ERMB's D-I-Y Rack System Build

I used the black rustoleum Bedliner. Nice man hope the strut turns out well for tracks.

 

definitely inspired to build my own! Was about to order a Prinsu, now have my basic list of extruded aluminum & plate. I'm just having trouble finding a bracket to mount to the tracks

 

Are these wheels powder coated?

 

Yep, lots of flex between the mostly hard mounted to the frame bed, and the cab mounted on rubber bushings, not to mention frame flex.

 

From his post it sounds like he was debating it, not hard mounting it to the cab but putting some rubber bumps inplace.

 

Yes, I will not be attaching the rack to the truck at all. Just the bed cap. We'll see how it goes. Just waiting on some decent weather here in Mass. If the extension over the truck cab doesn't work out I'll just chop it off and go with the back half only for now.

 

Saturday seems like a good day to work on it so I'll be posting up some updates. Then after that I'll be moving on to the sleeping platform in the bed!

 

I added a small $50 basket for firewood, camp chairs, etc. that I found on Amazon to my rack. I also bought the big bag from frontrunner that holds two of their Wolfpack boxes (sorry, no pic), and it straps down nicely on the flat portion at the rear and still leaves plenty of room for my chainsaw. I used it last trip and it was really handy with easy access from the tailgate.

 

Finally got around to finishing the fairing for my DIY rack. It is 99% done, I just need to paint the mounts once it warms up.

(Ignore the condensation in the light bar, its a cheapy one that needs resealed. Also ignore the ugly wiring for the side light, its just temporary as I was test mounting them)













Pretty happy with how it turned out. Its built out of 1/4" plexiglass and based off the Prinsu fairing.

I must say, I really like working with the Unistrut/Unistrut nuts. Makes adding accessories super easy.

I have a set of fishing rod holders designed and planned for this rack, I just need to pick up hardware for it now.

All and all, Im happy, and this DIY provided some good inspiration. I may end up changing the mounts for the light bar to hide them better but for now they dont bother me enough to worry about.

 

This is awesome. Any more first gen solutions? I only see one in here

 

Sorry just saw this and no they are plastidipped with 5 coats black and then the 3 MGM metallizer.

 

finally broke down after I got a sweet deal on a local prinsu.......need to adjust my rack to match up or build a prinsu style one now that I have the blueprint.......

 

Nice!

 

Forgive me if it was already covered in this feed but i just skimmed through it.. Did any of you try to make a bed rack using square tubing? I'm trying to make one something like the front runner load bars(not the slimline). Any suggestions on what I could use to connect it to me rail system? 3rd gen dc

 

Thanks for posting this, Ill have to start this build soon.

 

You can order the strut without all the holes in it so it basically looks like square stock on 3 sides and still uses the same system on the 4th side. That way your still able to use the same hardware for putting it all together as well as using the ones with holes as the load bars will allow you to add on whatever you'd like with plenty of attachment points.

 

Ok sounds good. But what if you ran into the square tubing that has the holes(sign posts) is it possible or not a good idea?

 

So this is the solid uni-strut. If you ran the opening towards the inside you could miter the corners and use the 90* hardware to join the corners. Then use the 90* hardware running vertically to attach your cross-members.

 

First of the thread is awesome, got some awesome ideas. I figured I’d give it a go. I wanted to utilize the threaded inserts in my cab so I made up a set of feet for the rack to set on. I have a bit of work to do yet as I plans to make a rack for the cab and cap of my truck. My cap does not have any rails, so I planned on using unistrut as spacers. Unless some has a better way to do so?

 

Thank you to everyone on this thread! It was a huge help and really inspired me to make my own. I just completed my cab rack and will soon be starting one for my cap.