DIY Tacoma Bed cross bars

Hey everyone,
I’m here in British Columbia Canada and if you’re like me and got tired of looking at American dollar amounts of are just on a budget and need some bed bars to get you through for the time being, I have a surprisingly sturdy, lightweight and effective option for you. I was looking for bars from KB Voodoo and I do plan on going that route in the future but I just couldn’t justify the cost to get it over the border right now. So here’s a list of bits that you need for some bed bars on a budget.

2 Slide lock shelving rails
4 hockey pucks (Canada eh)
4 heavier L-Brackets
Some stainless bolts and Nylocks
And some paint.

All in all this project cost me about 55 dollars. Canadian. So like, 23 cents for you American folk.

So! Start by measuring the width of the bed and cutting the shelf rails to the desired width. (The rails I bought had holes every 12 inchs for mounting to the wall but they lined up perfectly with where I wanted to mount them on the bed.


Next cut a portion off of the L brackets and reserve the off cuts for inserting into the existing tonneau rails in the bed.

Next take the hockey pucks and cut them to just a little taller than the rails themselves. I used these for mount bushings in case the rails torqued at all and also to absorb vibrations. When you’re done cutting them to the desired height, you may have to shave them down on the sides a bit so that they will fit snug in the channeling of the rails. Once you’re satisfied, drill a hole into each of the modified pucks so that you can bolt through the rail and the puck into your brackets.

Next, bolt the bars together and slide a bolt and offcut piece into the tonneau rails. Position the racks across the bed and bolt them in place using the offcuts and bolts. I painted everything black just for the esthetic but this is the end result.



Any questions please feel free to ask.
I've been running around with these for about a week and a half now, testing them camping this weekend to see how they handle the bumpy stuff but so far so good.

If you wanna see this truck as well as my 40 series cruiser and other Toyota’s in the bush and on some wicked offroad trips, head over to Rugged Offroad BC on youtube and hit that subscribe button!

Thanks everyone, let me know what you think.

 

Looking good.

 

Thanks man. Can’t wait to test them out under load more this weekend. Putting some MT2 tires on it and heading out into the bush

 

genius with the shelving rails. do you just use tie-down straps to hold your handlebars? i've been thinking of mounting my bike upside down like that too.

 

I used u-bolts and put half pucks in the rails to stop them from squishing in. I can take some pictures later and add them but yeah u-bolts and just zap them down, no ones stealing your bike that way unless they happen to be carrying a wrench around with them

 

awesome, thanks. bars look dope!