Light duty rack with tonneau, my answer

Here's how I combined a light duty rack (like for a canoe or ladder) with a tonneau cover. Yes, it does involve drilling through the bed rails.

First build a rack.

 

Next drill through plastic caps and bed rail.

 

Plastic caps are thin plastic and will collapse easily. I built them up with pieces of hockey pucks cut to fit on my band saw and glued in place with contact cement. This way I could tighten a bolt enough to compress a lock washer and not collapse the rail caps.

 

Lastly mount racks with SS bolts/nuts/washers/lock washers.

 

Looks good OP. Nice work.

 

Def original, looks good IMO...

 

U can also use a rack system. This is what I used on my ranger. I installed this on my Taco but do not have photos. Run rack tracks down the bed rails then build the rack. It's clean.

I had to buy new cross bars for Tacoma since its wider but once I get it loaded up I'll post some pictures. This is a Thule system.

Granted, the longest long boards I'm hauling are only 12 feet or so... Loading and unloading at chest height is something I really like about this set up.

 

That looks great, but I need (wanted? ) an over the cab rack in order to move an 18' canoe.

I will say, I'm a tad concerned about the structural integrity of the lightweight rack, but it's primary function is to hold the canoe over the cab. The canoe will be securely tethered to the frame front and back, but wind at interstate speeds might overpower it.