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A collapsible ladder rack system for use on pickup truck or similar vehicle. The rack system includes housings, main arms, material arms, extension arms, and supporting braces. The housings are secured to the rails. The hinged main arms rise vertically and are locked into place by braces. The hinged

A collapsible ladder rack system for use on pickup truck or similar vehicle. The rack system includes housings, main arms, material arms, extension arms, and supporting braces. The housings are secured to the rails. The hinged main arms rise vertically and are locked into place by braces. The hinged material arms rise horizontally and lock into place with braces. The extension arms telescope out of two of the material arms and insert into the empty material arms and lock into place. When the ladder rack is no longer needed, the steps are reversed so that the other rack components collapse into the housings on the bed rails. Accessory components can be mounted on the rack to enhance the capabilities of the system.

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I claim: 1. A rack for use on a vehicle having a flat bed to carry a ladder, the rack comprising: a pair of housings mountable to the vehicle on opposite sides of the flat bed and extending between front and back ends of the flat bed; upright main arms attached to the housings at four corners of th

I claim: 1. A rack for use on a vehicle having a flat bed to carry a ladder, the rack comprising: a pair of housings mountable to the vehicle on opposite sides of the flat bed and extending between front and back ends of the flat bed; upright main arms attached to the housings at four corners of the flat bed, each upright main arm being hinged relative to the housing to which the main arm is attached, each main arm being foldable from an upright position toward a central section of the housing to which the main arm is attached, each main arm including side walls extending upwardly from opposite ends of a base wall so that the side walls and the base wall form a U-shaped member with a main arm channel being defined between the side walls, each channel opening inwardly to face a channel on an upright main arm attached to a housing on an opposite side of the flat bed; a material arm mounted on an upper end of each upright main arm to support a ladder when the material arm is in an operative position, each material arm being hinged relative to the upright main arm on which the corresponding material arm is mounted, each material arm spanning and being foldable into the main arm channel on the main arm to which the material arm is attached so that each material arm is foldable into a corresponding main arm channel and each main arm is foldable relative to the corresponding housing after the material arms are folded into corresponding channels; and wherein each housing comprises a U-shaped member, with an upwardly open U-shaped housing channel being formed on each housing, main arms attached to each housing being folded into corresponding U-shaped housing channels after the material arms have been folded into the corresponding main arm channel; and wherein a main arm brace extends between each main arm and the corresponding housing to which each material arm is attached, each main arm brace locking the corresponding material arm in an upright position wherein each main arm brace is foldable between the corresponding main arm and corresponding housing and is foldable into the corresponding housing when the main arm is folded into the corresponding housing; and wherein a material arm brace extends between each main arm and the corresponding material arm, each material arm brace being foldable between the corresponding material arm and the corresponding main arm and being foldable into the corresponding main arm when the material arm is folded into the corresponding main arm. 2. The rack of claim 1 wherein each material arm comprises a tube having a rectangular cross section. 3. The rack of claim 2 wherein an extension arm is attachable to selected material arms, each extension arm telescoping relative to the corresponding material arm to which the extension arm is attached. 4. The rack of claim 3 wherein each extension arm comprises a tube having a rectangular cross section. 5. The rack of claim 4 wherein each extension arm is insertable into an opposed material arm in an extended position. 6. The rack of claim 1 wherein a material arm brace extends between a corresponding main arm and a corresponding material arm, each material arm brace locking the material arm in a horizontal position relative to the corresponding main arm. 7. A rack for use on a pickup truck comprising: two housings, each attachable to rails on a side of a bed on the pickup truck; four main arms attached at lower ends thereof to opposite ends of each housing; main arm braces extending between main arms and the housing from which the corresponding main arm extends, the main arm braces securing the main arm in an upright position relative to the housings; material arms attached to each main arm at upper ends of corresponding main arms, and extending horizontally relative to material arms in an upright position; material arm braces extending between main arms and the material arm from which the corresponding main arm extends, the material arm braces securing the material arms in a horizontal position relative to the main arms, and being foldable with the material arm into a corresponding main arm; the main arm braces being unlockable from the housings and the material arm braces being unlockable from the main arms so that the material arms and main arms are foldable relative to each other and relative to the housing so that the material arms and material arm braces are foldable into the main arms, and the main arm braces and the main arms, with material arms and material arm braces nested therein, are foldable into the housings to position the rack in a folded configuration on top of the rails on the pickup truck. 8. The rack of claim 7 wherein the housings and the main arms each have U-shaped cross sections with housing channels extending along the length of the housings and main arm channels along the length of the main arms. 9. The rack of claim 8 wherein the housing channels and the main arm channels are parallel to mutually perpendicular planes so that the housing channel are upwardly open and the main arm channels are open on vertical sides of the main arms when in an upright configuration. 10. The rack of claim 7 wherein an extension arm extends between material arms attached to different main arms. 11. The rack of claim 7 further including sheet goods carrier arms attachable above each housing at the top of front and rear main arms extending upwardly from the corresponding housing, the sheet goods carrier arms being attachable to and detachable from the main arms and providing means for supporting sheet goods carried by the rack. 12. The rack of claim 7 including an extender member attachable to rear material arms and extending rearwardly beyond rear material arms to increase the length of the rack, the extender member includes rearwardly extending arms attached to each rear material arm and a laterally extending extender arm joining the two rear material arms. 13. The rack of claim 7 including a foldable fabric camper shell. 14. A rack attachable to and removable from bed rails extending upwardly on opposite sides of a bed on a motor vehicle, portions of the rack being shiftable between a collapsed position and an upright position, the rack comprising: separate upwardly facing channels formed on a U-shaped housing attachable to the bed rails; the portions of the rack being shiftable between a collapsed position and an upright position further comprising separate inwardly facing channels securable in the upright position and formed on U-shaped main arms hinged relative to the U-shaped housings, each inwardly facing channel facing a channel on an U-shaped main arm attached to a housing on an opposite side of the bed of the motor vehicle; and front and rear material arms hinged relative to the main arms at the front and rear of each housing, and securable to the main arms when the main arms are in the upright position to support loads on top of and extending between the front and rear material arms; the front and rear material arms being foldable into the inwardly facing channels, and the main arms, with the material arms received within inwardly facing channels, being foldable into the upwardly facing channels on the U-shaped housings so that the material arms are nested into the main arms and the main arms are in turn nested into the housings in the collapsed position. 15. The rack of claim 14 wherein the thickness of walls forming the U-shaped main arms is greater than the thickness of the material arms to provide additional load carrying capability to the main arms. 16. The rack of claim 14 including material arm braces extending between the main arms and the material arms and foldable into the main arm U-shaped channels, and main arm braces extending between the main arms and the housing and foldable into the housing U-shaped channels, the material arm braces being lockable in place when the main arms are in the upright position and unlockable to fold into the main arm U-shaped channels.