Head Ache Rack on the Cheep

[DavidLs]

Ok Im insane I bought the cheep Headache of Amazon and Tried to install it. Universal Right?? Nope Not even. but for 129 Bucks and I had let it set in my garage until My Mav got here. I had to go for it. Universal was a big Stretch. Needed A grinder a Stove and a Nearby TSC.


Mounting it out of the box was a no go. Brackets will not work with a 2023 Mav. Cant send it back way over the Amazon 30 day return limit. I did not want the Bed caps to warp as I had seen posted. When I drilled the mounting holes and installed the rack the Black plastic end caps do not sit on the metal they stand off of it bt about 3/4 inch and they begin to warp upon tightening bolts down. ( Not Good) A trip to TSC. I Bought 4 way over sized nuts So the Mounting Bolts would slide right through them, Then I heated the Nuts up Super hot on the Shove. ( Glowing Red Hot ) Ran the bolts though them and Placed them over the Plastic end caps though drilled bolt holes through the holes in the metal. They Plastic Melted and Locked the Nuts in Place Flush & Level nicely with the plastic. They appeared to have sealed it all together, Awesome Now I had support. Then came the Washers. The Washers had to be ground to a very narrow profile I bought the thickest ones TSC had. Then a bit of heavy Rubber .The Ordeal was a Pain in the fanny. I will post Pics Later. But its solid and doesn't look Bad.

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[Oscarcat]

Ok Im insane I bought the cheep Headache of Amazon and Tried to install it. Universal Right?? Nope Not even. but for 129 Bucks and I had let it set in my garage until My Mav got here. I had to go for it. Universal was a big Stretch. Needed A grinder a Stove and a Nearby TSC.


Mounting it out of the box was a no go. Brackets will not work with a 2023 Mav. Cant send it back way over the Amazon 30 return. But I did not want the Bed caps to warp. I drilled the mounting hole installed the rack the Black plastic end caps do not sit on the metal they stand off of it bt about 3/4 inch and they warp upon tightening bolts down. ( Not Good) A trip to TSC. I Bought 4 way over sized nuts So the Mounting Bolts would slide right through them, Then I heated the Nuts up Super hot on the Shove. ( Glowing Red Hot ) Ran the bolts though them and Placed them over the Plastic end caps though drilled bolt holt through the holes in the metal. They Plastic Melted and Locked the Nuts in Place Flush & Level nicely with the plastic. They appeared to have sealed it all together, Awesome Now I had support. The came the Washers. The Washers had to be ground to a very narrow profile I bought the thickest ones TSC had. The a bit of heavy Rubber .The Ordeal was a Pain in the fanny. I will post Pics Later. But its solid and doesn't look Bad.

You certainly put a lot of thought and effort into the project. Would love to see the photo of the finished job. If I had one thing to tell Ford it would be to make it easier and provide a more robust rail surface on which to install a rack on the Mav. People need them for paddle boards, canoes, and work, to haul long items that extend over the cab - a third cross bar so cargo doesn't bang against the roof, 8' and 10' ladders, etc.

 

[Maverickman74]

You certainly put a lot of thought and effort into the project. Would love to see the photo of the finished job. If I had one thing to tell Ford it would be to make it easier and provide a more robust rail surface on which to install a rack on the Mav. People need them for paddle boards, canoes, and work, to haul long items that extend over the cab - a third cross bar so cargo doesn't bang against the roof, 8' and 10' ladders, etc.

Kinda the same deal with the Ridglines. The first ones were impossible but the newer ones got a little better. Hopefully next gen Maverick has a squared off drainable front bed rail and robust side rails.


Ohh yeah let get some pics of this headache!

 

[DavidLs]

Well Here are the Pics. Just a Note the area that is the closest to the Cab I Ground that down with a angle grinder for a better fit. If I had not it would have pressed to hard on the ABS. With A HF Angle grinder it took less than 10 min.

You certainly put a lot of thought and effort into the project. Would love to see the photo of the finished job. If I had one thing to tell Ford it would be to make it easier and provide a more robust rail surface on which to install a rack on the Mav. People need them for paddle boards, canoes, and work, to haul long items that extend over the cab - a third cross bar so cargo doesn't bang against the roof, 8' and 10' ladders, etc.

Kinda the same deal with the Ridglines. The first ones were impossible but the newer ones got a little better. Hopefully next gen Maverick has a squared off drainable front bed rail and robust side rails.


Ohh yeah let get some pics of this headache!

 

[DavidLs]

Hope It Helps

 

[Maverickman74]

Hey thats alright! Good job.

 

[Oscarcat]

Well Here are the Pics. Just a Note the area that is the closest to the Cab I Ground that down with a angle grinder for a better fit. If I had not it would have pressed to hard on the ABS. With A HF Angle grinder it took less than 10 min.

Hello and thanks for the multiple pics - that helps me visualize your project. [I too have an Oxford white Mav with the raised black tailgate letters.]

 

[Johnkn]

And I came here thinking I would see a headache rack on a baby chicken........


.

 

[Mervin the Maverick]

Ok Im insane I bought the cheep Headache of Amazon and Tried to install it. Universal Right?? Nope Not even. but for 129 Bucks and I had let it set in my garage until My Mav got here. I had to go for it. Universal was a big Stretch. Needed A grinder a Stove and a Nearby TSC.


Mounting it out of the box was a no go. Brackets will not work with a 2023 Mav. Cant send it back way over the Amazon 30 day return limit. I did not want the Bed caps to warp as I had seen posted. When I drilled the mounting holes and installed the rack the Black plastic end caps do not sit on the metal they stand off of it bt about 3/4 inch and they begin to warp upon tightening bolts down. ( Not Good) A trip to TSC. I Bought 4 way over sized nuts So the Mounting Bolts would slide right through them, Then I heated the Nuts up Super hot on the Shove. ( Glowing Red Hot ) Ran the bolts though them and Placed them over the Plastic end caps though drilled bolt holes through the holes in the metal. They Plastic Melted and Locked the Nuts in Place Flush & Level nicely with the plastic. They appeared to have sealed it all together, Awesome Now I had support. Then came the Washers. The Washers had to be ground to a very narrow profile I bought the thickest ones TSC had. Then a bit of heavy Rubber .The Ordeal was a Pain in the fanny. I will post Pics Later. But its solid and doesn't look Bad.

I’m not a fan, but I don’t know what your needs are. I would like to see the rack at the same height as the cab, but again, I don’t know what you need.

GREAT WORK on the install though, and especially figuring out what needed to be done.

 

[GPSMan]

I just use Tylenol.

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