Stainless Steel Over Tonneau cover rack system

I purchased a over tonneau cover rack that I really liked, however after a year of usage the powder coating has bubbled and chipped away and it has started to rust. I have decided that I am going to make one out of stainless instead. The rack is designed to use aluminum 8020 cross rails which allow for a ton of options on mounting things and enable you to have custom bar widths allowing you to have outside the bed mounting for a bike. I have also designed it so that you can hook a tie down strap into the upright to fasten things like plywood, etc onto the rails. This was something lacking on the one that I had and I always had to open the cover to strap things down.

Is there any interested in this type of rack?

I know I have not posted much on this forum, but to give you a little background I have been active in the maker community for a long time and run a design and fabrication shop. This would just be another product to add to out collection.

If you interested let me know so that I can decide if this will be a one of rack or something I do a small batch run of to sell. I will post a CAD rendering if people want to see it.

 

Bubbled powder coating - KBVoodoo? Mine too. I sanded it down, etch primer and repainted - perfect! Would love to see your system.

 

Yeah I sanded mine down and re-powder coated them, but I wanted something with more flexibility for the rails and also for strapping things and decided to just design my own. We have been doing a ton of stuff with 8020 lately, so that instantly came to mind. I forsee an accessory for mounting kayak's over the bed/cab in the near future if there is interest. I will post CAD rendering in a day or two. I am travelling and away from my CAD station.

 

So it sounds like this might not interest people. Gonna make a set for myself and see how it goes

 

not personally interested in the rack but i like reading build threads on DIY projects. So share away and maybe someone down the road will find this and it would be useful for them. Also in to see your stainless work.

 

Curious to see end result with pics.

 

Don't be discouraged! Definitely make it for yourself, post the photos and take it from there. It sounds cool!

 

Not discouraged at all Gonna make it for myself no matter what since I am tired of racks that rust and look like crap in salt air. I have been playing around with some designs and came up with this as a first cut.

 

Gonna use anodized black aluminum extrusion for the crossbars and stainless steel bolts. Let me know if your interested since making a couple is cheaper then making a one off.

 

Interested, what would the weight rating be on these racks?

 

So I have been brainstorming how to DIY build this same setup for weeks now. I am just having a hard time coming up with the brackets. You seem to have something that works for me.

Do you have a rendering of the entire rack?
What price point are you looking at?

I may be interested on only the brackets themselves if the price for the entire rack is too high.

 

looks cheap but often price is listed per foot so be aware of that when ordering. I can tell you after using it industrially it does add up quick.

 

Interested

 

You could absolutely weld it up. We are going with laser cut and bent construction. As for the extrusion you can buy it buy the foot or we will sell it in three different lengths. One length that will fit the bed with 1in of overhang, one that will fit with 6 in overhang on one side for mounting a bike outboard of the bed and then that is 12in longer allowing mounting a bike on each side. We are still working on exact pricing and once I have that I will post. We will be selling it as in the following setups

1. Brackets and mounting hardware only. You supply the extrusion
2. Full Rack 3 options as outlined above. Includes mounting brackets, hardware and extrusions
3. Full High rack which will be cab height for a roof top tent. This will have cross bars above the bed which will allow for carrying kayaks under the RTT.

In the future I might make a version without the crossbars above the bed, but I am designing this around my current needs

As for weight rating I am a big guy (240) so it will be built to hold me + another in the RTT

 

Did these ever make it into production?