Bed rails attachments.

Unistrut is pretty strong, if you are worried, then use 1 5/8 inch strut. Unistrut also makes 90 degree brackets that are much thicker than the 90 degree brackets that you are currently using.

 

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. . . Good info. thread . . .
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This thread was very informative to help with this bicycle rack.



I can confirm that the 3/8" Grizzly T-bolts (product # G9513) work great. You have to get the right length bolts to use them as they are not threaded all the way through, or else you have to put washers under the head of your bolt so they will fit right. The 1/2" size are also available (G9514). As I live near Williamsport (home of Grizzly) I picked them up there.
I found a great bracket, made by Stanley, at my local ACE hardware. One is mounted "up" and the other "down", with one board on top and one board on the bottom, as I wanted to be able to keep the fork traps on the rack with the tonneau cover on.




They have 3/8 inch holes and mount to the side rails using two bolts/T-nuts. They are painted and have rounded corners (for under the soft top) I am keeping them permanently mounted under my Tonneau cover, and used them for the bicycle rack. I've also attached one extra D-ring for an extra tie down to each bracket, and keep these mounted without the bike rack board.



(The hardware store had only six of the 3/4" long hex-head bolts, so I had to buy two longer bolts, which is why there are washers under them in the photo)
These are the smaller Army surplus D-rings that are mentioned in the thread on mounting D-rings to the bed. My stock, plastic tie-downs are now stored in the basement.
The rack was very easy to make- it could have been a 2x4 but I used 1" (3/4") poplar as I had an extra piece, with a 2" piece screwed on end to the bottom to give added strength so it wouldn't bend. (like a "T") Fork traps can be found online- I got mine from Amazon and they are Delta brand, and can be locked with a padlock.



For the rear wheel I used an old toe-clip strap passed through 1/2" holes. I have this same set-up mounted to a board on top of my car, and also on my motorcycle.



I drilled many placement holes in the front board, so the fork traps can be either mounted forward or backward, front or rear, in case there are different length bikes (my girlfriends is much shorter than mine). The other option would be to make an extra wide board for the rear tires so different bike lengths would still rest on it. The wood will be sealed with stain and exterior varnish.
The Stanley brackets can be used to mount anything as they area very strong- I may put two 2x4s on top of them in place of the bike rack, and then mount my Sears car-top carrier, which would be waterproof, if I ever have too much cargo to fit under the Tonneau.

By the way- after making the bike rack and packing for the trip, I discovered that the bicycle will fit behind the seats of my extended cab with the front wheel off. Just have to turn the handlebars around 180 degrees to shorten the forks. This way I had the tonneau cover on to get the extra 2mpg and also keep the cargo dry.
I drilled enough holes in the boards so that I could carry 5 bikes at once (two facing the rear). I will usually only carry two though.
My trip was 1000 miles, and I can confirm that the new Tonneau cover added exactly 2 mpg with the weight of the cargo in the bed. I expect to get more than that with the truck empty and going at slower speeds.

Thanks again for the great information in this thread.

 

Update on Grizzly T-slot nuts:

Last night I went out to the garage to mount my Quickfists to the bed rails and wanted to see what I could find out about what Crom said here: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd...ml#post6304649
I have 2 of them holding my CB antenna and it doesn't move at all. So I was curious if maybe there was some variance to them. So I put one in the rail and low-and-behold:


Too tall Once I put on a fender washer to an eye bolt and a nut it was tight though:


But when I put on my quickfist it wasn't tight. It moved just a little bit but enough that I wouldn't be happy with it. So you basically have 3 options: A rubber fender washer between the rail and the regular fender washer, grind a little off the top of the T-slot nut, or not worry about it. I'm going to get the rubber fender washers tomorrow night when dad and I are making a Sears/Home Depot run. I'll reupdate after trying that!

 

Thanks for reporting your findings.

Looks like the Grizzly nuts laughing will still work for most people, depending on the application. They are still the best price out there!

 

That's weird, as mine fit great and do not stick out past the rail on my 2013. I wonder if the variance is in the rails of the trucks?

 

Mind you mine were in the factory notches. If I didn't have them there they wouldn't stick out at all. And they are by far the best deal!

 

Changed my mind haha Went to HD last night, no rubber fender washers. Shit. I'll try the store by my house tomorrow morning. Also decided against making Benson X type bars that I could swap from Tacoma to my Grizzly. I just mounted a couple Quickfists to my Grizzly tonight.


Did buy a piece of flat steel though and will be making a tool mount in the morning. Will follow up tomorrow night

 

I made a set of inserts out of thick washers I had laying around. Cut in half and ground down do it's about 7/8" tall. Tapped holes to 1/4-20. Got right angle bracket at Lowe for $2 each. Using that with my Trac Rac bars make is strong and clean. Plan to lower the bracket down slightly by slotted out the hole on the bracket. That way, the load is all on the bed. These bars are nice and wide so the load is spread on the plastic bed cover. The rear is already sitting on the bed cover but the front is slightly raised.

I still need to finishing details but works good and only spent $20 as I own the Trac Rac. Those work great as cross bars as they are strong, light and have slots to mount all sorts of attachments. The slot is just like Thule's Aero bar and Yakima's Whispbar.




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Oh.. and thanks to all those who posted here to get me these come up with these ideas!

Initially I was going to buy a set of Yakima Rail Riders 1's and bolt them to my brackets.. then I thought why not just use my Trac Rac bars since I don't use the rack all the time.

 

Going to try a couple of these. Subscribed

 

One day I'll need this

 

After buying a Thule rack cheap, and deciding not to spend the additional $300 or so on new get and fit kit, I decided to go the bed rack method.

Did some research, ordered the T nuts and picked up most of the hardware around the shop. I had the brackets made 5"x5" and drilled the holes myself.

Mocked everything up late this evening. I'm going to tear it down and primer and paint it.

Might make more holes so I can move the racks up or down. As of right now (minus the basket) I'm right at $200. Not bad for a budget built. But the enjoyment came from making it myself.

More pictures to come, but thanks to those who paved the way before me.

 

Finished up today and made some modifications.

 

Can you post a pic of the mounting area. I see four bolts and I thought the four were to either move up or down. What are the other two used for when mounted? Thanks

 

Anybody with a Roll-X tonneau out there who had to sacrifice the OE rail cleats to install the cover? What are you guys doing to add cleats or rings to the rail beside buying those stupid Roll-X bolt-on rings ($10 each for a bent chunk of steel with a two holes in it)?

I've searched but have not located a thread if there is one.

 

I'm having a hard time finding the T-Nut for the bed cage. I got some square ones but they get caught in the rails when I try and slide the bed cage. Looking for this exact T-Nut that I can use to slide my bed cage. Can anyone link me by chance?

 

I found this link online as well but not sure about the thread pattern.

Also the ones that come with the cage are exactly like the picture I posted. The ones in the link all seem to have some sort of square end to it. I'm just hoping not to catch the slots under the bed rails like my square t-bolts connect too.. Ace hardware didn't have anything close at all.