Front Runner Slimline II install

[tooloud10]

Thanks, I appreciate the info.

I did order the 'officially' recommended Slimline II bed rack kit for the Raptor/Retrax and have figured out the answers to the other questions I had. I was mostly worried about why the height looked drastically different for this kit in different pictures. Turns out if you order the Raptor/Retrax package they send you the 'regular' tall legs (LASS026) as well as the 'Retrax' shorter legs (LASS028) that attach to the T-slot rail.

Which...makes no sense because if you're using the Slimline rack with a Retrax, there appears to be no absolutely use for the LASS026 legs. I installed the rack and never even opened up the extra three boxes.

IOW, if you buy the recommended rack for my truck they make you buy $210 worth of parts that you don't need at all. Dumb.

 

[William P]

We recently bought this rack and the it doesn’t seem wide enough (by about 6” overall). Did you come across this issue? I contacted customer service, but haven’t talked to anyone.

 

[tooloud10]

I actually thought the same thing but was able to correct it. Some things I learned while installing the rack:

1) The legs need to be attached to the T-slot rails as far 'forward' as possible towards the center of the bed in order to limit the distance from the opposing leg on the other side of the truck. There's only about 1/2" of play but it's critical to get them as close to each other as possible. See pic for detail.

2) Make sure to use the spacers and longer bolts between the legs and the platform. They included them in the box but there was no mention of what they were for. After putting them in everything was a lot straighter and seemed to work better.

3) Once the bolts for the platform are in place, torque them a little bit from each side. When I tried doing a whole side at once, I realized it was tweaking the Retrax cover on the opposing side and making it too tight to operate the rolling cover. Once I did them a little at a time, that problem disappeared.

4) I saw a few recommendations online to use Loctite on all hardware as you install it. I cannot stress enough that this could be a really bad idea for anyone that hasn't installed one of these racks before. I'll bet I had to move/tweak install every bolt 3-4x before everything was situated properly.

Good luck, let me know if you have any other questions I can help with.

 

[tooloud10]

Also, I installed the wind deflector per the instructions, and as soon as I placed the platform on the legs I realized that the deflector completely prevents you from installing the bolts on the front pair of legs. I removed the deflector and tossed it aside. Can't say I've noticed any wind noise or anything from it not being present.

 

[nikhsub1]

Why would you need a wind deflector when the rack is mounted just above the bed?

 

[tooloud10]

Why would you need a wind deflector when the rack is mounted just above the bed?

I'm honestly not sure either but I assumed that since they included it there must be a good reason so I dutifully followed the directions and installed it. Again, the part number that I bought was specifically advertised as the solution for a Gen 2 Raptor with a Retrax bed cover, but what you get is the full 'generic' bed rack kit plus shorter legs and leg mounts for the T-slot rail system.

I love the rack but kind of annoyed that you basically have to waste $250 in other parts that don't apply to the specific install/solution they advertise.

 

[William P]

Thank you for your help finally figured it all out and got it installed today. Thank you for your advice.

 

[DAVfoto]

It looks good. I have a roll n lock I plan to get rid of before I get this. I wonder if the non retrax also comes with both sets of legs.