The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1/2 ton sideracks

I'm working with a couple trucks, a 41 and a 53, and was wndering if anyone would share some tips or dimensions for the two board sideracks that make these trucks look so neat and finished.

My plan is oak 2x2's for the posts and 1x3's for the rails. First, is this a good proximity to what others have used (did I buy the right stuff??)? Second, what length is best, even with the end of the box, in slightly, etc?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

jake53, go the search and put in bed rails there are 65 matches on the subject. someone even posted another site with plans. RON

Thanks, Ron. I got 66 hits, but didn't find the one with the link. Did I mess it or just miss it?

i can't find it either,went thru 300 and the only one i can to was under stake ?bed. yes stake ?bed in general truck talk. if you get no response post again. it is out there. ron

Thanks again. That one worked. My dad had a similar set we used to haul wood in our 52.

What I'm really trying to find is the short two board ornamental racks simply to dress up the truck. I've seen them on the bolt, but when you are looking for something...

My big question is the length. I was thinking of coming in from the ends of the bed to avoid bonking the cab if it bounces at all and then center it for balance, maybe an inch in from either end. I bought 1X3 oak, and will probably space them a few inches above the bed and maybe 3 inches apart. I guess if it looks good to me that's all that really matters, right?

One side note, this is not a cheap deal. I suspect it will be about a $100 to do this. So much for a cheap little trick to make it more dressy.

It's the oak that'll kill you on the cheap factor, man. The words "oak" and "cheap" rarley appear in the same paragraph.

I've been seriously pondering (procrastinating?) about making a set for my '50 3100, but since my truck is used mostly for lugging things around, I don't know that i'll go with anything fancier than good ole pine with some polyurethane on it to protect it from the elements.

When I lived in the south, I used red cedar a lot...Easy to work with, and withstands the weather well..Thinking about putting those side racks on mine also, but would be just for decoration..Steve

JAKE53, go to the gallery there are pictures there. i skimmed the 1/2 tons but there could be more. ed black 1950, bart centre's 1951, jesse hill's 1951 lars ake fredberg 1951 and bernard laiben's 1951. as you can see i only got to 1951. you could go back thru 1947 or further back. hope this helps.

Until we get this "search" issue resolved, you can get information from the general site (which will include the gallery submissions) from the Google Search in the menu bar. To search the forums, you'll need to use the one at the top of this page.

Peg

Jake53: Check out my truck in the 41-46 gallery, I've done something like you are looking for. I added them just cus they look good, IMHO

George Wells

JAKE and 46forme, that is what i was looking for now i can stop. thanks. RON

you might check out my site and look at the ones I got from shipwright for my 52,,just one board but just right for me,, did not want mine to high,,,thanks,,Fred

George, your rails look terrific! I'm in the process of doing something very similar with three rails rounded at the ends as you have them... my bottom rail is about 3/4" up from bed side to accomodate side spare tire mount... each rail is 2" with 3/4" space between. The bottom rail extends all the way to the back and aligns with the end of the bed to keep lines inline. The top of the rails line up with the body wrap line around the cab. One thing we decided was to NOT merely divide the three rails lengths into 1/3rds... it would make the bottom rail look too long.

I'm also going to add a brake light into the center of the middle rail or top rail.