Aligned Roof Rack and Bed Rack

[StevePlusPlus]

I wanted a roof rack and bed rack that aligned so that items could sit perfectly flat across them, but also wanted a roll up tonneau. This is the final result:

I had a Yakima Baseline roof rack with 60"JetStream bars from my previous car so I put that on first. I realized pretty quick that the recommended placement and forward tilt of the roof would mean that any bed rack would have to have two separate heights for the front and rear supports in order for everything to line up perfectly. I was discouraged by the limited out-of-the-box adjustability of the TruXedo Elevate rack (it's only meant to change height in fixed increments), and I wanted a roll-up tonneau so that ruled out Yakima's fully adjustable bed rack (it's arms tilt inwards so it interferes with the cover). I could have gone with a retractable t-track tonneau instead of a hard roll-up, but I didn't want to sacrifice my already limited bed space, and I like to be able to easily remove the tonneau in case I really need those extra few inches. I went with the BAK Revolver X4ts for the bed cover and the TruXedo rack, and it turns out that with the rear arms as close to the tailgate as you can get them, no customization was needed, it just happens to be the perfect height at its middle setting. The arms closer to the middle of the truck needed to be lowered by about 1 3/8" from what would be the middle setting, but that was easy enough to do by drilling a few holes, and it doesn't feel like it compromised any strength.

I ended up cutting down the cross bars on the Elevate rack to 61.5" to more closely resemble my Yakima's 60" bars, but in retrospect I should have cut them down to something more like 62.5" because I ended up having to trim a bit off of the plastic end caps to make them fit (the mounting hardware where they attach to the arms interfered with them fitting otherwise).

Another thing I had liked about the Yakima bed rack was the inclusion of mounting points on the arms, which the TruXedo lacked. I got some D-rings and bolts to add my own to the arms on the existing unused bolt holes. The bed cover came with some extra t-bolts for the track, so I added some D-rings with those too, and the same t-bolts worked for the roof rack so I added them there as well. I had to cut down the t-bolts because they were too long to work nicely with the D-rings.

I also had to swap out my antenna for a stubby so it wouldn't get bumped by stuff on the rack. I don't use the radio so I'll never notice.

Total length from front most roof rack to back most bed rack is 104.5", so it can support nice long material.
Weight limits are 165lbs for the roof rack and 500lbs for the bed rack, so 665 combined.

Here's the parts list (prices are at time of writing):

RealTruck BAK Revolver X4ts Hard Rolling Truck Bed Tonneau Cover - $1550
TruXedo Elevate CS Rack - $750
Yakima BaseClip BC180 (x2 required) - $72 each
Yakima JetStream Bars (60") - $225
Yakima BaseLine Towers - $180
Yakima SKS Lock Cores (you probably don't need these, 4 pack) - $30
D Rings (I went with two packs of 8) - $14 each
5/16 2" Bolts - $8
5/16 Locking Nuts - $10
5/16 Washers - $9
Stubby Antenna - $20

Final Total = $2,954

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[Hot Runr Guy]

Welcome to MTC, and well done!

HRG

 

[Cruzer]

I wanted a roof rack and bed rack that aligned so that items could sit perfectly flat across them, but also wanted a roll up tonneau. This is the final result:

I had a Yakima Baseline roof rack with 60"JetStream bars from my previous car so I put that on first. I realized pretty quick that the recommended placement and forward tilt of the roof would mean that any bed rack would have to have two separate heights for the front and rear supports in order for everything to line up perfectly. I was discouraged by the limited out-of-the-box adjustability of the TruXedo Elevate rack (it's only meant to change height in fixed increments), and I wanted a roll-up tonneau so that ruled out Yakima's fully adjustable bed rack (it's arms tilt inwards so it interferes with the cover). I could have gone with a retractable t-track tonneau instead of a hard roll-up, but I didn't want to sacrifice my already limited bed space, and I like to be able to easily remove the tonneau in case I really need those extra few inches. I went with the BAK Revolver X4ts for the bed cover and the TruXedo rack, and it turns out that with the rear arms as close to the tailgate as you can get them, no customization was needed, it just happens to be the perfect height at its middle setting. The arms closer to the middle of the truck needed to be lowered by about 1 3/8" from what would be the middle setting, but that was easy enough to do by drilling a few holes, and it doesn't feel like it compromised any strength.

I ended up cutting down the cross bars on the Elevate rack to 61.5" to more closely resemble my Yakima's 60" bars, but in retrospect I should have cut them down to something more like 62.5" because I ended up having to trim a bit off of the plastic end caps to make them fit (the mounting hardware where they attach to the arms interfered with them fitting otherwise).

Another thing I had liked about the Yakima bed rack was the inclusion of mounting points on the arms, which the TruXedo lacked. I got some D-rings and bolts to add my own to the arms on the existing unused bolt holes. The bed cover came with some extra t-bolts for the track, so I added some D-rings with those too, and the same t-bolts worked for the roof rack so I added them there as well. I had to cut down the t-bolts because they were too long to work nicely with the D-rings.

I also had to swap out my antenna for a stubby so it wouldn't get bumped by stuff on the rack. I don't use the radio so I'll never notice.

Total length from front most roof rack to back most bed rack is 104.5", so it can support nice long material.
Weight limits are 165lbs for the roof rack and 500lbs for the bed rack, so 665 combined.

Here's the parts list (prices are at time of writing):

RealTruck BAK Revolver X4ts Hard Rolling Truck Bed Tonneau Cover - $1550
TruXedo Elevate CS Rack - $750
Yakima BaseClip BC180 (x2 required) - $72 each
Yakima JetStream Bars (60") - $225
Yakima BaseLine Towers - $180
Yakima SKS Lock Cores (you probably don't need these, 4 pack) - $30
D Rings (I went with two packs of 8) - $14 each
5/16 2" Bolts - $8
5/16 Locking Nuts - $10
5/16 Washers - $9
Stubby Antenna - $20

Final Total = $2,954

 

[Cruzer]

Thanks for such a thorough accounting of your thought process and choices of which equipment to use. Like you I didn’t want bed space taken up with a rolling tonneau canister and ended up choosing the same rack and rolling hard cover with the integrated t-slots.

I like your d-ring tie downs, I ended up ordering the Elevate Rack system tie downs for $76. Recently I discovered that the elevate arms do have tie down attachment points on their base

However fishing rope through them is harder than using the d-ring you have installed.

I was really interested in how you integrated roof racks with your bed racks.
I was curious if their heights would match up. I had no idea that the Maverick Roof tilts which requires having the front and rear bed rack at different heights when using the bed rack with roof racks. You came up with a good solution to get everything to line up.

Do you leave your roof racks on your truck all the time? I figure that having racks probably means I won’t be using an automated car wash. Have you had any experience with this?

 

[Cruzer]

I just read the manual. In the care and maintenance section it says to take them off before going through an automatic car wash

A link to the Elevate Manual is below:

https://static.thiecommerce.com/ass...on-guide/aa9a43ff19beec462dad6f01cf74c953.pdf

 

[StevePlusPlus]

I leave my rack on all the time, but I never use car washes. I just hose things down whenever it gets dirty. I imagine you could use a touchless car wash? If it's just jets of water I couldn't imagine it damaging anything.

 

[StevePlusPlus]

Thanks for such a thorough accounting of your thought process and choices of which equipment to use. Like you I didn’t want bed space taken up with a rolling tonneau canister and ended up choosing the same rack and rolling hard cover with the integrated t-slots.

I like your d-ring tie downs, I ended up ordering the Elevate Rack system tie downs for $76. Recently I discovered that the elevate arms do have tie down attachment points on their base

However fishing rope through them is harder than using the d-ring you have installed.

I was really interested in how you integrated roof racks with your bed racks.
I was curious if their heights would match up. I had no idea that the Maverick Roof tilts which requires having the front and rear bed rack at different heights when using the bed rack with roof racks. You came up with a good solution to get everything to line up.

Do you leave your roof racks on your truck all the time? I figure that having racks probably means I won’t be using an automated car wash. Have you had any experience with this?

Oy those are the same sort of straps I use! My d-rings are now irrelevant. Excellent!

 

[lm126027]

Great set up. Been trying to figure out how to handle my Kayak come next Spring. Have Thule racks from my 2020 Escape and am hoping to at least use the crossbars on my Mav. Looks like I can only buy the entire set up thru Ford, so may have to go to Thule to buy the roof attachment parts. The shorter roof on the Mav does concern me though as to the stability of the Kayak on the roof.

 

[GmanGM]

I wanted a roof rack and bed rack that aligned so that items could sit perfectly flat across them, but also wanted a roll up tonneau. This is the final result:

I had a Yakima Baseline roof rack with 60"JetStream bars from my previous car so I put that on first. I realized pretty quick that the recommended placement and forward tilt of the roof would mean that any bed rack would have to have two separate heights for the front and rear supports in order for everything to line up perfectly. I was discouraged by the limited out-of-the-box adjustability of the TruXedo Elevate rack (it's only meant to change height in fixed increments), and I wanted a roll-up tonneau so that ruled out Yakima's fully adjustable bed rack (it's arms tilt inwards so it interferes with the cover). I could have gone with a retractable t-track tonneau instead of a hard roll-up, but I didn't want to sacrifice my already limited bed space, and I like to be able to easily remove the tonneau in case I really need those extra few inches. I went with the BAK Revolver X4ts for the bed cover and the TruXedo rack, and it turns out that with the rear arms as close to the tailgate as you can get them, no customization was needed, it just happens to be the perfect height at its middle setting. The arms closer to the middle of the truck needed to be lowered by about 1 3/8" from what would be the middle setting, but that was easy enough to do by drilling a few holes, and it doesn't feel like it compromised any strength.

I ended up cutting down the cross bars on the Elevate rack to 61.5" to more closely resemble my Yakima's 60" bars, but in retrospect I should have cut them down to something more like 62.5" because I ended up having to trim a bit off of the plastic end caps to make them fit (the mounting hardware where they attach to the arms interfered with them fitting otherwise).

Another thing I had liked about the Yakima bed rack was the inclusion of mounting points on the arms, which the TruXedo lacked. I got some D-rings and bolts to add my own to the arms on the existing unused bolt holes. The bed cover came with some extra t-bolts for the track, so I added some D-rings with those too, and the same t-bolts worked for the roof rack so I added them there as well. I had to cut down the t-bolts because they were too long to work nicely with the D-rings.

I also had to swap out my antenna for a stubby so it wouldn't get bumped by stuff on the rack. I don't use the radio so I'll never notice.

Total length from front most roof rack to back most bed rack is 104.5", so it can support nice long material.
Weight limits are 165lbs for the roof rack and 500lbs for the bed rack, so 665 combined.

Here's the parts list (prices are at time of writing):

RealTruck BAK Revolver X4ts Hard Rolling Truck Bed Tonneau Cover - $1550
TruXedo Elevate CS Rack - $750
Yakima BaseClip BC180 (x2 required) - $72 each
Yakima JetStream Bars (60") - $225
Yakima BaseLine Towers - $180
Yakima SKS Lock Cores (you probably don't need these, 4 pack) - $30
D Rings (I went with two packs of 8) - $14 each
5/16 2" Bolts - $8
5/16 Locking Nuts - $10
5/16 Washers - $9
Stubby Antenna - $20

Final Total = $2,954

Looks perfect and what I would like, except pricy. Questions:
-Do you think 2 roof rails are necessary, I was considering just 1 at front?
- is there a less expensive soft cover that works in this same configuration?
Great job looks nice and functional!

 

[StevePlusPlus]

Looks perfect and what I would like, except pricy. Questions:
-Do you think 2 roof rails are necessary, I was considering just 1 at front?
- is there a less expensive soft cover that works in this same configuration?
Great job looks nice and functional!

Given the relatively light weight rating of the roof rack, and the fact that you can only buy the front and back together, I feel like both is the way to go.

I haven't gone looking, but I have to imagine cheaper soft cover options are out there? You'd have to get something with t-slot rails though if you wanted it to work with this bed rack. Either the rails would have to come standard, or this rack has an associated rail kit you can buy separately that's supposed to work with most tonneau covers.

 

[GmanGM]

Given the relatively light weight rating of the roof rack, and the fact that you can only buy the front and back together, I feel like both is the way to go.

I haven't gone looking, but I have to imagine cheaper soft cover options are out there? You'd have to get something with t-slot rails though if you wanted it to work with this bed rack. Either the rails would have to come standard, or this rack has an associated rail kit you can buy separately that's supposed to work with most tonneau covers.

I think you are right for many uses on the roof rack (there are manufacturers that sell singles but not sure of height or capacity). Attached is example of single roof and single bed rack cross members I like, but shown carrying just a kayak whereas I want to carry some lumber etc.

 

[AlpineKid74]

I just read the manual. In the care and maintenance section it says to take them off before going through an automatic car wash

A link to the Elevate Manual is below:

https://static.thiecommerce.com/ass...on-guide/aa9a43ff19beec462dad6f01cf74c953.pdf

I have gone through the car wash at least 10 times since we received our Maverick on 9 January 2-25. Snowy & salty roads in Northern Michigan & since I have a trucker mentality, keep the truck clean.

 

[Cruzer]

That’s good to know! I am assuming it is a spray only car wash? No big roller brushes?

 

[AlpineKid74]

That’s good to know! I am assuming it is a spray only car wash? No big roller brushes?

The car was has the big rolling brushes.

 

[Cruzer]

Thanks for the information. Personally I’m going to avoid the rollers and do touchless - I am going to baby my set up for now.

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