Building a police equipment rack isn’t difficult. While the steps involved in how to build a police style gear rack are few, there is a lot of knowledge needed to be able to complete the job in a professional manner that will hold up for years. Here are my tips on how to build a police gear rack efficiently and quickly, as well as some personal experience from my time as a police officer who traveled regularly.
When you’re a police officer—or any first responder—you have to maintain a full load-out of police gear such as batons, pepper spray, gun holsters and handcuffs. This can be challenging for limited spaces in your vehicle or at home, where storing this gear becomes a problem. Fortunately, there is an easy solution. In this post, we’ll run through how to build a police gear rack for keeping all these crucial tools organized and accessible.
How to build a police gear rack
Gear racks are a great way to organize and display your gear, but they can be expensive. If you want to build your own rack, here are some options for materials and designs that will work for you.
DIY Gear Rack Materials:
Wooden Racks: If you have the time and skill to do so, wooden racks are a great option. They’re simple, sturdy and affordable, too. You can buy pre-cut pieces of wood at most hardware stores or home improvement centers — just make sure they’re sturdy enough to hold all of your gear without bowing under pressure.
Metal Racks: Metal racks likewise don’t require much time or effort on your part, but they do require tools like drills and saws that may not be available in all households. Still, metal racks look nice — especially when paired with wood panels — and they’re virtually indestructible.
“I have a bunch of tactical gear that I wanted to store in my garage, but I didn’t want to buy a rack. Instead I took some PVC pipe and built my own. The whole project cost about $30 and took about an hour or two.”
“This is a great idea for storing your gear safely and neatly. You can get creative with the design and make it fit your needs.”
“This is a great way to organize your gear so you can find what you need quickly.”
This is the final part of a series on building a police gear rack. The first part can be found here and the second part can be found here.
The last step is to cut the top piece and drill holes into it so that you can hang your gear on it.
I used a jigsaw to cut out my top, but you could also use a table saw or router if you have one handy. You’ll want to measure everything out carefully before cutting because once it’s cut, there’s not much chance of replacing it if something goes wrong!
Next, drill holes into each side at regular intervals so that you can hang your gear onto it. If your gear does not require mounting points (such as pouches), then skip this step and go straight onto mounting your gear onto the rack itself.
You can build a police gear rack that will hold your body armor, helmet, vest, and other gear. This rack will fit in your locker or closet and will help keep your gear organized and easy to find. The rack is made from PVC pipe with a few connectors and some 1/2″ plywood sheeting.
Use the following guide to build your own police gear rack:
Materials needed for the project:
– 2 – 48″ pieces of PVC pipe (1/2″)
– 4 – 36″ pieces of PVC pipe (1/2″)
– 8 – 18″ pieces of PVC pipe (1/2″)
– 4 – end caps (1/2″)
– 4 – 3 way connectors (1/2″)
– 4 – 90 degree elbows (1/2″)
– 2 – T joints (1/2″)
There are many different types of gear racks available for purchase, but I prefer to build my own out of wood. It’s cheaper, easier and more customizable than most pre-made options.
The main advantage of building your own gear rack is that you can customize it to fit your needs. You can also modify it as needed to suit the available space in your locker room or office.