One of the leaders in the rack and ladder industry is Surco Products, a cargo rack, ladder, and tire carrier specialist for most makes of trucks, Jeeps, and vans. There are many types of racks available, and some work better than others, but for our needs we went with a large black Surco Safari rack with a deep basket. To access the rack from the rear of the vehicle, we installed Surco's traditional heavy-duty, stainless steel four-step ladder.

The actual work only took an afternoon and we used common handtools, a drill, and a bit of patience. There were a lot of pieces to put the rack together, but once we got going, things seemed to fall right into place easily. Once the rack was installed, other add-ons could have been incorporated into the final setup, such as a spare tire carrier, a driving light mount kit, an axe and shovel adapter, and a bike mount kit. But we only needed a basket rack.

Most truck and van shops that offer Surco products can do the installation for you if time and experience are a problem. But if you're energetic enough, doing the installation yourself can be rewarding, and you can use that money you saved to go camping.

The '06 Ford longbed van seen here is owned by a Southern California dog trainer and used for her field working Labrador Retrievers. She needed to have a safe place to secure her training gear in order to give her dogs plenty of kennel room.

Retail prices for the Safari racks start at $200 and go up depending on the style and application. The ladder retails between $50 and $75. Fellow adventurers at Pickup Parts in Mission Viejo, California, did all the installation work. Give them a call if you have any questions.