DIY Bed Cross bars.

Any side pictures? What bolt dimension you used for the bed rail?

 

I put my own spin on the design. Based on some calculations online it should hold 486 lbs per side or just under 1,000 lbs. I won’t ever load it up that much. I have two more pieces of square tube I’m going to use to create an extender in order to haul plywood and longer objects without bowing. Also it is slotted so it can be raised up to approximately can height when you want taller objects in the bed, but the load would need to be reduced to a max of 440 lbs per the bed rail limits.

in last photo the back rail looks higher, but I triple checked and that is an optical illusion. Furthermore I squared the rails with the bed to follow the natural slope of the truck.

Materials ended up being ~$120 (mainly due to trip and error with some things)

If anyone wants to know more just message me, I’m also considering making these and selling them for $200

Material List: (steel was bought from a local raw meta supplier to save money)

10 feet of 3.5 inch by 1/4 inch flat bar
20 feet of 1inch square tube 1/8 inch thick
4 ft of course 1/4 inch angle iron
1/2 inch bolts x8
1/2 inch nuts x 8
5/16 by 7/8 bushings x8
1/2 inch lock washers x 8
1/2 inch channel locks x 8
2 cans Rust-Oleum paint
1 can Rust-Oleum clear enamel

 

I used a pair of

$52 8020, 1020, 10 Series 1" x 2" T-Slotted Aluminum Extrusion DIY Extruded Linear Slot Bar Rail 80/20 (Black Anodize, 60" Long)

15 Series Aluminum Modular Extrusion bars and some angle aluminum to bolt my basket onto the bed.

 

I saw this idea and I like it. So I did something similar. Plan on putting a basket or a kayak rack.

 

My finish work. Just put one kayak j hook to see how sturdy it will be.

 

AlphaQ1ns, where did you get or how did you make the bed rail clamps? I like this idea, and is all I need for my rack that I want to put in my bed.

Nevermind, found the source and your review on Amazon. Cool DIY

 

You might need to get longer M10 bolts due to the additional height.

 

Great idea. Does water sit inside the channel after it rains? Also looks like you have a rubber foot sitting on the bed rail, what is that?