DIY Bed Rack or Roof Rack No Welding

Stick to your guns · Jan 25, 2021

LizzyReneeTaco said: ↑

What is the update, how is it holding together? Looking into options similar to this for an off-road trailer build. Do you think something like this with added corner gussets would be strong enough for off road use and a RTT mounted to it?... Any advice for someone looking to DIY a bed rack for off road use?

thanks!
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[/QUOTE]

Its held up great. i've added 4 more supports so its 4 on each side. I do quite a bit of off-roading. put about 12k miles on the truck since the tent was put on with zero issues. probably going to be adding an awning to the back of it sometime this winter!

BirdGang20 · Jun 9, 2021

Does water sit in the open channels in the extrusion? I’m thinking of using square 15 series for a rack and a channel would be facing up. I’d like to cap the ends for aesthetics but I’m afraid water would pool inside

Varak · Jun 9, 2021

Looks to me like the water has no chance to collect since the truck is going up and down mountains all the time.

Stick to your guns · Jun 10, 2021

BirdGang20 said: ↑

Does water sit in the open channels in the extrusion? I’m thinking of using square 15 series for a rack and a channel would be facing up. I’d like to cap the ends for aesthetics but I’m afraid water would pool inside
Click to expand...

I haven’t had that problem and my ends are capped. I wouldn’t worry about it

Charry323 · Jul 2, 2022

Stick to your guns[OP] initial post: ↑

I really liked the look of Front Runners Slimline Racks but the price of them was a little too steep for my pockets at almost $1000. I started looking into extruded aluminum as an alternative and managed to throw together a rack for around $300 from TNUTZ.com

All the extruded aluminum is 1" by 2" with the side pieces being 60" and the inside, front, and back being 50" to fit my short bed. The extruded aluminum that go to the sliders on the bed are 12" and are cut at 45 degrees on both ends and are tapped which they did for me at Tnuts

my order list

This is everything pre-assembly

All the Tnuts that hold it together and what the 45 degree cut and taps look like

The small triangle pieces were put in the inside corners where the sides and front and back meet. The large triangle pieces go on top of the corners. The L shape Brackets I put under both sides of every piece of aluminum that makes up the middle of the rack. The flat pieces with 2 holes are just end caps

Everything all assembled

I attached it to the bed side rails with Tnuts. It sits ~12" below the top of the cab and ~6" above the top of the bed

As far as rigidity I would say the weak spot are the bed rails however that's where the front runner racks mount also so . I can stand on it no problem and plan to put a roof top tent on it soon. The rack currently has 4 pieces of extruded on it horizontally to mount things to, but I plan on adding more eventually as they cost about $20 a piece.
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Did you have to buy more pieces then what you have listed to mount it inside your bed? Or what did you use to mount it to the inside of your bed?

Stick to your guns · Jul 2, 2022

I ended up drilling bigger holes in the extrusion and mounting them with these

5-Pack of T-Slot Nuts - Ideal T Slot Nut for Toyota Tunda & Toyota Tacoma Pick-Up Truck Bed Deck Rails - Cleat/Cleats - by Mission Automotive

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07739WXJB

Charry323 · Jul 3, 2022

Still holding strong so far? Didn’t have to add more bars or anything for strength? I was thinking about doing the same thing

Charry323 · Jul 3, 2022

Stick to your guns[OP] initial post: ↑

I really liked the look of Front Runners Slimline Racks but the price of them was a little too steep for my pockets at almost $1000. I started looking into extruded aluminum as an alternative and managed to throw together a rack for around $300 from TNUTZ.com

All the extruded aluminum is 1" by 2" with the side pieces being 60" and the inside, front, and back being 50" to fit my short bed. The extruded aluminum that go to the sliders on the bed are 12" and are cut at 45 degrees on both ends and are tapped which they did for me at Tnuts

my order list

This is everything pre-assembly

All the Tnuts that hold it together and what the 45 degree cut and taps look like

The small triangle pieces were put in the inside corners where the sides and front and back meet. The large triangle pieces go on top of the corners. The L shape Brackets I put under both sides of every piece of aluminum that makes up the middle of the rack. The flat pieces with 2 holes are just end caps

Everything all assembled

I attached it to the bed side rails with Tnuts. It sits ~12" below the top of the cab and ~6" above the top of the bed

As far as rigidity I would say the weak spot are the bed rails however that's where the front runner racks mount also so . I can stand on it no problem and plan to put a roof top tent on it soon. The rack currently has 4 pieces of extruded on it horizontally to mount things to, but I plan on adding more eventually as they cost about $20 a piece.
Click to expand...

Also, is this adjustable to any vehicle? I have a 02 Tacoma and didn’t know if this would work or not. If the angle pieces can slide in or out

Stick to your guns · Jul 3, 2022

Charry323 said: ↑

Also, is this adjustable to any vehicle? I have a 02 Tacoma and didn’t know if this would work or not. If the angle pieces can slide in or out
Click to expand...

like I showed earlier in the post I ended up putting 4 more angled pieces in. I also put in some gusset pieces on the bars that hold up my tent just to be safe. I’m not sure what the bed rails look like or how strong they are on a first gen so that’s up to you to decide. But the rack has held up great, I keep the tent on there year round and it’s been through it’s share of wheeling for sure.

Justintheegreat · May 27, 2023

Looks pretty cool man. Great job.

WhiteTaco250 · May 30, 2023

Looks great! Good to see it's held up so well.

I have the same Hooke cab rack, and I'm interested building one of these for a shell. Any idea on the best feet to use to attach it frontrunner, or similar, tracks?

Stick to your guns · Jun 1, 2023

WhiteTaco250 said: ↑

Looks great! Good to see it's held up so well.

I have the same Hooke cab rack, and I'm interested building one of these for a shell. Any idea on the best feet to use to attach it frontrunner, or similar, tracks?
Click to expand...

I’m not sure about front runner but prinsu uses these https://www.tnutz.com/product/ex-1030-black-1-x-3-x-47/#comment-91280

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