Sorry for the stupuid question but can you open your tonneau cover past the first lip? Will those elevated rails work with any tonneau cover? I'm looking to get Bison trifold tonneau cover but wanted elevated rails to mount our bike racks; however I still want access to the bed.Just installed today.
Elevate rails with the trifold tonneau , yakima towers and bars.
Obviously the most difficult part is the cutting of all (8) tubes. It's your choice on how straight / accurate / clean you want it to be. So with that said you could do this with a hack saw. I used my band saw with a metal cutting blade and finished with a hand file to smooth out the edges. The most critical part is the drilling of the holes. I can't stress enough to take your time build it out completely to get the measurements that you want. I used clamps under the outer tubes to hold them in position(s) to verify / mark drill hole locations. I used my drill press, but you could do this with a hand drill as long as you verify complete & straight thru holes both inner and out tubes. If not done proper bolts will be difficult to install. Note: since I used my drill press I used the outer tube cut-offs with the original holes as my guide when drilling the inner tubes. Let me know if this makes sense to you. When done I cleaned up all sharp edges and used Rust-Oleum Mat Black on all bare metal areas. My neighbor who works at Space-X building parts for the Falcon & Starship was really impressed on how it came out, he made me feel good...
I believe I read you had the roof rack was installed at a specialized place. May I ask how much it costed material/labor. I am handy and all but drilling near the airbag seems too much for me.I've struggled with this for months... I originally wanted the Yakima Overhaul HD w/ HD crossbars combined with the BAK X4S. In the end I choose the "Elevate Rack System" b/c I felt it was the most workable solution with best price, availability and relatively easily modified. Bonus is the discount that RealTruck offers us.
I began the install this past weekend. To Start the BAK X4S & TS Rails installation is very straight forward and easy. The only modification needed was to trim the rubber seal against the back window. My modification may have been due to the Bedrug so do the full install to verify if trimming is needed.
The majority of my time spent was on the Elevate CS Racks. To be fair the rack install itself was very easy, my time was on modifications! As we all know the Mav is a small truck and IMHO this rack is made for the larger ones, but can be modified to work; at least for my needs. Bottom line, I wanted the Low / High settings to both be lowered. Additionally, I wanted multiple between settings to align with my Yakima Roof Racks for my kayak among other things.
Pic #1 Shows trimmed window seal
#2 Bedrug, BAK, TS rails
#3 CS Racks original low & high no crossbars
#4 Modified racks - 1-1/2" cut from both ends, re-drilled holes (don't use the original top holes).
#5 New High mount set points.
#6 New Low mount set points.
#7 Now it's aligned w/ the roof & doesn't block the brake lights.
#8 Aligned w/ Roof Racks.
I'm really pleased with the final results and the only thing that I would change is increase the end cuts from 1-1/2inches to 2 inches.
I hope this helps..
He mentioned before that he can not open it but it takes just a few minutes to remove the bara/beams from the rails
That does make sense - thank you! I have a miter saw that I feel should work well for cutting, but the drilling is what concerned me for the same reasons you listed. I'll have to try and track down a shop that could do that work for me. And good tip on using the pre-drilled portion as a jig for new holes. Thanks again!Obviously the most difficult part is the cutting of all (8) tubes. It's your choice on how straight / accurate / clean you want it to be. So with that said you could do this with a hack saw. I used my band saw with a metal cutting blade and finished with a hand file to smooth out the edges. The most critical part is the drilling of the holes. I can't stress enough to take your time build it out completely to get the measurements that you want. I used clamps under the outer tubes to hold them in position(s) to verify / mark drill hole locations. I used my drill press, but you could do this with a hand drill as long as you verify complete & straight thru holes both inner and out tubes. If not done proper bolts will be difficult to install. Note: since I used my drill press I used the outer tube cut-offs with the original holes as my guide when drilling the inner tubes. Let me know if this makes sense to you. When done I cleaned up all sharp edges and used Rust-Oleum Mat Black on all bare metal areas. My neighbor who works at Space-X building parts for the Falcon & Starship was really impressed on how it came out, he made me feel good...
Has a slot after rubber removed. Attachment is a "T" about 3/8" to a half inch wide by 1" long.
There are a few covers the Truxedo TS Rails are certified to work with. But most that sit between the rails and clamp to the rail sides should work.
I honestly think that makes the most sense. Of course if I go with a different rack system I won't need those rails.
I just noticed your pic! I have the same bed racks and have some questions about your setup. How long is your kayak, do you have any issues driving on the highway (cross wind) with your kayak setup, what kind of kayak mounts do you have and how high does it sit up from the cross bars?Here's a picture of the Elevate rails and rack with Undercover Ultra Flex tonneau.
