I'm looking in buying a ladder rack for my '06 f150. I see a good deal close by on Craigslist on a Dodge Ram pickup. My question is, are these ladder racks standard size 'one-size-fits-all' or is there more to it than that other than long bed vs short bed? What should I be looking out for as far as fitting this on my Ford truck? Here is the rack in question. http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/pts/4213727135.html
I would measure the bed rails on the inside edge and ask the seller what his measures. Also how is it attached? In the bed or on the rails? This is where having a welder and some fabing skills comes in handy. A ladder rack is either just that or a rack that can handle different materials. I have made three different racks and they are not that hard to make.
Here's the one I made for my truck. It's mostly a ladder rack but it also holds my rolls of electrical wire on a removeable tube. It can all come down by pulling two pins and taking the ladder out of it's trapped position. The ladder is in and secured using a ring clip. No bunjees or straps to worry about just a clip that I lay on a magnet so it wont go anywhere. I made it using chain link top rail. It's galvenized so it won't rust.. Not the strongest out there but it does what I need it to, carry my ladder.
Another point to consider. The location of the front rack mounting can affect the cross box location. It might be by inches but sometimes those inches matter. Mine are mounted to the bed rail on the corner. So my box sits almost the front of the bed. That one in the ad looks set back an inch or two.
