Thanks for the measurement!
This thread talks about some designs I was thinking of:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46643&highlight=rack
What I want to put on it is two 2.5 gal jerry cans, and one large ammo can that has a footprint about 22"x8". I had previously thought that I would mount the 2 jerry cans side by side and then the ammo can beside them, but I had a friend come over and he thought I should mount them all in a line to get the most out of my departure angle. Mounting the 3 objects this way (jerry - ammo - jerry) would give the rack the dimensions of approx. 56"x10" -- the shallowest measurements so far. It had been about 40"x16" before.
I'm now concerned that I'd block my tail lights too much with this stretched layout though...
Maybe I'll try to rearrange them better. One main issue is that the handles used for opening the ammo can (the whole lid lifts off, one clamp on either side) need to be about 4-5" away from the jerry cans so that I can get my hand on the clamp and unclasp it without getting pinched.
If I arrange them jerry-jerry-ammo, aesthetically it won't be as balanced but I'll save a few inches from the overall length of the rack and hopefully not block my tail lights.
The other option I've been thinking about is building the rack so I could mount the ammo and jerry cans in some sort of stacked configuration, I'm just concerned about losing all visibility out of the rear glass - plus a rack with one platform is much less complicated to build.
I bought enough steel to have some left over after the rack is completed, but I don't want to start cutting too much of it up before my ideas are solidified a bit more.
