4 DIY Truck Bed Bike Rack Plans You Can Make Today (With Pictures)
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Ed Malaker
- Last updated:
Riding a mountain bike is great fun and great exercise, but many of the best trails are often far away from home. Carting the bikes around in your truck without a rack can scratch and damage them, but many commercial units are wildly expensive for such a simple device. If you have a few simple tools and a bit of time, keep reading as we provide you with a list of projects that will help you create a bike rack quickly and inexpensively, so you can get back to the trail as soon as possible.
The 4 DIY Truck Bed Bike Rack Plans
1. DIY Pickup Bike Rack by eHow
| Materials: | PVC pipe, PVC cement, spray paint |
| Tools: | Table saw, hand saw |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
The Pickup Bike Rack by eHow shows you how to make a bike rack inexpensively with just a few materials. It requires you to cut and connect several pieces of PVC pipe using PVC cement to create the stand. Once finished, you just install it into the bed of your truck. The plan only involves a few steps, and it’s also easy to customize to handle a different number of bikes. You can even paint it any color that you like.
2. DIY PVC Truck Bed Bike Rack by Instructables
| Materials: | PVC pipe, PVC elbows, PVC cement |
| Tools: | Pipe cutter, sandpaper, tape measure |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
The PVC Truck Bed Bike Rack is similar to the previous project but fits fewer bikes, so it’s a great choice if you don’t want to figure out how to customize the plan. You will cut and connect PVC pipe using PVC cement to create a rack for two bikes before installing it into the bed of your truck. It’s not difficult to build and you can paint it any color.
3. DIY Bike Rack for Truck Bed by The Gray Adventures
| Materials: | Aluminum tubing, pocket anchors |
| Tools: | Handsaw, utility knife, drill |
| Difficulty: | Advanced |
The Bike Rack for Truck Bed is a unique plan that enables you to build a bike rack or pickup truck with a cover. It’s more advanced than the other plans on the list, but the directions are extremely easy to follow. The result is a lightweight yet durable bike rack that you can build for around $100. To complete this project, you will connect light aluminum pieces and use pocket anchors to hold them securely to your truck bed cover.
4. DIY Truck Bed Bike Rack by Instructables
| Materials: | Steel fence posts, eye screws |
| Tools: | Pliers, tape measure, wire cutters |
| Difficulty: | Advanced |
The Truck Bed Bike Rack is one of our favorite plans because it supports the front and rear wheels, so your bikes will stay in place even under extreme conditions. The parts for this project are available at any hardware store and are relatively inexpensive. It uses steel fenceposts, so it’s extremely durable but a little heavier than PVC or aluminum projects. The downside is that since many of the components are steel, they can be susceptible to rust.
Bike Rack Tips and Tricks
- When building your bike rack, take accurate measurements of your vehicle so it will fit snugly in place.
- Use bungee cords in addition to the bike rack to hold the bikes securely in place.
- Use a water-resistant bike cover to protect your bikes while you are traveling.
- Make sure no debris is lodged in the rack before you put your bike in place.
- If your bike rack is wobbling, adding weight can help keep it stable.
Conclusion
Building a DIY bike rack is not difficult, and most plans involve wood, PVC pipe, aluminum, or steel. If you are a beginner when it comes to DIY projects, we recommend starting with wood because it’s cheap, easy to find, and easy to cut. You can build the project using only nails, resulting in a durable bike rack. Once you gain experience, steel and aluminum will help you create an extremely durable bike rack that will last many years. PVC is also a good choice for durability and is almost as easy to work with as wood.
Featured Image Credit: A Custom Bike Rack Mounted To A Heavy Duty Truck Bed Cover, DiamondBack Covers, Flickr, CC BY 2.0
