Um, Bill, let us focus

Here I am with a T13 on order and looking at VHFs and dry tops and daydreaming about other gear, and I realize that I just assumed I could get my boat home from the store in my F150. Come to think of it, how do you guys with full-size pickups and six-foot beds haul your boats? I have a bare-bones pickup with no racks of any kind. Sheesh!
Bill/Fishboy

Check out one of these...

http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=KFS&Product_Code=Darb-EXTEND-A-TRUCK&Category_Code=transport

trailer or a rack...i had a f150 crew cab with 6' bed...i found a ladder rack for it to haul the kayak...worked better than the current expy with yakima racks...a nice rack is gonna set you back $300 unless you make one your self...i woudlnt do a trailer as it has alot a hassle factor built in

i also have a f-150 with a 6 foot bed plus a tool box...i use a bed extender similar to the one yarjammer linked...mine sticks out about 2 or 3 feet past the extender because of the toolbox in the front....but it still works fine with a red flag...without a toolbox it wouldn't stick near as far out obviously...my hobie is close to 14 feet i think

i personally wouldn't buy it from that link though...u can get it for about 99 at dicks sporting goods...they are only in oregon not washington though (i wish they were in washington)...also u can get them at cabalas and probably joes but i have priced them...but the 10 dollar handling charge on top of 119 is too much imo...u can find it cheaper

Before I put a yakima system on the topper of my Tacoma(which I love!) I used to just shove the tail end of my X-Factor (14' 4") up to the front of the bed and strap 'er in through the mid-section handles and have the nose sticking out the back with a flag tied on. doesn't look pretty, but it worked! Doesn't leave a whole lot of room for gear in the bed though.

Thanks guys. That bed extender looks like the ticket. Just add some sort of strap-on pad for over the cab, right?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=39168

This is the Florida standard rig. I would not put it over the top of the cab. Just put it inside the bed, strap it down and let the end hang out the rear with a red flag. The Harbor Fright (sic) unit regularly goes on sale for <$30






This one has caught my attention as well. Its just two lengths of 4" pvc bolted together at the ends. It pretty cool as you can use it as a launch and recovery ramp as well. Just slide the "pipe rack" out and slide the boat along the pipes.


http://www.jaxkayakfishing.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=17044&highlight=bed+extender

(scroll down about half of the page. The author is "Quake"

I use a bed extender and they work good, but as was said earlier that is to much money.  If you have access to a welder than they are super easy to build.  I just went to the shop with the picture of the one in cabelas and built it in less than a half hour.  If you have a Harbor freight close by that is a good deal ( I didn't see them in the ad until 2 days after I built mine or I probably would have just got one from there.

a Friend moved back to Texas and we just made  2x4 rack for the front of the bed, just over the top of the cab and we rested thre boat on that and just let the tail ride a pad on the closed tailgate. 3200 miles and no problems.
 A heavy duty PVC rack in same style should work as well. ( yes, I am a ghetto rigger )

I and two friends ran a trip from northern California to Baja and back with three kayaks on a 2x4 rack.  We spent three weeks down in Baja with lots of travel off the beaten path and only on the ride back did the rack start to show signs of wear.  We ended up doing some minor reinforcing with rope and made it back fine. 

I think one kayak on  a 2x4 rack would work.  An actual metal version would be better.

A quick search came up with a site that sells a lot of different truck racks.  I'm not necessarily saying buy from this site, but they do have some nice pictures of the various types of racks.

http://www.usrack.com/index.php

FFT: The Harbor Freight rack looks good enough, and seems that it would hold two boats if necessary.
BP, Boxofrain: What do the 2X4 racks look like? Just a rectangular frame that rises up just above cab height for attachment/lashing?

correct. We just bolted the cross piece to the uprights for strength and storability.

My Tacoma Xtra Cab is going to be my primary yak hauler for day to day use.   I am just about finished building a rack system for it.  The front part is mostly done.  I just need to add some padding.  The rear section is built, but still needs paint, tie downs welded on, and padding.  And I'm still trying to figure out how and where I want to mount my kick stand (the standout that temporarily holds one end of the yak up, while you lift the other half up.) 

I built the rear section in such a way that it slides into the receiver below the bumper, and rises up behind the tailgate the same height as the front unit.  It even has provisions for a ball to still tow a trailer if need be.  It will use tie downs to either side of the bed to keep it from swaying back and forth.   

It currently holds two 13'6" kayaks flat upside down.   I may bend up some 1" diameter tube "J" hooks to increase capacity to carry 3 to 4 yaks. 

I'll get some pics up when I get outside today and put it all together. 

Well, I guess I had better come up with something quick because my TRIDENT 13  ARRIVED TODAY!

Cobbled up a half-a%$ed kayak rack for the truck today. Boy am I a lousy joiner. I used scrap 2X4s and a couple of them had just enough twist to make me crazy. I also managed a rare feat that I take as an omen for the name of my boat. I was fitting a joint when a wasp landed on one of the boards, and I bonked it with a hammer, then forgot about it. Later, I was fitting another corner and managed to land the stinger in my arm. I brushed it off, looked at the arm, and finished fitting the joint only to realize that I put myleft knee on the stinger and got stung again. Soooo ... my Trident is yellow with black hatches; I shall call it the Wasp.