DIY truck mounted rack...almost

I took advantage of the t-track in my Gen 1 Thule Xporter cross bar.  I found a DuBro 6 rod holder in West Marine for $30.  I had to shorten the width so I dropped to rod holders off of it.  I thought I could get away with regular hardware, but nothing ever worked, and I had to order Thule T-bolts.  Thule is proud of these things.    I drill holes in the side of the rear rod holders and used SS cable and crimped it, then slipped on some heat shrink, clamped a loop at the other end.  One minor issue was longer rods want to bounce off the roof.  The fix, a chunk of pool noodle seems to take care of that.

I like it. 
It would be nice to get the rods up and out of the way during transport.  Now they are either in my cab or just laying in the bed of my truck.

I like it. 
It would be nice to get the rods up and out of the way during transport.  Now they are either in my cab or just laying in the bed of my truck.

All my rods go inside of my kayak. Same with Tanner's.  I don't use anything longer than 6'6" for ocean, and my salmon rods break down to 4'or 5'.

I broke my favorite rod, a 7' Shimano Trevala closing a tailgate after being out out at Illahee.   I swore when the next truck would have some sort of rack.  I riced a few but $300-500 is a little to steep for me.  I wanted to keep it under $100, and I did that.  is it for everyone, no, but sometimes you may be bringing that one piece rod with you for a charter boat and want it stored.  This works for me.