Semi-DIY medium/low profile bed rack

[Smack]

No problems with fitment on mine, in fact I think I fixed a couple of leaking issues without trying. I did use some of the spare tape from the Elevate kit on the tail gate, fixed leaking there. There is a lot of gap fill stuff provided in the Elevate kit, the Jeep Gladiator clamps come with it as well.

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[Smack]

I needed a solution for skis so the bars are getting a cargo box, skis beyond 170cm will not fit in the box even diagonally.

 

[Smack]

Ready for skies, well I'm going to put a yoga mat in the bottom of the cargo box, I keep my skies like razors.

 

[surfstar]

Like the setup and am thinking of something similar (hope to get my Mav in May!) as we already have a Skybox 16 and caps are way too much $$$

Question for ya - do you think a hard roll-up like the Sentry CT would be able to roll up with the racks and box in place?
A full soft roll-up cover shouldn't be an issue - and maybe that's a good way to go as the box over the bed can provide some "security" - as in it'll be hard to cut the cover and remove large objects quickly...

 

[_Daleyplanit_]

I love your ingenuity here. I also have a factory installed trifold hardcover. I absolutely love it. I ordered TS rails from Truxego and the rack equipment however, upon unboxing, it seems the TX rails must be installed between the trifold hardware and the bed itself (I *think* you must have had to do the same thing, Like two upside down Ls on top of each other). Is that how you installed the rails?

Assuming you had to disassemble the hardware for the trifold. How did that go?

How are the tolerances for the hard cover post addition of the TS Rails?

I'm worried the added thickness of the TS rails won't allow me to reinstall or utilize the trifold.

Thanks a ton!

 

[_Daleyplanit_]

Posting here in case the other thread died! this thread seemed dead since there's it ended with an unanswered question from October.

I ordered TS rails from Truxego and the rack equipment however, upon unboxing, it seems the TX rails must be installed between the trifold hardware and the bed itself (I *think* you must have had to do the same thing, Like two upside down Ls on top of each other). Is that how you installed the rails?

Assuming you had to disassemble the hardware for the trifold. How did that go?

How are the tolerances for the hard cover post addition of the TS Rails?

I'm worried the added thickness of the TS rails won't allow me to reinstall or utilize the trifold.

Thanks a ton!

 

[Hot Runr Guy]

In my case, I self-installed my MX4, but you are correct, the TS rails go on first, then the rails for the cover on top of them, with the same clamps holding both in place. My truck is stored off-site right now, but this weekend I could take more pics if they would help.

HRG

 

[_Daleyplanit_]

This is making my day. I unboxed the rails last night and started prep to put them on thinking "these are never going to fit" and felt so deflated. It took forever for them to ship and yesterday was anticipated like Christmas.

 

[Daverick]

Posting here in case the other thread died! this thread seemed dead since there's it ended with an unanswered question from October.

I ordered TS rails from Truxego and the rack equipment however, upon unboxing, it seems the TX rails must be installed between the trifold hardware and the bed itself (I *think* you must have had to do the same thing, Like two upside down Ls on top of each other). Is that how you installed the rails?

Assuming you had to disassemble the hardware for the trifold. How did that go?

How are the tolerances for the hard cover post addition of the TS Rails?

I'm worried the added thickness of the TS rails won't allow me to reinstall or utilize the trifold.

Thanks a ton!

Yes I had to remove the tonneau rails first, then lay the TS rails down, and then the tonneau rails go back in. The clamps for the tonneau rails hold it all together; I did not use the clamps included with the TS rails.
I did not notice any fitment issues after reinstalling the tonneau.

 

[_Daleyplanit_]

I did it! Installed the Truxedo TS rails and rack. The rails required me to remove the tonneau cover which was not as challenging as I anticipated. Since everything fit flush and I'm not concerned about water intrusion I neglected to install the 3m tape... we'll see how things hold up and if i need to come back to it I will. Everything buttoned back up real nice and there was plenty of tolerance on the BAX MX4 folding rack for it to operate just as good as without the TS rails. I proceeded and it took about an hour to secure the rack arms and cleats. I did not notice any flex - I think the hard tonneau and crossbars likely add stability. My rack came with extra 3/4" mounts, which I used for my Yakima box - I just drilled 3/4" holes, pulled the mounts through and used lock nuts and washers. It was easier to have 4x lock nuts that 8x Yakima thumb wheels over the U clamps that kept falling out - so even the Yakima mount is an improvement! I'm also happy in it's lowest setting the rack allows the roof box to be mounted with clearance over the cab.

My gripes, which are small:
1) The width of the crossbars that are going to require ingenuity to mount Yakima accessories I collected over the years.
2) The trifold can only fold two deep with the rack in the lowest position
3) There's a "hi" and "lo" setting which take a bit of time and effort to raise/lower. Got to be a better way than 8x bolts!
4) If there was a middle setting It would allow a height that permitted the trifold to fold all the way back.

I called a lot of dealers, companies and did a lot of research. If you've got a hard trifold like the BAK MX4 and a small truck like the Maverick, I'm pretty sure the Truxedo rails are your only option for a functional hard trifold AND a roof rails.

 

[Knight-of-Ni]

Wanted to give thanks to @Daverick , for posting his low profile rack solution.
Those photos got me started down a similar path. I found a set of cheap low profile bars on Amazon, which I modified to fit Elevate T-Slot rails.

The modified bracket is shown at top and the original at bottom of this photo.

These are the rails I used:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B2ZNYSMD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Currently shown as unavailable, but I saw similar models from other sellers.

 

[Hot Runr Guy]

Wanted to give thanks to @Daverick , for posting his low profile rack solution.
Those photos got me started down a similar path. I found a set of cheap low profile bars on Amazon, which I modified to fit Elevate T-Slot rails.



The modified bracket is shown at top and the original at bottom of this photo.

These are the rails I used:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B2ZNYSMD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Currently shown as unavailable, but I saw similar models from other sellors.

What did you use for the bolts in the TS rails? Elevate wants a fortune for spares.

HRG

 

[Knight-of-Ni]

What did you use for the bolts in the TS rails? Elevate wants a fortune for spares.

HRG

Good question. I ran into the same issue.

The T-Bolts shown in the photo are the long T-Bolts that came with the rails, using 5/16 locknuts from the local hardware store.

However, I was in a hurry and buggered the threads on a couple of them, which got me looking for affordable replacements.

It turns out these fit the rails perfectly:
https://www.etrailer.com/p-RR89HB.html

The threads are M8, so you will need different nuts as well.

 

[Hot Runr Guy]

Good question. I ran into the same issue.

The T-Bolts shown in the photo are the long T-Bolts that came with the rails, using 5/16 locknuts from the local hardware store.

However, I was in a hurry and buggered the threads on a couple of them, which got me looking for affordable replacements.

It turns out these fit the rails perfectly:
https://www.etrailer.com/p-RR89HB.html

The threads are M8, so you will need different nuts as well.

Thanks! HRG

 

[Dandy Mav]

Wanted to give thanks to @Daverick , for posting his low profile rack solution.
Those photos got me started down a similar path. I found a set of cheap low profile bars on Amazon, which I modified to fit Elevate T-Slot rails.

The modified bracket is shown at top and the original at bottom of this photo.

These are the rails I used:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B2ZNYSMD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Currently shown as unavailable, but I saw similar models from other sellers.

That's a pretty slick & simple solution! Thanks for posting.

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