Pack'Em Ladder Rack Bracket Kit for Enclosed Trailers

by: Bart09/02/2022

These brackets worked perfectly for my trailer.1388914

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Bart

9/3/2023

A year in and very happy with these. Recommend.

Shipping was fast. These racks are a great addition to the trailer with a few drawbacks that I did see in other reviews before I purchased.

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT use the included screws. The self tapping screws are not strong enough and are extremely lacking in strength. I tried them. Two stripped out during installation and the rest have come loose after only a few days. Please if you buy these, go get some quality grade 8 or 10 bolts, nuts and lock washers. Drill out the holes to accept the larger, stronger bolts and you will be good to go. Nobody wants to loose their ladders or hurt someone. The brackets themselves are a great idea. I don't want racks on my pickup and my trailer pretty much goes everywhere with me so it's the perfect solution. I do wish they came in packs of six or at least an add-on two pack. It would help will shorter ladders so I could accommodate long and short. Only other thing I noticed is the welds are not perfectly straight on the brackets. Minor inconvenience but if you like atheistics like I do, it might be slightly bothersome. I only say this because it looks like I installed one rack crooked and it's not. Overall, Ok value for the money.1297712

Joseph

5/14/2023

Still using these daily on my 8x5 enclosed trailer. They hold a 30 extension, a 20 extension and a 12and 8 straight ladder these two are stacked on top of each other. I used the setup to travel at highway speeds back and forth to New Jersey and still going strong. Will definitely buy these again for the next trailer. Just make sure you follow my original review ad use grade 8 bolts and nuts with lock washers. The included screws are not sufficient.

Here's a pick of the racks on my cargo trailer which hauls everything I need to spend the weekend camping. They look and work great for my 14.5ft canoe!147862

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Frank V.

8/21/2015

My girlfriend and I are in the travel nursing industry. We were on assignment in Seattle, WA when I ordered the ladder racks. Originally, I just wanted them to support our canoe which it worked very well from our cross country trip to New Hampshire. Once we were to leave NH, I had acquired some extra gear, so I used them to construct and secure this rather unique storage area above our cargo trailer to haul extra items AND to secure the canoe! We did our spring assignment in NC, a 1,000 mile trip and are now in Alaska which added another 5,000 miles! I havent had any issues with the performance of these racks. I love them! Thanks for following up!

The Pack'Em Ladder Rack Bracket Kit worked out great on my Kayak Carrier Trailer Project... so did the Tires and Wheels... the Spare Tire Carrier... and Spare Tire Lock... I couldn't be more satisfied with my purchases... Thank you etrailer !!!606069

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I received the parts in good time, but the kit was missing one of the verticals pieces that bolts to the 2X4. I tried contacting etrailer through the 1-800 number but no answer. I did send an email. I realize etrailer does not package the parts. The box had been opened on the end. 412733

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Excellent kit. Easy to customize to fit any trailer. Was a tad to tall for my flat top trailer so I took 8 1/2 inches off of each one.

I highly recommend. Great quality and an even better price.
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by: Tyson07/06/2016

I used these to make a plateform on top of our 20' trailer. They were easy to modify and install. they worked great with the 2x6 we used to prevent sagging.268608

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Great design that is tough and versatile. I cut the height down 6" which works perfectly for my trailer. You could not ask for a better product - easy to install, solid construction, customizable height. Glad I bought them!438336

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Mike H.

10/1/2018

This rack system is working perfectly with the original treated 2x4’s a year later. I use it every week to haul 16’ long lumber & siding and have never had a problem with any of the hardware. I would not hesitate to recommend this to anyone.

by: Brad a.04/07/2016

One year ago I bought the pakem ladder rack system. It is a very good idea. You make your own cross braces out of 2*4 s. It's very cost effective, however does not work well. The brackets themselves are not bad but the mounting hardware is terrible. My racks were wobbly from the start. Within 6 months the screws holding the brackets together all broke and I almost lost a ladder and my racks on the highway. So,in the middle of the winter I had to take my racks apart and rebuild them. My recommendation is to buy the product for the brackets, throw the hardware in the trash cut the brackets down (they sit about a foot above the trailer), and through bolt everything, or don't be cheap, save yourself some aggravation and buy real ladder racks.243176

was made for enclosed trailer, but I used it on a open utility trailer. Now able to haul 4 + kayaks.263650

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by: Cheryl 06/05/2016

Great product! We use this for our poles to our tents. Very pleased with the customer service and how easy these were to install.257594

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Product is as expected. The quality of the aluminum assemblies, welds, drilled holes and fasteners seems excellent, but it would be a better design if the four mounting holes (to trailer) were staggered, not in a straight line. Including snap-in plastic caps for the tops of the brackets would make for a more finished appearance.
Instructions should include recommended drill sizes for the fasteners supplied. Instructions should discuss the possibility of shortening the brackets for flat-topped trailers. Instructions should address how best to square the brackets when adding the wood cross-members. It is difficult to imagine why 2 X 6 cross-members ever would be necessary. 2 X 4s are perfectly adequate.565434

William

9/15/2019

Still in use exactly the way I installed them except that I added stainless steel eyes to the 2 X 4 cross pieces.

Delivered very fast, I did shorten them 3.5” but installation was easy. Haven’t used them yet but may get another set for more weight and to have one mounted close to the door for easier loading from behind. 601110

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Well put together, very good welds. Mounted onto the trailer with only minor foul language used. Painted pressure treated 2x4s black to match trim on trailer. Looks great and solid.
Using it to haul items that are to long for inside trailer. 242984

Brian B.

4/6/2017

Had to replace the self tapping screws with boltnut. The rack works great, very sturdy.

So easy to install and use. My ladders are longer than my trailer but this solved the problem.907840

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by: Michael T09/10/2021

It was relatively easy to assemble and install. Took some time because these seem to be designed to fit on normal utility box trailers. But of course, each manufacturer has slightly different materials and dimensions. Again, it went on easily. Then came the matter of adapting it to our use, which was as a kayak carrier. We needed this because we are carrying a truck camper, and using an heavy duty hitch extension. Next concerns. Would we be able to extend the rear slideout? (This is a three slideout camper) We cannot drive that way, trailer or no trailer, but it was good to find that we did not have to take anything apart to stop for the night. The next thing is that we had to adapt kayak carriers to the 2x4 cross beams between the mounts. Most kayak carriers are designed for the cross beams on a cartop built in roof carrier.
For that one, the instructions were baffling. Apparently we shouldda bought them from etrailer. But we got it done. The big thing is that we can take the boat carriers off and put a second set of 2x4s up there and adapt the thing to all sorts of different needs.1148281

by: Joseph10/12/2021

The Pack'em Ladder Rack Bracket is top notch. I was able to trim the height as my trailer does not have a high dome top. Installation was an easy one person job. I use the bracket with 2X4's to span the width of the trailer to carry 10 foot poles poles on long distance trips to camping events. Easy to secure the poles with ratchet straps. No slippage they stay put. The addition of the brackets gives me a height of 8 1/2 feet. After a year and several trips under our belt, we are fully satisfied with their performance.1177871

bought these for out tramper (not a trailer/not a camper) enclosed trailer. They went on easily. I took me longer to take measurements due to the fact I shortened them to make it easier to load. I plan to replace the pressure treated 2x4's with aluminum when they rot out.183322

Chris A.

4/12/2016

working great. has held up well with sliding our 17 ft aluminum canoe on and off. the fasteners are still tight and the rubber sealing washers have not dry rotted in the florida weather

This is a good product if your trailer is built to median tolerances. The curvature of the roof on my trailer made it impossible to install this rack according to provided instructions or the "Pack'Em youtube video. My trailer roof bows outward slightly before making the bend over the roof trusses (frame). The struts for the roof rack would have mounted at about a 20 degree outward angle if I had mounted on top of the rain gutter as instructed. I would have put way too much stress on the headers trying to pull the struts to vertical in order to install the wooden cross members. Something would have broken before installation was complete. I ended up building some spacer blocks out of square tubing to go between my outer skin and inner wall just BELOW the headers. Inside the trailer I attached 1/4" thick steel straps to the 2 nearest vertical supports in the trailer frame. I then drilled and bolted (1/4" stainless bolts) through the pre-drilled Pack'Em mounting brackets, the trailer skin, the spacer blocks, wooden inner walls, and steel straps and secured with lock washers and nuts. Some of the materials used probably constituted major over kill but I used what steel and hardware I happened to have on hand. Despite the fact that this project took 2 1/2 days (because I'm a design as I go backyard engineer) I'm quite pleased with the outcome. This bracket kit is well designed and well built but alternative mounting systems might be required on some trailers. I'll try to get some photos in later. I would recommend this product and I definitely recommend the folks at etrailer. I've ordered a lot of stuff from them for this project. Their how to videos have helped immensely and the staff there has gone above and beyond more than once to make sure I was a happy customer. They have earned my business!191317

Haven't installed them yet, but they sure are what i was looking for.
Thank-you.1521805

Installation instructions easy to follow. Low cost high quality alternative to local professionally installed racks. Will use them to haul two 12 ft kayaks. Product shipped quickly and in good condition. Recommend these and Company to anyone for up to the recommended load weight. Very sturdy.150447

Gene

6/16/2015

Can you do hwy speed 65-70 mph with the two kayaks secured?

The only issue I have with these is I had to replace all the mounting screws with something bigger they kept snapping and breaking during installation even if I drilled out the pilot hole first with A drill bit, but now they are stronger then the ones the kit comes with and happy with the end result !1136604

Just received the PK-28 Roof Rack Bracket Kit today, which will be mounted atop my 6x12 cargo trailer. This roof rack kit will function as a support frame into which I will mount solar panels supporting electrical needs as I convert the trailer to a camper. I chose this kit for its simplicity, quality of construction and the flexibility it affords me in designing the final rack structure. The kit arrived in good time, well packed and all components are well built. I look forward to providing a picture of the finished installation near future. Thank you eTrailer!!749632

Solid product. I cut 6 inches off the height because it’s so tall. Measure twice on the length of your 2x4 to save yourself some frustration when attaching it to the mounting bracket. The instructions are a little vague, but still doable.1269924

by: Rich H05/10/2017

The rack bracket kit is excellent. I used them to mount an exterior roof-rack on my work trailer and had to reinforce them with aluminum cross-ties to prevent sway. Other than the modification the racks work great.378530