- First Name
- Ryan
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2024
- Threads
- 1
- Messages
- 2
- Reaction score
- 4
- Location
- Atlanta GA
- Vehicle(s)
- 2024 Maverick XLT + Lux
- Engine
- 2.5L Hybrid
- Thread starter
- #1
I'm piecing together a handful of modifications I've done over the last two years. Once I've got my current build done, I'll be pulling all the brackets to paint and weatherproof everything. At that point, I'll document the dimensions and write a proper walkthrough and make schematics. I'll add links here to the tutorials as time permits.
Baseline information:
- This is a 2024 Maverick Hybrid XLT
- I did the strut channel DIY cargo management
- Drop-in bedliner
- Your mileage may vary, be limited, be infinite, or cause your vehicle to explode.
Index:
- Ladder Rack Mounting 1 - A cludge of parts
- Ladder Rack Mounting 2 - The way I should have done it the first time
- Ladder Rack Mounting 3 - The manual's method
- Toolbox Mounting
- DIY Tie Downs
Ladder Rack Mounting 1 - A cludge of parts:
Shortly after buying my truck, I picked up a Harbor Freight aluminum truck rack on sale with the intention of an easy install. Unfortunately the bedrails on the maverick are a little narrow, and the plastic offset from the metal panels did not spark joy. I reused the J brackets that originally were intended to clamp down to bedrails as a bracket to offset the rack higher in the bed. These were then bolted to the strut channel with 2 bolts per upright.
Pros:
- The offcuts could be used for a "low mount", which I used for cargo basket, and to secure boxes in the bed.
- Extremely sturdy.
Cons:
- I hope you like tapping M10 holes.
- The brackets eat about 2-3" per side
There was nothing wrong with this. I only changed the mounting system so the toolbox would fit in the front of the bed. I've had 9-10 2x8x14's up there, an entire convention booth, and countless smaller loads. I somehow can't find a clean picture, but I cut the uprights short to just clear the cab. with a load.
Ladder Rack Mounting 2 - The way I should have done it the first time:
After having method 1 in place for 2 years, I decided to redo the brackets due to buying a Toolbox (see "Toolbox Mounting" below). Rather than mounting directly on the strut channel, the brackets sit where they normally would be on top of the bed rails with connecting brackets holding them to the strut channel. I've got the rear brackets completed at this time, and am working on cutting the clearances for the front. The mounting method is identical though.
The bracket is 2"x1/8" steel bar I scavenged from a piece of leftover 2"x2"angle I used to mount the toolbox. Buying the metal as bar stock would make things much easier. There are two bends to clear the bedrail and connect to the strut channel. The bracket connects to the bedrail bracket with two 1/4-20 bolts, with the aluminum drilled for clearance and the steel tapped. 1/8" is really not in my happy zone for engagement, so I might revisit this and add a blind bolt and nut if it causes issues. The connection to the strut channel is done with a 1/2" cone nut and a 1/2" bolt + washer. I have a piece of 1/8" EPDM rubber sheet between the brackets and bedrail.
As mentioned before, I'll provide the exact measurements once I've got the brackets figured out.
Pros:
- Only protrudes by 3/4" into the cargo area.
- Not an engineer, but the load from the rack is distributed between the bedrail and strut channel. I can only imagine this is better than one or the other.
Cons:
- Hand bending steel is not exactly precise, and there's a lot of tweaking to get it right
- Over time there will be a UV damage "shadow" on the covered plastic
Ladder Rack Mounting 3 - The manual's method:
I don't really have pictures for this. While figuring out the mounting for method 2, I planned to just mount the rack as the manual suggests with the J-Brackets. I 3D Printed a pair of "feet" to spread the load from the clamping bolts. However when trying to install, I didn't like how these brackets interacted with the toolbox and how far they would stick into the bed area.
I'll attach them here in the event they help someone. They are the two "Ladder Rack pad" STL files attached to this thread. They are set up to accept the feet from the brackets and a piece of 1/8" rubber or foam as padding to spread out the load.
Toolbox Mounting:
After struggling with the constant issue of accessing the under-seat storage when things are on the seat, I caved and researched a bed toolbox. Most of the compact truck toolboxes really didn't seem suited to the Maverick, and I wanted to preserve the ability to load 4x8 sheets below it. There is a style of 48" side toolbox that a number of manufacturers make that fit pretty much perfectly. There's a little variation, but they are some combination of 12"x12" or 13"x12". I picked the Northern Tool flavor because I could pick it up in person.
The bracket is a pair of 2"x2" angle bolted together with 3/8" bolts. One side is drilled for 3/8" bolts to connect to the box, and the other is drilled for 1/2" to mount to the strut channel. Neoprene washers were used on the the box connection for waterproof-ness. My only change in the future would be to lower the box a bit, and correct some slant that got introduced when I drilled the holes. I also need to pull the bracket and paint it to clean up the rust.
One downside of using a side box is the handle is in the center. I can pretty easily reach the key hole from the driver side, and handle from both sides, but I can't reach the key hole from the passenger side.
I've installed this with the plan to use Method 2 above, and the lid just barely fouls on the ladder rack uprights when open. It doesn't seem to limit access inside of it all that much. There's about 5" of space underneath the box, so 99% of sheet-good trips will be fine.
DIY Tie Downs
These need a design pass, and I think I'll need to make some custom strut-nuts with a knob to tighten down vs using the eye bolt to tighten it in place. This is a strut washer, strut nut, and eye bolt that forms a sliding tie down point. I'd also look for a plated or stainless eyebolt. I'll probably plasti-dip or bedliner the ones I have as they've become rusty in a few weeks.
Wrapparound washer: https://www.mcmaster.com/products/1273n27/
Strut nuts: https://www.mcmaster.com/products/2233k16/
Eyebolt: https://www.mcmaster.com/products/3014t954/
I'll edit this thread with any new information as I finish the most recent upgrades. Let me know if you have suggestions or questions.
Baseline information:
- This is a 2024 Maverick Hybrid XLT
- I did the strut channel DIY cargo management
- Drop-in bedliner
- Your mileage may vary, be limited, be infinite, or cause your vehicle to explode.
Index:
- Ladder Rack Mounting 1 - A cludge of parts
- Ladder Rack Mounting 2 - The way I should have done it the first time
- Ladder Rack Mounting 3 - The manual's method
- Toolbox Mounting
- DIY Tie Downs
Ladder Rack Mounting 1 - A cludge of parts:
Shortly after buying my truck, I picked up a Harbor Freight aluminum truck rack on sale with the intention of an easy install. Unfortunately the bedrails on the maverick are a little narrow, and the plastic offset from the metal panels did not spark joy. I reused the J brackets that originally were intended to clamp down to bedrails as a bracket to offset the rack higher in the bed. These were then bolted to the strut channel with 2 bolts per upright.
Pros:
- The offcuts could be used for a "low mount", which I used for cargo basket, and to secure boxes in the bed.
- Extremely sturdy.
Cons:
- I hope you like tapping M10 holes.
- The brackets eat about 2-3" per side
There was nothing wrong with this. I only changed the mounting system so the toolbox would fit in the front of the bed. I've had 9-10 2x8x14's up there, an entire convention booth, and countless smaller loads. I somehow can't find a clean picture, but I cut the uprights short to just clear the cab. with a load.
Ladder Rack Mounting 2 - The way I should have done it the first time:
After having method 1 in place for 2 years, I decided to redo the brackets due to buying a Toolbox (see "Toolbox Mounting" below). Rather than mounting directly on the strut channel, the brackets sit where they normally would be on top of the bed rails with connecting brackets holding them to the strut channel. I've got the rear brackets completed at this time, and am working on cutting the clearances for the front. The mounting method is identical though.
The bracket is 2"x1/8" steel bar I scavenged from a piece of leftover 2"x2"angle I used to mount the toolbox. Buying the metal as bar stock would make things much easier. There are two bends to clear the bedrail and connect to the strut channel. The bracket connects to the bedrail bracket with two 1/4-20 bolts, with the aluminum drilled for clearance and the steel tapped. 1/8" is really not in my happy zone for engagement, so I might revisit this and add a blind bolt and nut if it causes issues. The connection to the strut channel is done with a 1/2" cone nut and a 1/2" bolt + washer. I have a piece of 1/8" EPDM rubber sheet between the brackets and bedrail.
As mentioned before, I'll provide the exact measurements once I've got the brackets figured out.
Pros:
- Only protrudes by 3/4" into the cargo area.
- Not an engineer, but the load from the rack is distributed between the bedrail and strut channel. I can only imagine this is better than one or the other.
Cons:
- Hand bending steel is not exactly precise, and there's a lot of tweaking to get it right
- Over time there will be a UV damage "shadow" on the covered plastic
Ladder Rack Mounting 3 - The manual's method:
I don't really have pictures for this. While figuring out the mounting for method 2, I planned to just mount the rack as the manual suggests with the J-Brackets. I 3D Printed a pair of "feet" to spread the load from the clamping bolts. However when trying to install, I didn't like how these brackets interacted with the toolbox and how far they would stick into the bed area.
I'll attach them here in the event they help someone. They are the two "Ladder Rack pad" STL files attached to this thread. They are set up to accept the feet from the brackets and a piece of 1/8" rubber or foam as padding to spread out the load.
Toolbox Mounting:
After struggling with the constant issue of accessing the under-seat storage when things are on the seat, I caved and researched a bed toolbox. Most of the compact truck toolboxes really didn't seem suited to the Maverick, and I wanted to preserve the ability to load 4x8 sheets below it. There is a style of 48" side toolbox that a number of manufacturers make that fit pretty much perfectly. There's a little variation, but they are some combination of 12"x12" or 13"x12". I picked the Northern Tool flavor because I could pick it up in person.
The bracket is a pair of 2"x2" angle bolted together with 3/8" bolts. One side is drilled for 3/8" bolts to connect to the box, and the other is drilled for 1/2" to mount to the strut channel. Neoprene washers were used on the the box connection for waterproof-ness. My only change in the future would be to lower the box a bit, and correct some slant that got introduced when I drilled the holes. I also need to pull the bracket and paint it to clean up the rust.
One downside of using a side box is the handle is in the center. I can pretty easily reach the key hole from the driver side, and handle from both sides, but I can't reach the key hole from the passenger side.
I've installed this with the plan to use Method 2 above, and the lid just barely fouls on the ladder rack uprights when open. It doesn't seem to limit access inside of it all that much. There's about 5" of space underneath the box, so 99% of sheet-good trips will be fine.
DIY Tie Downs
These need a design pass, and I think I'll need to make some custom strut-nuts with a knob to tighten down vs using the eye bolt to tighten it in place. This is a strut washer, strut nut, and eye bolt that forms a sliding tie down point. I'd also look for a plated or stainless eyebolt. I'll probably plasti-dip or bedliner the ones I have as they've become rusty in a few weeks.
Wrapparound washer: https://www.mcmaster.com/products/1273n27/
Strut nuts: https://www.mcmaster.com/products/2233k16/
Eyebolt: https://www.mcmaster.com/products/3014t954/
I'll edit this thread with any new information as I finish the most recent upgrades. Let me know if you have suggestions or questions.
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