Quote:
Originally Posted by Bajaman
I guess you better stay off the road then. Many tractor trailers have floors made of wood, ever heard of a "Woody", or looked in the bed of an old pickup? It depends a lot on how you lash things down and the lumber dimensions though and you should over do it rather than under.
Lumber can be just as safe as a factory rack. I recently needed to go pick up some wheels, and there was not enough room in the back. So, I used two 1x4s cut to length. I bolted the 1bys on with 5/8" u-bolts. I also put some 3/16" hose over the bolts to protect the chrome on the bars. All the lumber did in this case was provide a support under the wheels, and I lashed them on with two ratchet straps. Get long enough u-bolts and you can use a 2x4 if the extra strength is needed. 1x4s worked fine for what I needed. Good luck, and yes keep it safe.
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I'd probably run from a guy with a roof carrier lashed with a couple of ropes and a 2x4 on the highway. A semi trailer, woody, and pickup beds are different in that they take the load differently. In each of those cases there is a metal frame taking the load in the CG of the load, so the wood is not bearing a large amount of weight. If this carrier is the way I'm imagining it, there is no center support underneath the wood, it takes the full weight. It would eventually bend after being exposed to the weather/load a few times. Yes, you CAN build it and have it hold up, but I think there are better ways, and not worth risking the chance, having to worry about long term weathering/warping, etc.