Homemade Bed Racks, Front & Rear

[MetalsGeek]

Is there a reason you didn't use the truxedo t-slot rails they make for the Maverick? Advantages? Disadvantages?

I did, actually. I installed Truxedo's Elevate T-Slot Rails #1118329 (56"). These were longer than the ones sold for the Maverick. The extra length allowed me to contour the ends to cover the entire length of the bed edge. Truxedo cannot do this much machining at their price point so they just saw them square, which leaves gaps on the ends. I found that the cleats provided with the rails look nice but the rails are not up to that sort of loading and would bend if you pulled up and inward very hard, such as to tie down a refrigerator. I also discovered that the T-slot bolts provided by Truxedo were not finished properly after being cut to length and demolished the nuts, so I bought some M8-1.25 x 30 T-Slot Bolts from Amazon that were FAR superior. Note that stainless steel already has a tendency to gall, and the poor QA finished the job. I could have probably made them work if I had inspected them more closely and tapered off the sharp edges with a grinder and wire wheel before trying on the nuts.
I did not use Truxedo's full Elevate rack system because I didn't want something like that up in the wind all the time, and also because I may need to park in a location with marginal headroom.

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[deadeye]

Occasionally I have a need to carry longer items, wood, steel, ladders, but have no desire to have items sticking out the back. A simple front of the bed rack allows one to prop long things over the cab with the bottom into the bed/tailgate. However I wasn't able to see anything specific to the Maverick that didn't involve either drilling holes through the side rails or clamping to the rails.

The XLT and Lariat have bed tie down rings at the front as well as the upper and lower side tie downs, front and rear. My goal was to fabricate a rack that could be easily installed and removed using those existing mounting spots. A "no drill, no clamp" alternative.

I had quite a bit of 1" square steel tube already on hand, so used that. For someone with a proper tubing bender, using round tube would work better for the front rack. After completing the front rack I saw how easy if would be to also make a rear rack from the same square tubing, and how that square tube perfectly fits the vertical notch at the rear of the bed. Very easy. I'm just an amateur welder, but I think these turned out quite well, and despite the appearance of being small, each will easily support more than 200 pounds and are very stiff fore and aft.

I can remove the 8 tie downs and install the 2 racks in less than 15 minutes. Removal is even faster. I did find that all of the tie down threaded holes benefited from using a tap to clean the threads, even though they all had the factory installed machine screws. 8mm x 1.25 tap for the floor D rings and 6mm for the side tie downs. Longer 6mm screws were required for the rear rack installation.

I think a good commercial fabricator could easily make these with a proper jig, or combine them into a complete over the cab ladder rack.

My first post. Cheers.

Occasionally I have a need to carry longer items, wood, steel, ladders, but have no desire to have items sticking out the back. A simple front of the bed rack allows one to prop long things over the cab with the bottom into the bed/tailgate. However I wasn't able to see anything specific to the Maverick that didn't involve either drilling holes through the side rails or clamping to the rails.

The XLT and Lariat have bed tie down rings at the front as well as the upper and lower side tie downs, front and rear. My goal was to fabricate a rack that could be easily installed and removed using those existing mounting spots. A "no drill, no clamp" alternative.

I had quite a bit of 1" square steel tube already on hand, so used that. For someone with a proper tubing bender, using round tube would work better for the front rack. After completing the front rack I saw how easy if would be to also make a rear rack from the same square tubing, and how that square tube perfectly fits the vertical notch at the rear of the bed. Very easy. I'm just an amateur welder, but I think these turned out quite well, and despite the appearance of being small, each will easily support more than 200 pounds and are very stiff fore and aft.

I can remove the 8 tie downs and install the 2 racks in less than 15 minutes. Removal is even faster. I did find that all of the tie down threaded holes benefited from using a tap to clean the threads, even though they all had the factory installed machine screws. 8mm x 1.25 tap for the floor D rings and 6mm for the side tie downs. Longer 6mm screws were required for the rear rack installation.

I think a good commercial fabricator could easily make these with a proper jig, or combine them into a complete over the cab ladder rack.

My first post. Cheers.

This is AMAZING! How am I just now finding this!

My requirements also include NO-drill and NO clamp/pinch on the downturned sheetmetal flange.

I despise all the fancy $1000+ racks that pinch/clamp to the sheet metal+plastic flange. And also cannot dream of drilling a hole to increase corrosion and weaken structure.

My ideal design in my head takes advantage of all the existing threaded bosses, but you SIR have Actually completed your design and MADE ONE! And it looks amazing!

Kudos and much respect to you!

What was throwing me off was trying to also use design compatible with a tonneau cover (which involves thin Z brackets to jog around), but since yours is easy to unbolt, its seems like a perfect fit my my usage as well. Hella sturdy and easily removable.

 

[BLDDONR]

Glad you like it. Despite looking small, the 1” square tube is very strong and can easily support any reasonable load, like ladders or lumber or kayaks.

 

[GmanGM]

Is there a reason you didn't use the truxedo t-slot rails they make for the Maverick? Advantages? Disadvantages?

ah,,,, he did

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