Let's talk Bed Racks for Tonneau Covers

[AdventureLab]

Dude that is freaking cool

Thanks!!!

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[AdventureLab]

 

[Gravitylost]

The lights are an amazing touch.

 

[AdventureLab]

The lights are an amazing touch.

Thanks! We use that same design on our Gladiator and current Ranger rack rails. Works great.

 

[clarke]

How long of a tray can you make and do you have any designs that go fore to aft? For my usage, I would want to put a cross bar at the front and back connection spots, and then have a tray that goes from fore to aft down the middle for storing canoe paddles and life jackets. I would then install spacers, if they end up being a thing, so my canoe can clear the roof.

 

[sikedsyko]

If you do a higher rise version to clear a rolling tonneau, I'm guessing you would be adding some extended arms to the existing riser setup. Would be interesting if the crossbars were telescoping in some way, so you could run it at multiple heights depending on need with different height risers.

Personally I'm more interested in a cab height version (with rolling tonneau compatibility). I mostly use my current rack for hauling lots of bikes on road trips and most of the gear on the rack comes off when I get to my destination, so COG isn't really a concern to me. I tend to leave the rack on the truck full time, so cab height keeps the bed more usable day to day.

Bonus stars would be awarded for an accessory that allows you to side mount bike carriers like the Kuat Ibex/Piston SR setup. This is my favorite way to haul my bike. Mounting above the bed is awkward on such a short bed truck.

 

[AdventureLab]

How long of a tray can you make and do you have any designs that go fore to aft? For my usage, I would want to put a cross bar at the front and back connection spots, and then have a tray that goes from fore to aft down the middle for storing canoe paddles and life jackets. I would then install spacers, if they end up being a thing, so my canoe can clear the roof.

We can make anything.

For the tray, I'm assuming you're talking about something similar to this, right? I'm open to whatever the market wants. You guys tell me!

 

[AdventureLab]

If you do a higher rise version to clear a rolling tonneau, I'm guessing you would be adding some extended arms to the existing riser setup. Would be interesting if the crossbars were telescoping in some way, so you could run it at multiple heights depending on need with different height risers.

Personally I'm more interested in a cab height version (with rolling tonneau compatibility). I mostly use my current rack for hauling lots of bikes on road trips and most of the gear on the rack comes off when I get to my destination, so COG isn't really a concern to me. I tend to leave the rack on the truck full time, so cab height keeps the bed more usable day to day.

Bonus stars would be awarded for an accessory that allows you to side mount bike carriers like the Kuat Ibex/Piston SR setup. This is my favorite way to haul my bike. Mounting above the bed is awkward on such a short bed truck.

For the extended height (to clear ~8-10" above top of bed rails) we would use different risers all together. The extra complexity makes the juice not worth the squeeze to try and reuse these. The risers, especially the current ones we sell, are insignificant in the cost of the rails.

Definitely a lot of demand for cab height. With such a long reach, there has to be substantial bracing, in both directions, so that one will be fun to design. As for telescoping bars, I'm still on the fence that it's worth the effort. We do that with our current Gladiator racks and I don't think we ever have customers swap heights. Plus, as the rack height increases, the rail has to get shorter. Which means we have to put a spacer in the rails at the low position.

Side mounting the bikes would be good. I have a Piston SR here in the shop we use for mockup.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll keep all of that in mind as I'm working through the options.

 

[clarke]

I was thinking of something more like this where the tray recessed down, but I guess it's sitting on top would work as well. The idea would be that I would have plenty of space for bulky light items related to canoeing and then if there is an option for spacers to bring it to full roof height, it would look something like the second picture. Roof rack parts are in brown: Tray is in tan. It may not be strong enough for shear forces though if it's done like this.

In the end though, it might be much more practical to just buy two sets of rails and keep the canoeing items (paddles, life jackets) in the bed.

 

[AdventureLab]

I was thinking of something more like this where the tray recessed down, but I guess it's sitting on top would work as well. The idea would be that I would have plenty of space for bulky light items related to canoeing and then if there is an option for spacers to bring it to full roof height, it would look something like the second picture. Roof rack parts are in brown: Tray is in tan. It may not be strong enough for shear forces though if it's done like this.

In the end though, it might be much more practical to just buy two sets of rails and keep the canoeing items (paddles, life jackets) in the bed.

Back from the Raptor Rally, so let's dig into this.

I see what you're saying now. I really like that thought. That would work very well with our rail design. I'm sorry if I missed it in earlier posts, but are you running a tonneau cover? If so, which one?

By the way, best ever explanation aids with the Legos! I loved seeing that and definitely helpful to explain what you were saying.

 

[clarke]

Back from the Raptor Rally, so let's dig into this.

I see what you're saying now. I really like that thought. That would work very well with our rail design. I'm sorry if I missed it in earlier posts, but are you running a tonneau cover? If so, which one?

By the way, best ever explanation aids with the Legos! I loved seeing that and definitely helpful to explain what you were saying.

I'm running a Bak X4S rolling cover. I posted some pics and measurements earlier in the thread with the Shelter Green Raptor.

 

[AdventureLab]

I'm running a Bak X4S rolling cover. I posted some pics and measurements earlier in the thread with the Shelter Green Raptor.

Gotcha! It'll take me a little bit to get my head wrapped around this thread again.

From talking with a ton of Raptor owners over the weekend, one thing is clear, it's going to take multiple rack heights/designs to accommodate the various tonneaus. There weren't many Rangers there, but I did measure the t-slot on quite a few F150's and there is a wide measurement range. I think I can accommodate that range with only a few variations in the base mounting components.

So, to your specific question earlier, we would only be able to drop the bottom of the "tray" to the tray to the bottom of the rails. Otherwise, it'll get into your rolled up tonneau cover.

We already make a tray that spans the distance (lengthwise), but it was designed to fit between the two outer panels (shown below in blue). We could definitely make a larger one. That would be a cool setup. Unfortunately, to do it without joining flanges (if it were two different pieces bolted together), it will be a large box to ship.

https://americanadventurelab.com/product/tool-tray-for-ranger-rail-system/

 

[clarke]

Gotcha! It'll take me a little bit to get my head wrapped around this thread again.

From talking with a ton of Raptor owners over the weekend, one thing is clear, it's going to take multiple rack heights/designs to accommodate the various tonneaus. There weren't many Rangers there, but I did measure the t-slot on quite a few F150's and there is a wide measurement range. I think I can accommodate that range with only a few variations in the base mounting components.

So, to your specific question earlier, we would only be able to drop the bottom of the "tray" to the tray to the bottom of the rails. Otherwise, it'll get into your rolled up tonneau cover.

We already make a tray that spans the distance (lengthwise), but it was designed to fit between the two outer panels (shown below in blue). We could definitely make a larger one. That would be a cool setup. Unfortunately, to do it without joining flanges (if it were two different pieces bolted together), it will be a large box to ship.

https://americanadventurelab.com/product/tool-tray-for-ranger-rail-system/

How thick are the bars and how wide is the tray you had highlighted in blue?

 

[AdventureLab]

I think the Internet gremlins wiped away your reply. @clarke

 

[clarke]

I think the Internet gremlins wiped away your reply. @clarke

Just fixed it.

How thick are the bars and how wide is the tray you had highlighted in blue?

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