Stupid Question, but still want to ask the TACO community

my 17 TACO only has a 6 ft long bed. But I need to bring home a 12-16ft extension ladder for a gutter replacement this weekend. I do not have a rack and am not going to get one before the weekend. Can anyone advise me on the best way to transport this large ladder?
I know that a Styrofoam block and some moving blankets will help, but just thought I would see if anyone has had experience and maybe some small details that will help me out not fuck up my new truck?

thanks all, I know its dumb..just thought it wouldn't hurt to hear everyones opinion

 

Not dumb at all.

I'd rent a HD truck for the $20 or so for 75 minutes and use their headache rack rather than risk wrecking your truck. If that's not an option the running it over the cab via blocks and whatnot is a good idea, but you do run the risk of scratching. I'd punt and go that route, but I'm lame like that.

 

yeah dude i agree with you.. its a little bit more complicated then that...cuz the ladder i would use (free/borrowing it) is in a different city, so I would have to drive the HD truck to and from, then go back to HD to return the ladder and then back to HD once finished with the truck.. i am kinda screwed...it might be time to get a rack on my truck... any recommendations on that?

 

Depending on how long you need it, just rent truck AND ladder from HD?

 

im replacing gutters on my house..need to take em down. pull nails...then put em back up.. could take the whole weekend.. at that point I will be renting for multi days and may as well just buy a rack lol..
thanks tho..

 

strap the ladder down well , use the front end tie downs and
rear tie downs and good straps

and stick a red flag on the end

and go

 

How about the little giant ladder? But I think the maximum extension is 11’. Just another idea.

 

AGREED!! Barely more than two feet sticking out (tail gate down). In Texas, you only need the red flag if more than three feet are protruding.

 

12' ladder in a 6' bed is doable imo.

A red flag is a must and ratchet straps through the rungs of the ladder to the tie down rings of the bed.

If it is possible, I would do the transporting very early in the morning, like 6 am on a Saturday- not too much traffic and you can take it slow.

 

Advise: After you secure the ladder in your truck, hang something red around your rearview mirror or somewhere else in your line of sight (inside the truck) while you're driving. The reason is that you want to be constantly reminded that you have the ladder sticking up above the roof of your cab. I always do that now because one time I put my bike on top of my truck, forgot about it, and pulled into a covered parking space. I caused a lot of damage to my roof, so now I always do this above just so it's impossible to forget that I have something up there.

 

I just picked up a 12 foot ladder last weekend, left the tailgate up with a red flag on the end, ratchet strapped at both the front and rear tie downs and it went smooth.

 

I've hauled 12ft 4x4 lumber...would never do it again, but it can be done. Like everyone says, rest on the tailgate, ratchet down and red flag it.

 

so did you use any special tie downs? or can i just my regular ratchet straps? Also did u get some scratches on ur truck? Did you have some padding? like moving blankets or anything? also are you attaching the flag to the front of the ladder that is sticking up by your windshield? just cuz you say that you kept the tailgate up... i am assuming this will help to stabilize the ladder as well.

 

Yep, similar concept to this (couldn't find any ladder pics):



Also used extensions:



And, even my ski rack:

 

oh your saying to lay it over the closed tailgate.. so the back of the ladder hangs down off the back of the truck?

 

hey I appreciate the pics.. didnt realize what a visual learner I am lol.... I think i am going to use my bed extender and lay it on top of that, so it will hang out the bed at an upward angle? and then just strap it down to the bed..that way i dont scratch my truck..thanks again

 

This may sound silly, but it's not... Actual real product. A friend of mine used to have a shortbed ford ranger "splash" which really wasn't much of a truck. He had the same issue when carrying a canoe he loved. No bed, lots of canoe! He got foam blocks (I think from Yakima) that he could put on the roof between the canoe and the truck. He would tie it down to the front of the truck and for the rear, he had a hitch mount piece that went up to a "T" bar. This supported the rear end of the canoe. It was not custom made, but a regular product. Great way to get roof height in the back for super long carrying.

Thank you for reminding me of this. He's sold the truck a number of years back and I am going to ask him what happened to that.... gonna make it mine for just such things.

EDIT: I see @tomwil posted a picture of one above (middle picture). His was the reverse of this, height over length. I would guess the bar can be used either way.

EDIT #2: Found it: $70 - $75 most places. It is interchangeable.

$95 SEEK Steel Load Extender, Vertical or Horizontal Truck Bed Roof Rack E-Z Hitch Mount Cargo Extension 2" Hitch Receiver, Black

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HDL2DX6/

 

Yes that's what I did and ratchet down to keep it from cantilever, because more of the lumber was sticking out than what was actually in the bed....what I did the next time was just keep the tailgate down and let it hang over flat....as long as you strap it down good enough you should be ok.

 

10ft board in a 6 ft bed for reference...

 

thanks dude... ill see how much the ladder really sticks out.. im sure i could actually get a 24' ext ladder in there cuz its really only 12' of ladder.. thanks...ill check it out.. was almost considering getting a lumber rack.