Custom Tonneau Cover Bed Rack - Low profile L-Track

I was looking for a used set of ladder racks but some TracOnes came on sale at Crappy so I went for that. I used rivnuts to secure the tracks and some of them let go so it was a beech of a time. Machined some holes into the cast aluminum brackets and UHMV poly for the spacers. Used a cabinetmaking CNC router. They were a little stubborn going onto the tracks but did go.

 

yeah if the tracks aren't 100% square/ parallel it can be quite stubborn to get in an out.
but that's awesome to see the final result!

though for the spacers, i assumed you put them here?


my pin is on the other side/ close to the tower of the backrack where the entire weight sits on the bracket

 

I'm going to tweak it yet with a spacer on the end or machined a new stepped one. The way the cast channel is doesn't lend itself to having it on the other end.

 

I just finished putting the L tracks on my bed this weekend i will take some pictures next week thanks for the details in this thread. Would it have been a little easier to mount the rack with these? They are not quick release but im assuming that stays on often.

 

Just need a rear wheel mount for the crossbar, but eyyy it works perfectly with the bike for now.

Writeup here

 

lots of great info hear. thanks.

 

thanks for reading through!
it's one of those systems i'd do again, but with nicer materials. try to get smaller tolerances if possibly.

 

may be my next thing to do. the used extang cover I have leaves only 1/2" on either side so not enough space to bolt a track down. already thinking of removing the bad cap over the sides and bolting on a piece of long strip metal to support some sort of tie down. I just think it would be a shame not to have a basket of something on top of just be able to carry recovery gear or other things on the cover.... we shall see..

 

it'll be a bit harder for the 2nd gens as well as your bedsides are much thinner than what us 3rd gen guys have. Doable maybe but you'll be limiting yourself to the "style" of track as there are 3 main ones;

Flanged, Angled (what i use) and "regular" which would be a bit your taste.

The Germans have a bounty of this stuff in different styles; https://www.kuriershop.de/ladungssicherung/airlineschienen-zurrschienen/airlineschienen/?p=1
they have a flanged version that you glue down to the cabin to prevent drilling. Alot of the Euro-spec trucks up here in White horse run L-track in some sort of configuration.


as well as differnt mounts such as this one which i will certainly be ordering if if i had to do it again; https://www.kuriershop.de/palettenstopp-airlineschiene-2er-set-seitengleich
Which fits 80/20 extruded aluminum.

 

One of the German trucks that showed up ran the Glue-down stuff.

 

But yeah, the plastic bed caps doesn't help much but causes more issues than it's worth.

Bread basket trays work well!

 

this looks interesting...
https://www.partsengine.ca/DZ99780B...MI38CZ28ua-QIVka7ICh05vQTYEAQYAyABEgL3IPD_BwE

 

Thank you for the inspiration. I've had this thread saved for over a year now and just got around to making the mods to my Ram 1500. I ended up using strut channel for my cross bars.

 

this is awesome! I bought all the stuff but never got around to installing

 

For interest sake, I thought long and hard about what material to use for the crossbars. I originally convinced myself that I would use extruded 80/20 aluminum T-slot for the crossbars. However, after carefully considering it further, I realized that if I ever overloaded the aluminum across an expanse this wide, it would bend and never return (even if it just bent a little). That was what drove me to use the steel strut channel which can flex. Typically, steel has memory and will return to shape where aluminum will not. That said, the other obvious benefit for using the strut channel is the fact that it has lots of attachment points and could also slip a tie down strap through the elliptical holes. Combined with the lower cost of strut channel fittings, it made sense for my application.

I absolutely love the fitting shown in Post #49 for the 80/20 extruded aluminum! I would recommend to anyone who considers that to look at the load tables for 80/20 across the width of the truck bed to ensure it supports the load you're planning to implement on your rails. I would say that if you were going to put some bicycles on the rails, there are lots of easy ways to implement t-slot fittings to accommodate which would certainly support the use case for 80/20.

As an added benefit to my implementation of the strut channel clamps is that the tonneau cover will fit folded underneath, even with 3 folds thick (the last position folds against the back glass for my cover, so isn't an issue).