The Best Way to Mount Bicycles to the Toyota Bed Rails

Just wait till they realize they left $200 in alignment bolt hardware laying in that skid plate

 

Today, I added a Toyota accessory rail (

$58 PT27835100BH Genuine Toyota Accessories PT278-35100-BH Truck Bed Header Rail

PT27835100BH) behind the back window of my 2019 Tacoma Access Cab TRD Off Road. It fastens to the bed using the five 30 existing Torx screws. However, the RockyMounts Drive Shaft Track (RMDST) Mount that I bought doesn’t work here because it interferes with the black, metal, rail cap that’s mounts directly above the back accessory rail. The standard mounting kit for the RMDST attaches to the side accessory rails and functions properly, but my 29er is too long to fit across the bed, so needs to be mounted behind the cab.

Talked to RockyMounts today to see if they have another mounting kit for the RMDST that works with my 2019 Tacoma with the back accessory rail. The person I was talking with wasn’t aware of the problem and requested photos.

Looks like fixing the problem will require about a 5/16” thick shim between the mount and the accessory rail so the mount will clear the black, metal rail cap above it. Adding the shim will require longer mounting screws.

Update 2/22/20: Got a disappointing response from RockyMounts:

"You are correct, the DriveShaft Track does not fit on the Gen 3 Tacoma front track without spacing out that track because of the way that Toyota designed the top of the bed. We include hardware that allows the DriveShaft to be mounted to the track but we can not guarantee that it will clear on every vehicle, that being said, I will pass your feedback along to our product team to see how we can better handle this issue in the future. The bolts that you are looking to replace are M6 with a 1.0 thread pitch and are 25 mm long. If you have any other questions, I am happy to help.
Regards,
Jeff"

It doesn't sound like RMs is willing to take any responsibility for solving the problem despite telling me that fits 3rd Gen when I called before ordering the mount. I asked Jeff for the screw specs in case I wanted to try kludging up something myself, but I am inclined to return the mount and buy something that works out of the box from another company.

 

I bought this mount, tried to install it to the accessory rail I installed behind the back window, and found it doesn’t work here on my 2019 Taco because the mount interferes with the rail cap mounted just above.

 

Which GT is that?
I love me some Guy's, I've had 2 hardtails and if I can find the right one may pick up a full squish.

 

I installed the accessory rail and that same Rockymounts mount. It works. You just need to flip the rail cap around backwards. When you do that, there is more room and the Rockymount will fit.

 

How soon?

I'm about a week away from having some made!

 

GT Verb Elite

 

I've been using one from these guys for years. I believe they are on their 3rd version now.

https://pipelineracks.com/collections/truck-rail-racks/products/rail-rack-with-forward-facing-arm

 

Budget-oriented oak 1 x 6 and kuat mounts. Can fit 3 easily under a mid rise topper.
I want to find some outboard fork mounts like the kb voodoo above.

 

@Gwlee

Flip it upside down and mount it. Have had mine like that since I've put them on. Probably 5 or 6 trips so far.

You can also flip the bulkhead around like they show on their website (has a link to a thread on the forum here). I didn't like the idea of having that piece closer to the cab of the truck in case it flexed or something.

On Etrailer.com one of the employees stated he spoke to someone at RockyMounts and that mounting it upside is no issue. https://www.etrailer.com/question-360153.html

"I reached out to my contact at RockyMounts and he said that the DriveShaft Track Truck Bed Bike Rack # RKY1086 can be mounted upside down if needed. The unit itself will hold up just fine when used in this orientation but it is going to make securing your bike a bit more difficult since you will really have to lift up the front to mount it into place.

With the top rails from the BAKFlip Tonneau Cover on your truck this will be your best option to avoid interference with the DriveShaft Bike Rack."

 

Thank you for your suggestion, but I am looking for a solution that doesn't require modifying a $30K+ plus truck to get a $90 rack to work the way it's advertised to work. Think it's better to return this one and purchase one that works out of the box.

 

I knew others here had run into this problem going back to 2016 and turned the mount upside down to get it to fit. This didn't sound like a satisfactory solution to me, but I called and asked Jeff at RockyMounts if this OK, thinking I could use the rack that way until RM devised a fix. He said, "No do not do this under any circumstances..." So, I think the best solution for me is to return the rack to RockyMounts for a refund and buy one that works the way it's supposed to work from another company.

 

Well that's kind of concerning to hear. What was the reason he gave if I may ask? Is it due to the weight of the bike being supported by the t-bolt (pulling clasp up) rather than the bike resting on the mount (clasp closing over top of thru-axle) being an issue when it's flipped?

Might start looking at a different way, too. My brother-in-law has them on his 2nd gen which is why I went with them on mine. I liked how you could lock them. Maybe just use the HotRod and chain the bike to the bed? I did see your edit to your original post.

 

Inno mounts. 29in fits perfect in longbed

 

What about some simple angle like this?

 

ONE WORD: CALIFORNIA!

What a .

 

Jeff didn’t volunteer and I didn’t Ask “why” the mount shouldn’t attached and operated upside down. I had considered it as a temporary solution based on reports here, and experimented by attaching it upside down to a side rail.

It was every bit as awkward and inconvenient as I thought it would be, definitely not the reason I paid $90 for the rack, not the way the rack was designed and tested to work, and it appeared to be an accident looking for a place to happen, so when Jeff emphatically said, “no”, I didn’t question him further.

At best, it would be extremely foolish from a product liability standpoint for a manufacture to recommend using a product like this in a manner for which it had not been designed and tested, so perhaps it was just CYA. At worst, there might have been some failures. Of course, continuing to advertise and sell a product that you know, or should know, is unsuitable for an application (3rd Generation Tacoma) does not show good judgement.

 

Keep in mind that the RMDST mount is intended to support a maximum bike weight of 35# when attached to a Tacoma Accessory Rail according to the written instructions RM supplied with the mount. RM doesn’t say why, but I assume the reason is possible damage or failure of the mount or the accessory rail while the truck is moving and the bike is shaking. With a long bracket (aka lever) like that shown on your photo, a jiggling 35# bike would probably put a lot more force on the the truck’s accessory rail than the same bike mounted per RM instructions.

In a previous post, I mentioned that a possible fix for the 3rd Gen Taco might be an ~5/16” shim (aka 5/16 aluminum plate with 3 holes for the mounting bolts) between the mount and the accessory rail to offset the mount just enough from the accessory rail for the opened mount to clear the rail cap above it. I haven’t tested the idea, but if it would work, I doubt moving the mount an extra 5/16” from the accessory rail would put much additional strain on the rail.

If you decide to modify the way the mount attaches to the rail, suggest keeping the relative positions of the mount and the accessory rail as close as possible to the manufacturer’s original design. Of course, I am assuming that RM is a professional company with the expertise required to design, computer simulate, and test the racks they sell.

2/25/20 Update:

Made an adapter plate this morning and attached the RMDST to the rail behind the window. after a close examination didn't like the way the mount works with the factory rail, so removed the mount, and just bolted it to an old pallet that I keep in the bed of the truck.

Ran a heavy duty locking cable through the bike, pallet, wheels, and one of the bed's tie downs to discourage casual theft. I don't leave the bike in the truck unattended, and I doubt anyone would bother stealing the pallet while I am riding the bike, and they are welcome to steal this POS mount. It's butt ugly, but functional enough to use until I can find a better mount.

 

Understood. It is certainly awkward lifting the bike up and latching the mount. And I agree they shouldn't advertise the product as working on this model, especially if their suggested solution is flipping the factory installed bulkhead around. I tried flipping it around and didn't like how close it sat to the cab of the truck so I immediately flipped it back. That is not an acceptable solution to me, especially since it didn't come directly from them but from an end user of their product.

And I really don't want to go back to a hitch mount rack. I used one with my Ford Fusion and was almost rear-ended several times by people not paying attention. It's one of the main reasons I went with this truck, to transport bikes in the bed.

I may switch over to the HotRod mounts. I have one of their Loball mounts for my bike with a QR axle and haven't had any issues. There's also a lot of wobble no matter how close I move one side of the fork against the mount using the Driveshaft Track on my bike with a Boost 15x110mm thru-axle that I haven't been a fan of. But now I'm more worried what will happen having mine flipped upside down.

 

To be sure, attaching the mount upside down makes the mount awkward and inconvenient to use. I am sure that I would eventually make a mistake putting the fork into the mount while working upside down and not able to see properly, fail to secure the latch properly, and gravity would dump the bike. Not at all why I paid $90.

I made a rough sketch of what the shim or 3rd gen taco adapter plate might look like and added it to my previous message. Thanks for the the suggestion about the Hot Rod mount. I will take a look.