Tonneau + Rack Advice

[MAMiller44]

Sooo... it appears that when going over landing, you need a cover. Why is that? People steal from the bed while you sleep in the rooftop tent? Or because of weather (which if you don’t keep gear in the bed that minds water shouldn’t matter either)...

I'll always be camping with my Amstaff in the tent with me & a loaded Sig so that's not so much a concern for me. We have the same agreement at home...he barks I draw.

Anyways, after much debate nothing out there really has what I want...so I'm doing a bit of a custom setup. I ordered a Decked drawer system for down below. Why?

• I like that it gives you easier, full access to the full length of the bed without having to crawl back there or try to navigate through the rack.
• For the more important stuff it's much more secure than other options.
• I don't see myself ever needing the full extent of the bed for dry/secure storage. I'll still have plenty of space between the Decked system and the rack so things like recovery gear, a cooler, or rotopax can go there. I'll have a pretty short sitting rack so it would be difficult to steal things out of there anyways, and I could get lockable mounting options. I'm also thinking that maybe I do something like Builtright Industries panels that fit above the Decked system.
• I still have the full floor plate of the bed for hauling when needed.
• It's a giant, super ******* cool roll out cooler for tailgating.

Up top, I'm going to use Front Runner universal tracks and install them on top of the bed rails for a more permanent installation. I'm waiting to hear back some more exact dimensional info from Front Runner before ordering and starting this process. I'm going to order Thule hardware for their TracRac system to attach the ends to the stake pockets, and then maybe only use 1-2 extra screws into the top of the bed rail towards the middle if they're even needed. Why do I want to do this?

• I don't want to use a rolling cover that uses of bed space and is a pain in the ass to remove if I wanted full access to the depth of the bed when the rack isn't on.
• If I want to, I'll have the space inbetween the tracks to install a cloth, rolling cover to get even more mostly-dry / semi-secure storage above the Decked drawers.
• The tracks will make it easy to slide on/off the rack when I need to.
• I want something more secure than clamp on cover options with T slot tracks, why? First...a lot of these are only rated for 500 pounds and I don't like pushing limits. If I have a 100lb tent + my 170lb ass + 140lb hot piece of ass + 70lb dog + maybe 50lb of random gear in the tent + maybe 100lb of random gear mounted to the rack...you're exceeding limits pretty quickly. The second reason is because I'm in Florida, and here we deal with wind loads. If I ever get stuck in a situation where a tropical storm is nearing, I don't like the idea of using clamp on systems as I can't find any that are looked at from an uplift perspective when it came to their engineering.

 

[Vegas_Sirk]

Could you please post some photos? Also, how do you like it? Thanks

I'll take some pics this weekend. Its been pouring here for the last 2 days straight with more rain today

 

[Vegas_Sirk]

Sooo... it appears that when going over landing, you need a cover. Why is that? People steal from the bed while you sleep in the rooftop tent? Or because of weather (which if you don’t keep gear in the bed that minds water shouldn’t matter either)...

I like this rack as I can take it off when I need to use the truck as a truck. I have a roll top cover to keep things locked and secure and dry. I'm not worried about people stealing stuff while camping so much as on the drive out. I will often take trips that are 6+ hour rides and stop for food at random towns and not looking for people to help their selves. Also I'm planning on putting a Dometic fridge in the bed so prefer to keep it dry as well as my 2nd battery set up and ARB compressor.

 

[Nick@Apollo-Optics]

Hey all,

So I'm trying to pull the trigger on a tonneau/rack (short) setup and am curious if there's a setup out there that anyone has had that will satisfy what I'm hoping for. I want a cover for everyday use in Florida, so something that can stay nice and dry during hurricane season. I don't want anything motorized. Theft is not a huge concern for me so it's not like I need a vault. I do intend to do some camping with the truck so I'd like a setup where I can put in a roof rack system as needed to throw a tent on. I wouldn't keep the rack on for everyday use so I'd be going with a quick release type system. I do like the lower rails as well that just hover right over the bed, not looking for a full blown overland setup with rails that are at roof level.

Before the Retrax fanboys come in, I want to either be able to retain full bed use, or have an easily removable system. Don't get me wrong, I really like the Retrax Pro XR series! BUT the one thing I don't like about it is the lost bed space and the fact that it would be a smidge of a pain if I wanted to remove it for hauling anything where I wanted full use of the bed since the tracks and cover itself are all integral. That is literally the only thing holding me back from pulling the trigger and why I'm curious if anyone has another setup out there that would satisfy my needs.

I've seen covers that can either pop out of the track easily so you can stow just the cover portion while leaving the tracks on, or ones like the backflip that can push up vertically against the rear window so you have the full extent of the bed space available when you need it. But has anyone setup one of these with a rack for a rooftop tent too?

Please share, pics would be great too if you have them! =)

I know you already have a solution. But wanted to add that you can have a rail setup added to a cover like the Bak Revolver X4 or MX4 or any other cover of your choice and then add your rails. Just keep in mind that if you have an adjustable rack, you would have to raise the rack up to be able to clear the opening/closing of a folding bed cover like the MX4.

For me, I would like a rack to attach our bikes while carrying gear covered and secured in the bed. We tow an airstream basecamp, so cant use a hitch bike carrier......just my needs.

We have options to make this work. We could go with a Retrax XR or Pace Edwards Ultragroove cover if you wanted a retractable locking cover, or we can make this setup work for other bed covers as mentioned above. Be glad to help you out!

 

[Drivin2Fst]

I know you already have a solution. But wanted to add that you can have a rail setup added to a cover like the Bak Revolver X4 or MX4 or any other cover of your choice and then add your rails. Just keep in mind that if you have an adjustable rack, you would have to raise the rack up to be able to clear the opening/closing of a folding bed cover like the MX4.

You can add rails to a Bakflip MX4?

 

[MAMiller44]

You can add rails to a Bakflip MX4?

There's room to install stand alone rails such as FrontRunner or Thule on the outsides of the MX4. Pretty much any other systems other than MX4 or a velcro fabric system is going to take up too much of the top of the bedsides to fit one.

 

[JoeTSI]

Which rails can you add with an MX4 as I want to carry kayaks without buying a damn trailer.

 

[JoeTSI]

I know you already have a solution. But wanted to add that you can have a rail setup added to a cover like the Bak Revolver X4 or MX4 or any other cover of your choice and then add your rails. Just keep in mind that if you have an adjustable rack, you would have to raise the rack up to be able to clear the opening/closing of a folding bed cover like the MX4.



We have options to make this work. We could go with a Retrax XR or Pace Edwards Ultragroove cover if you wanted a retractable locking cover, or we can make this setup work for other bed covers as mentioned above. Be glad to help you out!

Nick,
What options are there for the MX4 with regards to a rack?

 

[GhostRHR]

I have the Retrax Pro XR cover with the Front runner rack made specifically for that setup comes with both the 8" and 6" legs which gives you options and you can't go wrong with a front runner rack. I've run them on multiple setups.

 

[911 Crazy]

I have the Retrax Pro XR cover with the Front runner rack made specifically for that setup comes with both the 8" and 6" legs which gives you options and you can't go wrong with a front runner rack. I've run them on multiple setups.

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Can you use both the low and tall towers at the same time? So you'd have use of the area undercover in the bed. Maybe a short cage/box on bars on the short stands and then kayaks on the tall stands with bars.