Looking for Comments/Critiques on Bed Rack Design (personal project)

Please let me know what you think! This is just a personal project for my '14 DCSB. Material is 1.5" x .095 ERW tubing. No need to sustain impact/roll as it's obviously for cargo only. Target load is 800lbs -- the few people I talked to said that shouldn't be a problem with this tubing/design as long as the welds are good. The ends of the tubes will be sitting on the side of the bed (terminated with a small L-bracket down to the bed rails where they're clamped down). Any comments or critiques before I proceed with my fabricator? Out of curiosity, what would you expect to pay for this if provided a quote? Thanks!

 

I want to do something like this as well.

 

@Mobtown Offroad

 

Gotta have some rear mounted LEDs on that top bar. You could also drop a tube size on the back half section of the rack add some securing pins. You could then telescope the back section forward so you open up the back section of your bed for large item placement such as bikes or anything taller.

 

Rear LEDS are definitely part of the plan -- would just use some hose clamps to move them around the racks as needed to point in the direction I need (and remove them when not adventuring).

Having a tough time visualizing what you're saying with regard to telescoping the back section. Can you explain a bit more or upload a quick MS Paint edit on the pic I posted? Thanks!

 

I was considering side plates but decided against it mainly because I didn't want an obstruction while trying to access the bed from the sides. It's a moot point if you're going with a softtopper though.

 

Hmm.... I may just need to sacrifice the ability to collapse the topper. I looked at a couple of Youtube videos and I'd need almost a foot of clearance with the way it folds...
I can always roll up the sides of the canvas rather than collapse the whole thing if I need to increase access to the bed. Hopefully this doesn't bite me in the butt down the road!

 

@DoorDing covered the same things I was going to say. Make sure you get the soft topper first or at least get measurements from someone with one. The flange that will sit on top of the bed rails will over hang a good it and is not all that aesthetically pleasing. It'll need to be fairly thick too because at the back corners, it'll overhang a good bit. The soft topper sits flush on the inside lip of the bed and is parallel to that down the length of the bed rail. It gives you a good amount of flat real estate at the front of the bed rail which is good but since the bed tapers, you have nothing really at the back corner over top the tail lights. Long beds this isn't a huge deal because you can build the rack a little shorter and still have a good size rack. Short beds is a little more of a challenge with that. Personally, I was going to do one too and bring in the back tube that goes over top of the cover moved toward the cab of the truck, then have that tube angled back. This would allow you to have more of the tub welded to the flange to sit on top of the bed rail so you don't have to use as thick of a plate. Not sure who your fabricator is but your current design, IMO would need to have a 1/4" thick recommended, 3/16" thick flange that ran down the length of the bed rail. If it were 5' long, you're going to need a fairly strong press brake to do it. At 1/4" thick mild steel, you need about 15-1/2 tons of force per foot using a 2" wide bottom die which is what should get used on the material thickness, so a total of 77-1/2 tons of force. That isn't a huge amount but it is also a pretty decent press brake.

Most shops don't charge for quotes and if you're going to pay a place to make this, being a one off it will be a pretty decent build cost, plus powder coat. There is a good amount of time for labor in this. Good luck and I'd love to see it when done! Also, check out @JLee, he does a soft topper bed rack that looks really good.