DIY prinsu style shell rack

does anyone have a printable template for the sides?

 

Most if not all seem to go with aluminum at either 3/16 or 1/4 and 2 or 3 mounts per side depending on load. If the mounts go on the cross bars then all the load goes to the screws at either end of those particular bars. The side plates being on edge should be plenty strong, it's the cross rails that are more vulnerable to point loading and the screws that are the weak points.

 

Great thread! I just spent the last three days reading all 50 pages.

I'm really happy with my Softtopper and it's versatility and ease of removal so want to build a bed rack around it using side plates similar to what is being created here (most likely out of steel so I can weld vertical supports to them that attach to a plate on the bedrail system) and then use the extruded aluminum crossbars. There was some mention of people wanting to do the same incorporating some of the knowledge shared here.

Any Prinsu-style Softtopper bedrack updates?

Can anyone with a water jet or plasma table cut me some functional (aka cool looking. lol) Long Bed plates out of 1/8" steel? Or if anyone has a cool template I could borrow, I could likely make something (less professional looking) work with the cheap plasma cutter I've got.

Thanks!

 

I think he's out of stock right now, but @Barnburner is your man to contact.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/fs-beachburner-cap-rack-plates-for-short-and-long-beds.592766/

 

I noticed he was out of stock, too. Also, I'm looking for steel (for easy weld-ability) and not sure if he can accommodate that but I'll try reaching out to him. Thanks for posting!

 

Where did you get these:

These would work perfect for my DIY RTT mount!

 

Aluminum square tubing cut down and they come in various sizes. I went with 1in. I’m about to remove it in favor of adjustable mounts.

 

X2 on the square aluminum tubing. I went with 1 1/4 to match my Thule rails. A couple of 45* cuts on a miter saw and a couple of holes to attach to the rack and the rails.

 

Cool! I like the idea. Seems super cheap too.

 

selling a couple of prinsu mounting feet incase anyone is interested

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/prinsu-mounting-feet.653292/

 

Hey Guys,

I finally finished my rack. I ended up cutting the side plates using a standard wood router. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.




Here is a link to a full write-up I did on the process!
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-prinsu-top-rack-made-on-wood-router.653420/

 

so you’re going to be making another set right ....

 

That looks slick. What hardware did you use to attach the DIY rack to the topper's rack? I'm debating doing something similar with a bedrack.

 

Hinges work pretty well to account for roof slope and you can replace the pin with a carriage bolt and nyloc nut. A plate under each hinge that supports the barrel below and outside would make it easier to locate when reinstalling.

 

But it's not going to be a on roof, it's going to be on a bedrack, ie attached to a tube.

 

And you can bolt or weld a steel hinge to that too.

 

Duly noted. @Rebirtha let me know what you used.

 

Ain't nobody got time for that! Ha just messing, I do wish I would have just made a second or third set while I was making mine and had everything set up. For now I'm still trying to get rid of all these metal shavings all over my house

 

Understand. If you ever decide to let me know. I’ll buy a set for now mine will work but I really like how clean yours turned out.

 

They cling to everything but the dustpan, well, that too but they don’t want to go into it. If you’re worried about the router you could duct the top of it to clean, positive pressure air. If your vacuum has a blower use that.