Would making a rack the height of the top of the bed (not the cab) work for ya?

 

My buddy did something like this. He used the 4 holes in the bed (bed rails) and fabbed a rack that lay across the bed with sides, almost like a ladder rack. He kept his tools in the bed and plywood or drywall sat on top. He did that for about 5 years, and never lost a sheet, or had any tools come up missing. I will try and get a hold of him and see if he still has the plans. I am sure he does as he is really **** about that stuff and keeps EVERYTHING for years!

 

one other reason i love my 7ft bed..

 

that could be cool

 

lol i was gonna say make a rack that goes over the bed rails ,after i re-read what i wrote and thought about it =/,,,that seems to be your best bet.a rack that sits over the bed rails

 

Maybe I'm missing something here, but there are pockets on the inside of the styleside bed that accepts two 2x6x53" pieces of lumber. This allows you to carry 4x8 sheets of whatever over the wheel wells. Nothing new, I have this on my 2000 and my 2007. Just buy one 2x6x10' and cut to length. If you are buying only one or two sheets of drywall, you may want to put some plywood down first for support.

 

i have a flareside, not a styleside. flaresides are too narrow even above the wheel well for a 4x8 sheet of anything to fit laying down flat.

 

How about two pieces of 2x8x4' clamped to the top of the bed rails paralel to the lift gate? Some cariage bolts at the stake holes should do it. You could even put some stop blocks on the end of the 4x8's to keep the sheetrock from sliding to one side.

 

yeah something like that would work. either do that, or what the other guys were saying about basically making a frame that mounts in the stake pockets...

 

If you can do a little welding, or you know someone who can, you could buy some steel box channel and fabricate a rack that fits in the stake pockets. It would take up less room than a trailer when not in use.

 

Chevy Colorado has two indents on top of each fender wells so you can lay a 2x6 from well to well and then you can lay the 4x8 on top of the 2x6. I think Ford copied the same idea. Sorry, next time get a Chevy.