% sure they won't flip out while loading.

I'm going to swing by the material yard after work tomorrow and grab stuff to skin all this and some 1/8" X 2" flat bar to box in all the open ends on everything.

 

[mosslager]

Avery that looks great. What do you think the main rack will weigh in at?

 

[avery4jc]

Well under 200 pounds. I can drag it around on my own and with an extra set of hands it's easy to load in the bed.

 

[avery4jc]

Getting close, I'm trying to get this knocked out ASAP so I can test load the Rhino on and still have time for tweaking as necessary before we hit the road for Huckfest.

Picked up some 4'x10' sheets of expanded metal after work tonight.


I made a new mount for the winch that's about 2" taller. Small change but it allows the ramp to slip under the motor. I'll make some guides and a way to pin them in place after I know this is all going to work.
You can also see in this pic I capped all the open ends tonight with some 1/8" plate. Both ends of the ramps as well as the open ends on the rack. Just gave it a more finished look. I also added that center piece of tube behind the winch. I was concerned the winch might pull the center of the headache rack down so problem solved.


Got both sides skinned. I have class tomorrow night after work but I'll try and get out in the garage and get the ramps skinned. After that I think I'm ready to test load.

 

[avery4jc]

I finished the ramps this week and got it ready for a test. I stuck a block/bottle jack under the far back just to be safe on the very first time.
Loaded up ok, I got some bowing along the length.




To address the bow I picked up some 1 x 1 x .120" square tube and made some little rails that act like a miniature truss down the length of it.

They're just 2" tall legs (3" overall) but it made a big difference in rigidity.


Tomorrow if I have time I'm going to address two other issues. First I'm going to add a few more crossmembers with the 2" X 1" tube going width wise towards the back. The headache rack really stiffens up the front but obviously the back doesn't benefit so it needs a few extra crossmembers.
Also, I came up with a rear support using some 2" receiver tube that'll utilize the hitch of the truck. I can make it long enough that I can still get the tailgate open and closed.
It'll help support the rear of the rack, take some load off the bed itself and help lock it all in place besides the ratchet straps alone.

 

[Desert Fabrications]

Very cool. I like it.

 

[avery4jc]

Built a piece to slide into the hitch of the truck that helps support the back and really locks the whole thing into place.
Managed to load it up and take it on a test run. Felt good with about 60psi in the air bags.
So two issues, it needs longer ramps... like much longer (the pics below are of me unloading it but I loaded on flat ground to see if it would work in a worst case scenario) and I need a backup plan for the winch.

Felt good to finally run it down the road though.

 

[mosslager]

Great job. You engineered the shit outta that. Hows it behave on the highway?

 

[avery4jc]

Does fine. As I said above it needs longer ramps and I need a backup plan for the winch at the minimum. I'm just going to use my trailer next weekend for Huckfest and assess the rack situation when we get back.

 

[UTVUGJake]

Thanks a ton for sharing your build process! I know what you mean with the 55mph speed limit, tickets are not an option for me at this point and dragging a trailer around it makes the trips feel so much longer. Please keep us updated as you finish 'er up!