Redneck Rod Rack Really Reels Rockfish

Welcome to Trey's Back Yard DIY! Today, we're going to show you an inexpensive way to convert your standard cargo rack into a fish slayin', rod holdin', head turnin' hunk of s#*t hanging off the back of your Jeep.

I decided to build my own AFTER I decided to purchase my own and found out they cost $400 for the ones designed to also hold a cooler. Due to my badass A to Z Fab front bumper, I cannot bolt a rack on the front of the Jeep nor do I really feel like driving down the highway trying to aim at Pennsyltardians through an antenna array.

So my options were to build something to hold the rods flat on my roof rack or figure out my own way to hitch mount them.

Let's get started. You'll need one of those hitch-mounted cargo racks. You should already have one laying round your garage getting ready to fall on easily damaged objects like motorcycle fenders or bare feet. If not, you can usually pick one up for cheap on DeJA when a member gets caught fooling around and suddenly finds themselves in need of cash for a deposit on an apartment. (Thank you, Vicky, for all that you've done for this club.)

This is the one I used:

Now we have to get the rod tubes mounted to this. I've seen guys bolt them directly to the rack, but this becomes a PITA when you need your rack sans rod holders. You end up with a bunch of loose parts hiding out in your garage lost forever.

So I decided to mount my holders to a sturdy piece of lumber that could easily be taken off by removing a couple bolts. I used 2X6 pressure treated wood that I cut into two 28" pieces.

You may have noticed my porch floor looks like digital flectar urban camo. I ripped up the green 'no-mow' fake grass carpeting that was on my back porch and now I found a floor coating that looks even shittier than fake grass. Why the back porch for this project? The garage had a heat factor that brought up mental images of taking a nap wrapped up in an elephant's scrotal sack...and my porch has a ceiling fan.

Next I began to measure and mark the boards for the holes I needed to drill.

Now let's take a trip down the side track and have a little shop talk. I know a lot of you out there are limited by square footage in your man-cave or have plenty of space in your garage, but shortly after moving in, filled that space to the brim with tires, bumpers, and broken dreams of a custom crawler. Whatever your reasons, you may find yourself in need of a work bench that can pull double duty. That's why this week's tech tip focuses on the Craftsman 32000 series Heavy Duty, Slate Top, Half Moon Work Table:

It's sturdy, compact and it easily performs roles as both a handyman's bench and a stylish side table perfect for a condiment area for cookouts or a place to snort cocaine. Pick one up today. You can find them at most hardware stores and Pier 1 Imports.

Next I used a lid from a candle jar to trace a pattern to round the edges of the boards:

Why did I use a candle lid? Seriously? You've read this far and you have to ask?

Next I cut down some 1 1/2" PVC pipe into 12" and 18" sections. I mounted them to the boards with metal pipe straps and then I mounted the boards to the cargo rack.

A little rattle-can paint job, and we're ready to go fishing! Some of my rods are big ol' 'envy my penis' 12 footers and the handle would hang too low and possibly drag on the ground if I hit a big enough dip so that's the reason for the 18" tubes.

Thanks for joining us here at Trey's Back Yard DIY. See ya next time!

Quote from Kuntryboy816

Seriously though, great write-up. I like the idea of the detachable rod holders. How far back are they from the tailgate? Can you still open it w/o hitting the rods?

You can just get the tailgate open far enough to get the window to swing up. I was able to get two mountain bikes in and out with it mounted. If you left off two or three holders from the right bank and moved them over to the left down the side, you could get the door all the way open.