Fold-a-cover Bike Rack Mod

I've been looking for a better way to carry my bikes that wasn't a bulky annoying option, and came up with this. It works pretty great. Let me know what you think.

Parts:
Amazon: Toyota Genuine Accessories

$56 PT278-35100-BH Truck Bed Header Rail

PT278-35100-BH Truck Bed Header Rail
Amazon: Top Line AB2600 Add-A-Bike Clamp
Amazon: RockyMounts LoBall Track Locking Truck Mount

I mounted the header bar using extra strength 3m tape. also drilled holes into the tonneau and screwed and epoxied in some plastic sheetrock anchors to screw the header down with. Feels pretty damn solid.

 

When folded up towards the cab the tonneau cover is held in place by just two nylon snap button straps. Already had one of the buttons break off on my cover just by trying to unsnap it. Would seem like that might be an issue if the bikes start putting upward pressure on the cover while the truck is bouncing down the road.

 

I'll keep an eye on that. I've had mine for two years and the snaps seem rock solid. Also the bar is mounted on the other side of the cover so any bouncing would not affect the front snaps. Finally the bar and bike weight have downward pressure on the cover so its not likely to have a ton of bouncing. I will say the one "down" side is the bar and wheel hub lock make the cover heavier for folding and removing.

 

I've been trying to find a similar solution without hacking up the OEM cover.

OP - can you post a pic of your tanneau cover folded down, so I can see what the exposed fasteners look like from the top?

 

The anchors don't go all the way through, nothing to see from the top.

 

Sweet - this is a perfect solution for mounting bikes, or extra bikes if someone already has a hitch rack. Thanks for sharing OP!