I like my 4x4 pickups to remain functional. Not only do they have to motor up tough trails, they have to be able to haul tree branches to the dump or pick up greasy drivetrain parts from the local wrecking yard. I never really thought about having a lumber rack untill a couple months ago. Anytime I needed to pick up something oversized I'd just hitch up my trailer. But that has some obvious disadvantages.

With a lumber rack I can go to the metal supply shop and pick up mill-length tubing and any number of other things that required the trailer before. And ya know what, I don't think it looks half bad on my truck.

Anyway, I never thought I would be able to find a lumber rack that would fit a '73 Jeep J-truck. It's not a mini truck and it's not a real fullsize. It's kind of in between. I ended up ordering a Smittybilt universal lumber rack (PN 18604) and picked it up at my local 4 Wheel Parts store (CLICK HERE FOR LINK). It's hard to beat the price.

I figured I was probably gonna have to modify it at least a little to get it to fit my odd-ball truck but it went on pretty easy. The bed of a J-truck is a little narrower than most fullsize trucks so a couple holes in the rack needed to be modified, but nothing major. 

The bolt-together rack is powdercoated in a black wrinkle finish and comes disassembled in two boxes. It's really well padded and packaged for shipping purposes. Mine had no damage. It's also really easy to put together and install. I did it myself in an hour or so but it would be a lot easier with a buddy.

 I think the rack sits a little high on my truck and since I can't leave anything alone I'll likely knock about six inches out of the four legs. I'll probably throw some quick welds on some of the bolt-together joints as well... just in case.

Overall, I like it. It's gonna be fun rolling down the trail in what looks like someone's beat-up old work truck.