This is still a work in progress. The idea came from several other posts on this forum - as well as studying the pictures on the RVRaxx website.
Pricing for turn-key racks (>$750) was well out of budget considerations - so I started pricing raw materials.
I purchased:
1 x 2" (3/16" walled) x 8' tubing $70
2 x 1" (1/8" walled) x 8' tubing $40
1 x female receiver (harbor freight) $20
Spray paint, misc hardware, etc $20
Total outlay (so far): $150.00
The bottom shelf is 48" wide, 10" deep. That shelf was then dissected with additional 'rails' to create compartments 12" x 10.75". This is the perfect size for my Costco kayaks (
Equanox 10.4'). Clearance from the tip of the kayak to the street is about 8". This might cause an issue on steep grade changes (i.e. exiting gas stations), so I may need to make adjustments to the height of the horizontal tubing.
I used a $200 welder from Harbor Freight, and had no previous welding experience (though my brother did offer some guidance).
I decided to make this a two-part assembly to make installation and storage a bit easier.
To keep the upright/vertical part from swaying, I installed two bolts with locking nuts to tighten the tubing inside the receiver.
The photos can be seen
on my Picasa site.
As of right now, the pictures are only of the raw product. It still needs to be cleaned and painted. But, if all goes well, she should be ready for our first trip next week...