Custom Bed Rack height?

I'm working on a custom bed rack for a RTT. I'm using the Tepui Kukenam RTT and have the design below.

What height would you go with? I'm thinking about making it level with the cab of the truck but that only gives me 9" from the bottom of the rack to the top of the bed rails.

My more convincing option is to build the rack with 12" from the top of the bed rails to the bottom of the bed rack. That leaves the RTT above the cab from 3 - 5" depending on how accurate Tepui's measurements are when the tent is packaged. I'm going with what is published online.

Any suggestions?

I've got a 2003 DCSB TRD OR.

 

3-5" inches above the roof line doesn't seem excessive if you have a roof rack on the cab. A roof rack with a wind deflector would probably be level to the rtt and break up the wind drag. I have no experience in this just throwing out an option. One benefit of the lower rack height is that it forces you to downsize some when packing for trips which I am always trying to do. Too much unnecessary things the more room there is. Also better height clearance on the trails to avoid branches and lower center of gravity.

 

im thinking of building a bed rack with roof rack suspended over the cab as one... so i don't have to drill any holes in the roof... anyone got ideas

 

Design note: I would consider full length bed rail supports. Distribute that load over as much area as possible.

As for the height, you want it as low as possible, so just consider the stuff you plan to put in the bed while the rake is there. Level with the cab IMO is best, but if you have taller stuff you want to fit in the bed, you obviously need to go heigher. As others said, if you have a roof rack and a wind deflector, higher won’t ruin the aerodynamics too much. The main thing is you cg will be higher, and more prone to tipping over on steep off cambers.

You might consider an adjustable rack. I’ve seen guys fabricate those, too. Just some telescoping tubing wih pins or bolts.

 

I think I'm going to try and keep it flush with the roof. My cooler and lock box aren't tall enough to have an issue fitting in the bed. I don't have a roof rack that will help with wind drag in this situation.

Forgot to mention that I am using a long piece to mount the rack the bed. It will be the entire length of the rack. The reasoning behind it was that it would be easier to make sure the angle iron was aligned properly with one piece instead of 6 different pieces.

A telescoping rack would be cool, but I don't see the advantage of lifting the tent any higher than the mounting point. I'd still get a good view and be off the ground, just with less wind drag and a lower center of gravity if I kept it below the roof of the cab.

Thanks for the suggestions/input!

 

I built my first rack @ 9" from the rails to the top of the rack bars. It was kind of a pain to get to stuff and I wanted more room so I built another rack @ 12" to the top of the rack and it feels significantly better and allows me to run my soft roll up bed cover without interference. Having more height at the rear of the bed allows you to get in and reach stored gear easier. It does stick up above the cab but not horribly. You can remove the mounting rails from the kukenam to lower the tent the extra bit as long as you plan your mounting points accordingly. I;ve got a 2nd gen but I'll share some pics when I get my stuff back from the sandblaster. I'd follow Jbrandt's advice on the full length rails to spread the load. I cheated and used kbvoodoo bed rails as my base and added nutserts to mount the rack.

 

Thanks! That sounds like a good idea. I'd really be interested in seeing what you mean about mounting the tent to the rack instead of using their mounting rails. I was also thinking about having an easy rack disconnect similar to yours. Using Nutserts would be ideal. That way I can leave one large piece of angle iron on each bed rail and remove the tent whenever I want. I also like the idea of using that angle iron as a piece to weld additional bed mounting points to.

Please post pics if you got 'em!

 

So here was version 1. It stopped short of the tail gate and was the exact dimension of the kukenam (56Lx48W). It also blocked all of my rear view. Reaching in to get stuff from the sides was just tight enough to be annoying. I used angle that sat on top of the bed rail caps and bolted to the inside of the bed where the tie down tracks were. Total height with tent on it was about 21".



And here is version 2. I made this one a bit longer to look more proportional (top dimensions are 48Wx65L). I also raised it to 12" from 9". This extra room allows semi unobstructed views out the back with the tent on. It also makes leaning in and working from the tail gate area a bit more open ( think camp kitchen setup). We pack most of our stuff into a few action packer type totes so we don't really need to get in and out of the bed a lot but the extra wiggle room is great. Total height from the kbvoodoo rails to top of tent is 24.5".



I have better pictures of version 2 in my build thread. It comes back from the sand blaster hopefully Friday and I can get it painted and geared up. I'm very new to this so I might sound crazy but so far I like the extra room. If I did it again I might have gone even higher. A full height rack could stay on my truck nearly year round whereas the short one will probably be in the way half the time (this is part of the reason I made it bolt on for easy removal).

 

That looks awesome. I have decided to go with 12" from the top of the bed to the top of the rack. The tent should only stick above the cab 3.5" or so.

Do you have any details on how you made it easily detachable? As of now mine is all welded together but ideally i'd like for the angle iron to stay on the bed rails and the support legs along with the tent to be removed.

 

I think you'll be happier with the 12" height especially with the smaller 1st gen bed. In my case, the kbvoodoo bed rail caps replace the plastic oem stuff and are 1/8" formed steel. I designed the rack legs to be wide enough to hit the rail caps about center (the 2nd gen beds taper quite a bit from cab to tailgate so it was kind of a trial and error thing). I drilled and added nutserts (2 on each leg) in 6 locations for a foot or flange to bolt. I went with 3/8's stainless allen hardware from rack to rail caps. I'll have much much better pictures to share as soon as i get the thing back from the sand blaster.. I was originally going to have it pc'd but decided on paint for now since I'll probably be welding more to it over the summer.

 

12-14" is the sweet spot IMO. Access is still easy enough and the RTT is not a sail in the wind.

Here's a couple views of mine. Thats 14" from the top of the bed rails to the top mounting surface on the rack. I have found zero impact on MPGs in this configuration compared to when the RTT is off and the canopy is on during the winter months.

 

See mine In my build page
It's a bit overkill but you get the idea

 

I am about 80% through building a similar bed cover. It will be 5 inches above the bed rails for my 2004 DC. This puts the CVT tent even with the roof line. I built one in wood that I used for almost 2 years and love. This one is metal and will be skinned in aluminum diamond plate, to keep it the rain out and keep stuff safe from thieves. I have a full length bed slide so accessing stuff in the bed is easy, even for such a low cover.

 

I like having a low profile bed rack so my RTT stays flush with the height of the cab, only downside is that you lose your ability to see out of the rearview mirror but you get used to it.

Having the RTT over the cab really affects your center of gravity and height of the vehicle and with some of the trails I frequent, that wouldn't be a good thing for me.

 

I just designed and had a friend build the rack for my 2nd gen. I have fiberglass bedsides and a bed shock cage which is why it mounts differently than all the others. The top of the tent is basically the same height as all the other crap on my roof. Well see how I like the height.

 

Reporting back with the finished product.

Took pictures for a write up if anyone is interested. I used unistrutt so the bed rack and tent is removable/adjustable on the bed rails.

 

Turned out good!

Looks similiar in height to the one I just finished for myself. Sitting at about 29" to the bottom of the rail to the bed of the truck on mine

 

Thanks! Yeah they both are really close in height. I like the nice finish on yours. I just hit mine with black matte rust o leum and went with it lol. I finished it 2 days before a big trip. I'm thinking about adding a few small things to it now to mount items like a shovel and my hi lift jack once I get some sliders.

Nice truck!

 

Yea I plan to add the same additions for accessories as well, just need to get out and use it to figure out what I want and where to put it. Next thing to do on mine is build in a "shell" type door to the back, to be able to lock the dogs in when needed and such.

Mine rustoleum primed and flat black as well

Ditto!

 

I had 3x5x3/8" angle bed rails, 2" square tubing uprights, runners & top cross-members at about 9" over the cab height, extending forward to about the windshield with a 2.5 ft expanded steel basket over the cab. A "high center of gravity" had nothing to do with the full roll I did with my '95 after otherwise surviving a launch/landing off a Lake Tahoe roadway!

Oh, this is a thread about truck racks, not custom roll frames!