Internal Bed Rack Ideas? Thoughts? Discussion?

Looking to utilize space better inside the shell on my truck - especially permanently mounted items like traction boards, shovel, and axe.

Current mounting location of said items



Cruising the never ending rabbit hole that is the internet, I came across this



and it got my wheels spinning.

The idea is basically either a full (or partial) bed rack you typically see on “overlanding” vehicles with a buncha shit strapped to it like traction boards, Rotopax, shovel, ect, but internal.

Google lead me to a few ideas and such but nothing really stands out.

Has any one build something similar for their truck out of 80/20 extrusion or Unistrut?

Ideally I’m looking to move my traction boards up to the same height as the windows and build a mount for my chainsaw.

 

You could probably weld something up and connectors so it’s removable

 

I’m looking to do the same but more so to create load capacity for a rack and rtt on the top of the camper. This is about the best image I’ve found so far.
I like this a lot because it doesn’t take up actual bed space since it mounts on the bed walls. I have a decked system and space is somewhat of a commodity. Here’s a pic of what I currently have.

 

That’s more or less what I’m looking to do but with unistrut or 80/20

 

Interested to see what you come up with. I built a shelf/rack once to fit inside my Bestopper. I will note, unistrut is HEAVY! My shelf which was only about 18" wide and spanned the width of the bed probably weighed 40 to 50 lbs? I ended up trashing it for a lighter alternative.

Some crappy pics:


Hard to see, painted black, traction boards mounted to it:

 

If you don’t need any serious capacity out of the framing, get aluminum slotted L channel. Light, and strong enough to mount plenty of gear to. Plus you can assemble with basic hardware. I’ll end up doing steel as I need capacity for my rtt along with my fat ass.

 

The crossbars on my cab rack are 13/16” unistrut. Theyre not super heavy. I plan on using the same stuff for the bed rack.

I plan on eventually getting a RTT so the extra support for my fat ass would be welcomed.

 

Progress.

Mock up.

 

In metal

 

This is great. Really good work here and it looks clean too. I should be done with mine next week. I’ll post then.

 

Done

 

Honestly turned out clean as a whistle. I'm almost considering a revamp on my end haha.
Mine is coming together, but not without its headaches. Also, nobody say shit about my welds. They are butt ugly, but dammit if they wont hold lol

 

Looks functional.
I dig the idea; might need to make something similar.

 

I'll admit @steveo27 approach looks dramatically easier and will probably work better for the storage as he has slots to mount against. Mine is primarily meant to support an RTT up top too, so slightly different applications.

 

@steveo27 side question where did you get the net for the roof? Been hauling my rods on a ski rack so I don’t have to break them down. I like the inside net for inclement weather/overnight storage.

 

It’s just an Amazon cargo net.

The rod holder is separated. It’s a DIY piece.





The front is a strap with loops in it and the back piece is just parachord.


I build a DIY rod vault and used it for a while but I’m trying to minimize extra shit on the roof that’ll kill gas mileage.

 

Flapper-disc is a welder's best friend.

 

Early you mentioned 80/20. Search thread titles for it- several hits come up. It’s a very customizable platform

Good job with what you did though!

 

So I’ve made huge progress towards my final product. Here’s my frame fully mounted. The most difficult part was marrying up the support brackets with the through bolts that mount the rail system. I’ll update when I’m finished.

 

Solid.

if I ever breakdown and buy a RTT, I’ll redo mine to span the whole shell like you did. Right now, it’s nothing more than a spot to mount shit.