How to rig a truck bed to carry dive gear

[skywalk234]

I go with a small wooden rack I made myself where I cut out half moons to lie the tanks in then when traveling long distances I bungee them down to the rack.

 

[mam6669]

i built a small "ladder" rack years ago from 2 2x6's as the base and 2x4s as the rungs and i lay tanks on it in the bottom. one 2x6 is longer than the other with the short one fittong betweenthe wheel wells. the tanks sit on it and the tank-boots fit over the edge enought to prevent slipping.
now put it in the back with the long side on the back of the wheel well and the distance from the back of the rack to the tailgate is about an inch or 2 past the end of the tank boot.
cost me basically nothign (since i used scrap wood) and nothing slides anywhere even though i am generally a crazy driver from mass.

 

[matt_unique]

I already had a pvc and rope ladder type tank holder which worked great in my SUV. In the truck bed (with bedliner) this would slip all over the place. I ended up making a frame as a referenced above with 2X4's. My bedliner (Duraliner) has two vertical notches seemingly designed for a 2X4 about 1' behind the wheel wells. I decided this would be my frame anchor. I then cut and fastened two support pieces perpendicular to the anchor piece snug against the wheel wells. I completed with a top support piece mid wheel well. Imagine this symbol laying flat on the bed: "_T_T_". My pvc tank holder is laying above the T's in the diagram. The 2X4 at the top of T is laying flat so the wood touches the tanks below the valves and manifold. The bottom anchor 2X4 is on its side as required by the verticle notches in the bedliner. This frame system provides compartments to hold tanks all the way forward (closest to the cab), gear bags in the middle, and other things like my dinghy engine close to the end of the bed near the gate. I will let you know how this works out tomorrow when I test it with gear for 2 people loaded.

The pvc or similar tank holders are really handy and you can make them for less than $10. My ridgid pvc should work well because the pvc tubes sit into the grooves of my bedliner to prevent sliding when I go around corners. The frame structure should prevent movement when I accelerate or brake.

--Matt

I would recommend this setup to anyone considering the same. I'm sure there are other good ways as well but this one worked great for me. My gear did not move at all and was laying flat/out of site. Now for that tonneau cover for more security...

--Matt