Mounting Yakima Q Towers to Bed Rails

After looking through rack options, this is what I came up with. Every option I have found for a bed mounted rack misses one major detail...you can't lock it! I decided to take Yakima Q towers, face them outward on 66" poles, and used a vice to slightly bend the clips to reach 90°. This allows the clips to tighten firmly against the bottom edge of the bed rails. In addition, I had considered drilling in short screws that could catch against the pre-drilled holes on the bottom side of the rail, but found this completely unnecessary - the rack holds firmly to the bed and it locks in place!

Q clips were originally for a Honda Civic - part# Q112 I believe.

 

Yakima BedRock System locks to your bed. No adjustments need to be made and they lock.

 

Wow, good to know - I had looked at those and heard they were not lockable so I quickly moved on. Thankfully I already had these towers, so no harm to the wallet! Plus they work great!

 

They look good and I've got a set just like yours. I was trying to figure out how to mount them to the rails. You did a good job!

 

Thanks! I was worried that they'd look strange mounted this way, and it's not a streamline look but it works.

 

How has this setup held up?