Map Rack for Car Tournament Travel

[Chris Perkins]

Hey all.

Recently built a new wooden map-rack for bringing multiple pre-built maps to tournaments, had a chance to use it today at our MCS event in Springfield, MA, and it went pretty good, so I wanted to publish some pictures and general build instructions in case anyone else is interested in making something similar.

First off, a finished picture of the rack in my car (Subaru Outback, here with the backseat down, for size reference) with a few maps slotted in it:


It can fit 3-4 tournament maps fully assembled (castle/tree/glaciers in place) or ~ 6 with the large LoS blockers removed.

Each map sits on one of the peg-board sheets (all must be the same width, but can have different depths for different map sizes) and is slid in from the front (facing rear of car here).

This assembly survived the ~ 2 hour drive (each way) from Nashua NH to Springfield MA today, and the only things that got mis-placed were some of the top terrain tiles (stuff like lvl 3 2 hex snow tiles), a few of which got bumped off.

Dimensions:
Width: 30"
Height: 2'
Depth: 32"

Materials:
1x4x8 (x1) - cut into quarters (2' segments)
1x2x8 (x8 ) - cut into thirds (32" segments)
30"x24" 1/4" plywood
4'x8' pegboard (cut into 3x 32"x30" segments + 1x 30"x16" segment).
35-40 1" wood screws (minimum)
Note: I bought all my materials at Home Depot, who did the cutting for me. They do decent free cutting, but it isn't super precise, so if that will bother you don't get your wood cut there (you can see what I mean below).

Build Instructions:
1) Build Side Frames
Lay out 2 of the 1x4 segments 32" apart (outside end to end) and lay 12 of the 1x2 segments across them horizontally. There should be 1/2" of gap space between each of the 1x2 segments (that's the space where the map trays will slide in). Screw at least 1 wood screw into each side of the 1x2 segments. The end result of this should look kinda like a ladder. A picture this segment (after fully assembled):

Repeat this process for the other side.
2) Attach Back Plywood
This was the hardest part to do by myself because it requires getting the sides you just built to stand relatively perpendicular to the ground while you lay the 24"x30" plywood sheet on top of them and secure it (3+ screws per side) to the ends of the sides. Doing it by myself, I had to use other things to prop up those 2 segments so they stayed in place. Make sure you have the 1x2 segments facing inward on both sides here (so the 1x4 pillars on the ends are facing out). Screw the plywood (from the outside) into the 1x4 segments and/or the ends of the 1x2 segments.
3) Attach Bottom Support
Flip the whole thing over (so the bottom is facing up) and lay the scrap 30"x16" pegboard segment across the front (relative to where the maps will go in, so the far side from the back plywood) and screw it into the bottom of the 2 1x4s at the front.

Mistakes I made building it:
1) Not Measuring the Door to My Basement
I build my maps in my basement (where my Scape is stored) and didn't measure that clearance space. Turns out a 30"x32" piece of wood doesn't fit perfectly horizontally through it (it's only ~ 29" wide) so I'll have to take apart the assembly and essentially remove 1.5" inches from the total width. I measured everything super carefully except that door The good news is that it's easy to build this for any particular size, just scale-down the relevant dimensions across all the building materials.
2) 1x2 Lumber Splits Easily When Screwing
I wouldn't call this a mistake, per se, but it's a warning/caution. 1x2 lumber is difficult to sink a screw into near the ends without splitting the wood. Using larger lumper though would increase the weight and lower the number of total racks in the final assembly, so that's the trade-off to keep in mind.
3) Not Quite Enough Bottom Support
If I were doing this from scratch, I'd get another piece of plywood 32"x30" to support the bottom better than the 16"x30" pegboard segment does. It moves around more than I'd prefer while carrying it in the air (to put in and out of my car) as-is.
4) Not Keeping My Rear-View Mirror In Mind
I'd recommend cutting out a section of the back 24"x30" plywood segment, roughly 20" wide and 12" tall (centered at the top of the plywood segment) to leave room for seeing back through your rear view camera when driving. This shouldn't take too much structural integrity away and will still act as a stopper to prevent the maps from going back through the assembly.

Hope this is useful or interesting to some of you.

I'm happy to answer any questions or clarify anything I wrote that's not clear or specific enough.

- CP

P.S. Thanks to a bunch of people who gave me feedback to questions I asked before doing the build.

[Hahnarama]

Should there be pictures in this post?

[Chris Perkins]

Originally Posted by Hahnarama

Should there be pictures in this post?

Fixed, thanks for letting me know.

Somehow I accidentally switched the pictures back from public to private. Now sure how. But it should be working again.

[Killometer]

@cmgames

[cmgames]

This is great! I was just asking about something like this in the Question Dump.

The only concern I can see is that I might add a bungee or or strap or something to keep those top outside corners from spreading. I assume there is enough friction between the map bases and the 1x2s to keep the maps from just sliding out backwards when you accelerate.

~Z

[Chris Perkins]

Originally Posted by cmgames

I assume there is enough friction between the map bases and the 1x2s to keep the maps from just sliding out backwards when you accelerate.

There was, yeah. The peg board racks didn't slide backwards on me at all.

Though you could pretty easily add some brackets that are only attached to the sides and rotate 90 degress inwards to hold them in place if it was something you were worried about.

Originally Posted by cmgames

The only concern I can see is that I might add a bungee or or strap or something to keep those top outside corners from spreading.

A bungee (or anything non-permanent) is a good idea for that.

I hadn't put a piece of wood across the top (would would have increased stability) because I didn't want to limit the number of maps it could hold (i.e. have LoS blockers stick out above the top) but something removable and pliable like a bungee avoids that issue.

[Mythic]

Awesome! Thanks for the instructions.

[cmgames]

Chris,

I took your build and made one of my own. My first concern in my build was that I needed to make it more store-able when not in use. So I made mods to allow it to fold down flat.
I took your 'mistakes' to heart and made sure to pre-drill and countersink all the screws so as to not split the pieces. I also adjusted the dimensions to fit my (pre-existing) boards and my car.



Rather than screw the base directly to the sides, I hinged the base in the middle and attached the base to the sides with hinges, too.



The back piece is also attached with hinges and latched on the other side.



I added 1/4" dowel pins by the latches to ensure that the back stays square when closed.



I also have one map board that is longer and narrower than the others, so I put little tabs at the top to allow me to set that board across the top rail.



Unlatch the back and swing it around to the side, pull up on the center of the base and the whole assembly folds flat.





I also drilled shallow divots along the outside front to provide a firm location to hook a bungee across the front at various heights depending on how many maps are in the rack.



~Z

[Myriadite]

Wow, that is very impressive!

[Chris Perkins]

Sweet, nice build @cmgames .

Thanks for all the pictures.

I love the folding idea, may try to add that to mine at some point in the future.

[A3n]

Nice work guys. Now I want to see one of these on a trolley that is like those ambulance beds where you just roll it in & out & the wheels fold up & down to support it. No lifting required.

[cmgames]

And it will automatically walk itself up stairs!

~Z