Shovel Mount for Under Tonneau Cover

After posting this in the "What Have You Done to Your 3rd Gen Today," I got a bunch of requests for info on how to put the mount together, so I thought I'd throw together a short DIY instruction. There really isn't a whole lot to the build, it should only take an hour's worth of work start to finish. You can get all the hardware at almost any hardware store.

To start, grab

$18 Te-Co 41406T Black Oxide 1018 Steel Tapped Through T-Slot Nut, 3/8"-16 TPI, 5/8" Height x 7/8" Width x 9/16" Table Slot (Pack of 5)

these off Amazon. They are what you will be inserting into the rail system. To get them in, you just pop off the caps on the end of the rail and they slide in. Also, get a set of

$11 END OF ROAD Original Quick Fist Clamp for mounting tools & equipment 1" - 2-1/4" diameter, 2 Count (Pack of 1) - 0010

clamps off Amazon. These are what hold the shovel itself. Pretty straight-forward. Then, head to the hardware store. This is what you're getting (I'm listing by each mount - for the shovel, you'll need two of each of what I list):

• 3/8" - 16 bolt (3/4" long)
• 3/8" - 16 bolt (1/2" long)
• 3/8" - 16 nut
• 3/8" - 16 spacer (1/2" long) - you can get this in whatever material you want. I got mine in finished steel b/c I liked the way it complimented everything
• 3/8" washer (I think this is about 1/2" wide? maybe 3/4"?) - this is what is between the rail and the spacer, make sure it's wide enough so you don't fuck up your rail system
• 4" (you can go longer if you want) rounded steel bracket - this is what actually drops the height of the mount

Then comes the assembly. You will need two socket wrenches with appropriately-sized sockets (so you can counter-turn to tighten). Take the 3/4 bolt and run it through the 4" rounded bracket, then thread the 1/2" spacer, finally adding the washer. Bolt that down to the T-Slot mount you got off Amazon. Flip the mount around to the bottom. Push the 1/2" bolt through the clamp, then through the 4" rounded bracket, and close it off with the nut. The whole assembly should look like this...


After that, you just rinse and repeat for the second bracket and slide them on your rails and you're good to go! Best of luck!

Finished product.



Mods, I posted this on the tonneau cover forums because I thought it made the most sense. If you think it belongs elsewhere, feel free to move it.

 

Do you know if your mount works with a Tonneau cover such as the Bakflip MX4?

 

It works perfectly with the factory tonneau, so it should work with the Bakflip.

 

Thanks for the response.

 

If you can still see your rail system it should work. My bakflip G3 for example wouldn't work for this

 

That's probably a good rule of thumb. I forgot that some tonneaus actually cover part of the rail system.

 

Ho long is the bracket? Just to get an idea of what I need.

 

4 inches