rod holder....

[Jenn]

been wanting a holder for the front of the pickup and though I know many are homemade I was looking for the easy route!!!! I had seen them twice and they were quite pricey....anyone know of a good place and decent price?? should hold at least four rods anyway....thanks

[JohnR]

I've seen a few people take the 4 and 6 pole plastic holders ($30-40)and mickey mouse them onto their license plate mounting bolts then run the plate on the outside. Much cheaper than the $100+ from The Surfcaster... What you need is a cooler rack, hehehe

[Jenn]

actually we have one of those huge 150QT coolers and would feel better with it in the back anyway....mostly worried about the rods and getting banged up (not to mention convienence too) $100+???? heck the ones I saw were just the rod holders and they were OVER $400!!!! Well you can imagine what I thought of THAT!!! No lie! I couldnt believe my eyes! Thats just too much and we could easily plan a nice long weekend to the Cape for that price! (hey I do have some priorities! :P )

[JohnR]

Uh-oh, you're talkin' cooler rack there Jennster. Not just rodholders but the whole schebang... I got my rack used through a friend but it would probably go for $400 plus.

Some metal working shops can make up a rack for much less than the online places like rodracks.com, which for $700 wouldn't hold my 150QT

[Jenn]

John, I could certainly be mistaken....but I was pretty sure the one I saw was for rods only!! (it was pretty fancy) But I really didnt see how it could have been a cooler rack as well....the hubby is pretty handy when it comes to building stuff (good thing) but he seems to have a "project deficiency" (bad thing) mind you I have to start asking for my oil change 1000 miles before its due in order to get it changed on time!!!! So needless to say buying verses making is MUCH easier.......Thanks for the info and I guess my search (or begging) goes on!!!

[mikecc]

check out this site
www.rodracks.com
they should have what you want

[Jenn]

Thanks for the info!!

jenn
i have limited funds and I bought an 8 ft length of sch 40 conduit (grey pvc). cut it to desired length and attached them to my bumper . if hubby is handy he should be able to secure them . I used stailess tyraps crossed over tubes and around bumper .

[JohnR]

Home depot also had a red, rubberized paint which you can apply to the pipe to be even easier on your gear (looks better too)... Ask FW about this weekend, I think she knows the brand name. I'd ask her but she's liable to kill any male she sees on Sunday }>

[mikecc]

Jenn
Anglers aluminum makes one that mounts in the license plate area of the truck.
we carried them last year they sold for about $135. they were heavy gague aluminum.
I don't carry themthis year (slow moving) but can get get one for ya.
shoot me your email and i'll send ya a picture

Mike

[Marc Z]

John,
Question on your cooler rack.
Do you have a trailer hitch mounted to the front of your vehicle so you can take the rack off and on as you please???? Or do you have to permanently mount it to the vehicle.
I want to get one but wife gets the Trooper during the week so I would need to take it off and on quite a bit. Is this the standard with a cooler rack????
THanks,
MZ

[JohnR]

Mark,

My rack has two supports bolted to the frame and "Theoretically", I can remove the rack with ease. However, I was unable to get the two supports aligned tightly for the rack to slidein and out. It's fairly permanent...

I don't know what the max weight for a front reciever hitch style is but there may be a used rack from a Ramcharger available soon on the boards... The problem with these custom racks is that they are tailor made to a specific frame so if you wanted to modify an existing rack for another brand of vehicle, there would be some welding involved....