How to install a Spyder Industries headache rack on your Tacoma.

I decided to install my headache rack today, and what a headache it was, trying to figure out how Spyder Industries intended for this system to be installed!

No instructions, no video how-to, just a bag of hardware and a big 'Good Luck!' Oh, and this picture from Spyder Industries website.


Once you see how this goes, you realize how you were definitely over-thinking it, and how this system is kinda cool and stupid-simple.

For a 2009 Tacoma, I was sent the rack, two brackets each side, and a bag of hardware.

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You will probably have six-to-eight 5/8-by-1.5" bolts. These bolts go, head-first, into your bedrails. You may need to remove one bedrail bolt so that the 5/8 bolt can slide past. My kit came with 6 bolts, but you will ideally use 8, one for each hole in the bracket.

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After a quick trip to Home Depot (of which, only carried 2" 5/8, go figure), I have all 8 bolts placed in the bedrails. At this point, you can push the bracket snug into the corner of the bed, and tighten the bolts. My bolts slipped once semi-tight, so I used a flat-head screw driver and jammed that between the bolt head and the rail to finish tightening the bolts.

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At this point, it's not a bad idea to loosely attach the second portion of the bracket to the rack. Now take your rack assembly and bolt it to the bed assembly. I used an embarrassing amount of 1/2" washers (6/bolt) to help fill the gap between the bracket pieces. Maybe you won't have this gap, I don't know. At this point you can shift the rack around slightly to ensure it's centered. Once it's where you like it, tighten everything down
into place.



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And, finished! No drilling, no modifying, no removal of..well, anything. It literally just hangs out in your bedrails, and could be disconnected in three different areas, if needed.

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I added my antenna mount by sandwiching it in between the two bracket pieces, and tightening down. No drilling here either!


Better 'after' pictures to come once it's light out.

 

pics no worky

 

subbed

 

Dear Internet, your pictures have arrived....

 

Mounts simiar to my old headache rack but with a lot more washers

 

If I spent almost $600 on a "custom built" headache rack, I would be pissed about using 6 washers on each bolt. Looks good besides that though.

 

I decided to get the rack after I did this..


by hauling this...


and now it looks all shitty and nasty like this...


Darn rack shows it pretty well too.

 

Yea the washers are a bit much. I would measure the gap in there and have some bar stock cut so it's a solid piece and paint to match the rack. Looks great though. If my rear window didn't have my logo on it I'd do that.

 

Thanks. I'm thinking maybe cutting some steel tubing and make some flat black spacers, so it's not so glaringly obvious. Right now the washers look like springs from a few feet away, which is goofy, but not too offensive.

 

Thats a good idea too.

 

Sounds like a good plan. I would do that, or have new brackets made to properly mount it without a stack of washers.

 

Get some black PVC pipe and put it over the washer or just paint the washers black, looks good though

 

Flat bar is the best idea as you will have full contact between the bracket and the mounting foot

 

I emailed Spyder to asked about the bracket. Ideally, they'd send me a new one. It could be that I fudged the install somehow, but given their single picture, and the size of the brackets, this configuration made the most sense.

 

Try to get Spyder to fix it. Take a picture with a tape measure showing the amount of gap, and hopefully they will fix the issue. That is B/S IMHO.

 

Yea the bar stock was a temp fix. They should for sure hook something up and re work the bracket or something.

 

It's slowly growing on me. I'm faced with the tough realization that my truck has more accessories than truck right now....only a 6" lift can correct this situation!

 

Spyder's response to my inquiry regarding the gap.

Are the bedrails up to that type of constant force?

 

I don't buy their excuse. The rails will curl and distort up way too easy doing it as they want it done.