Fabricating a Bed Rack

About to start fabricating a bed rack for bikes, kayaks, maybe an RTT down the road, etc. Based my design on a bunch of members' racks and it seems like a good idea. I'd appreciate any feedback before I start cutting metal.

 

If I were to build a bed rack and had plans for a RTT, I would make the top of the rack lower than the top of the cab so the top of the tent when collapsed would be level with the top of the cab. That would make it better for long trips (less drag and wind noise). But, if you need the cargo space, that's a decision you'll have to make. Just my $0.02. I like the idea!

 

Good Point. My current design is a bit of compromise, 15" (instead of 16" in the latest drawing) would still let me see out the back and give just enough room for a 33" tire to be rolled in vertically. The top of the rack should be 3-4" below the cab roof line, so only 2/3 of a RTT would stick up in the wind. It should be just high enough that I can get a canoe or kayak to clear the roof with some sort of mount, and let me almost stand up under the RTT awning when open.

 

The trouble is - it's hard to get it low enough to matter and at the same time, keep the tent high enough to use an annex, or have sufficient access to cargo space.

Truth told, the RTT didn't have that great an effect on my MPG - if you have enough of a gap between it and the cab, it's not a huge drag. I lost far more MPG going with an aggressive-ish tire (BFG AT KO) and a lift.

In my view, the main trouble with having the RTT up that high is bugs. I installed a roof rack and a fairing to resolve that problem.

 

Good looking rack, I'm having one built now to carry my RTT.
I have a AutoHome Columbus http://www.autohomeus.com/rooftop/columbus.php
that is longer then my short bed, I don't want a 2ft overhang on the rear so the rack is being made a little taller the the roof so I can extend it 1-1.5 ft over the cab.
You might think about adding rear & side light mounts and antenna mounts for future CB or HAM install

 

That's a good idea with the fairing.

 

Works, too!



See ma! No bugs!!!

 

Looking good. I'd like to see how this turns out.

 

What rack is this RTT on?

Please keep us posted, I love your ideas for a rack.

 

Looks like a Thule type rack. You can see the bikes are mounted on the same bars as the tent.

 

Nice design man. I'm looking to have one built and have been doing like you....browsing other designs and integrating ideas from different racks into my design.

 

Picked it up from the fabricator today. Happy with how it turned out. Only thing I would change so far if I was doing it again would be to make it an inch shorter. Now it just needs to warm up so I can clean it up and paint it.

 

Looks good!!!

Don't forget to put some cap foam between the bedside and the rack so it doesn't mess up the plastic caps.

 

What are the 1x1 pieces sticking out on the side for?
Never mind I scrolled up and saw the plans for bike mounts.

 

I think I'm going to take some cues from this approach:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/143789-bed-rack-idea.html#post3390818

and just ditch the plastic caps completely. Should make the rack sit almost an inch lower (which is a good thing) and I can just snap the caps back on when I remove the rack.

 

That looks really good; good job!

 

Cleaned it up, drilled some mounting holes to bolt it into the bed rails, and threw a few coats of bedliner on it. Ended up removing the plastic bedside caps to get the rack to sit lower. Covered the tops of the bedsides with 3m vinyl wrap and put some weatherstripping-type foam on the underside of the rack. Hopefully that'll keep things protected, but I'll pull it off in a week or two to see if anything is wearing through. It's bolted down pretty solid though, so shouldn't be too much friction from movement.







Thinking of mounting the spare (which doesn't fit well in the stock location anymore) upright in the rear-left corner of the bed.

 

NICELY DONE!!!

 

Nice,

Can you take closer photos from the rear in relation to the distance the bike racks stick out from the truck?

I'm doing the exact same thing and was working on how to mount them.
Have Yakima stuff as well...

 

Don't know if this helps. The mounting arms I'm using are 1" square hollow steel and extend around 4" past the top of the bedside at the front. The front and back are the same length, but because the bedside is narrower towards the rear, they have a bit more clearance back there.