Custom bed rack build

Hi All, I've been meaning to post this up for some time and finally got around to it. 

I made this bed rack using aluminum extrusion that I sourced primarily from 8020.net.  It's great stuff and very modular.  You can mount just about anything to the rack using t-slot hardware. 

The goals for this project were mainly focused around carrying mountain bikes and camping gear.  I also wanted to be able to still remove the rear 2 bed cover panels for carrying tall items or having the dog ride back there. 

Onto the pics...











packed to the gills!

nice.

Very nice project.

Well done.

That looks great

Very nice.    Any chance you could post up your shopping list for this project?

Thanks all, glad you like it.  Yes, I'm happy to post up a parts list, just need to remember where I saved it. 

Very nice project.

Very well done.

 

Yes, Very nice.. Great job..

Details of mounting brackets and points...

Has to be a bit like the old TXAVY rack....

Do the sides still open up fine?

Can it be done a little higher so you can pull the panels with it in place?

Can you also have a piece that can go up on top in the back so if you have factory luggage rack on the top you can use it as a kayak rack?

And what is that up front that looks like a hinge on your front piece?

Just curious. I have a Yakima Rack on mine but always interested in better setups where I can add a Kayak rack or potentially a spare tire holder on the top since I am looking to get a lift kit and much bigger tires.

Okay, here's a link to the parts list spreadsheet I made:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GO-8K_G4SCICHU4DAAJllMp-m7EqpOUL

A couple notes on the spreadsheet:

- The pricing may not be up to date, I ordered a lot of the parts several months ago

- 8020.net is not the cheapest place to get everything, but they do have the most selection. Better deals can be found on Amazon and other websites like TNutz.com.

In addition to the parts listed, I had to make a couple custom pieces to mount the rack:

- Front mounts: I used a simple "L-angle" strong-tie plate that you'd find at a hardware store.  Spray painted it black and drilled holes to mount to the extrusion. This simply clamps the rack down to the forward most panel. There is also a small piece of old rubber bicycle tube between the bed panel and extrusion to provide a grippy surface. 

- Rear mounts: I removed the grab handles and used them as template to drill holes in a 1/4" thick steel plate.  I shimmed up the plates using pieces cut from a HDPE cutting board. I bought new longer stainless screws to attach the plate to the same 3 holes that the grab handles use. 


In the pics, you can see that I removed one of the crossbars and mounted a Yakima round bar in it's place. Originally I thought my Yakima Frontloader bike racks would mount straight to the extrusion crossbars, but it turned out they were a little too big for the Frontloaders to clamp onto. 

Cool.  Thanks 

redheadedrod said:

Do the sides still open up fine?

Click to expand...

Yes, full access to the "saddle bags"

Can it be done a little higher so you can pull the panels with it in place?

Click to expand...

Sure, it could be higher, but I designed it so I can remove the rear 2 panels with the rack on.  It sits 1.5" above the panels now.

Can you also have a piece that can go up on top in the back so if you have factory luggage rack on the top you can use it as a kayak rack?

Click to expand...

Yep, would be super easy to make that addition.

And what is that up front that looks like a hinge on your front piece?

Click to expand...

That's a bike fork mount for a bike with a thru axle suspension fork.

Just curious. I have a Yakima Rack on mine but always interested in better setups where I can add a Kayak rack or potentially a spare tire holder on the top since I am looking to get a lift kit and much bigger tires.

Click to expand...

You can easily add just about anything to this.  A lot of the inspiration came from the Overland/off-road community, and those guys are attaching spare tires, awnings, hi-lift jacks, fuel cans, and all sorts of other stuff to their racks. 

Very cool... I might have to do something similar. You have no problems getting the panels out from under neath though? And if you had built something similar to go up front you could have also gotten the front panels off too?

I am thinking of something where I could potentially make a sort of frame like a ladder rack to mount my kayaks on and hang the spare tire off so as to not block the vision. That or just say the heck with it and put a rear view camera back there with a camera in the rear view mirror. And mount the tire on bars across the bottom and leave the top for kayaks still... But make it removable so I can go off roading with it and not worry about it..

Thank you for sharing..

Rodney

This is probably a silly ask at this point, but......can you talk to me more about the mounting footprints? Especially when it comes to up front mounting points. I'm trying to figure out a better way to make/mount a platform for a rooftop tent on the back, and hopefully allow for the use of other t-slot mounts, so....yeah.

kentrik said:

This is probably a silly ask at this point, but......can you talk to me more about the mounting footprints? Especially when it comes to up front mounting points. I'm trying to figure out a better way to make/mount a platform for a rooftop tent on the back, and hopefully allow for the use of other t-slot mounts, so....yeah.

Click to expand...

I was thinking of making something like this but then add something up the A pillar or on the roof. I don't have an oem roof system but if I did you could fabricate a mount for this and use your tonneau latches to keep it easily removable

kentrik said:

This is probably a silly ask at this point, but......can you talk to me more about the mounting footprints? Especially when it comes to up front mounting points. I'm trying to figure out a better way to make/mount a platform for a rooftop tent on the back, and hopefully allow for the use of other t-slot mounts, so....yeah.

Click to expand...

The front mounts are just small 3" sections of extrusion that rest on the forward bed panel, and are clamped to it using the right angle brackets. So when the rack is on, the rear 2 bed panels can be removed but not the forward one. The thin rubber strip is just a piece of cut up bicycle tube to protect the bed panel and prevent slip. Hopefully that makes sense.

do you have any more photos on the parts and how they attach to the front bed cover of your bed rack

lunchwagon said:

The front mounts are just small 3" sections of extrusion that rest on the forward bed panel, and are clamped to it using the right angle brackets. So when the rack is on, the rear 2 bed panels can be removed but not the forward one. The thin rubber strip is just a piece of cut up bicycle tube to protect the bed panel and prevent slip. Hopefully that makes sense.

Click to expand...

do you have any more photos on the parts and how they attach to the front bed cover of your bed rack