bed rack tonneau cover combo

[jeffp619]

Anyone have good recommendations?

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[dannyboy12]

We have had this setup since mid-2021 and are pretty happy with it for transporting a 14' Hobie kayak:

- T-60335 Retrax One XR tonneau cover
- Yakima Tonneau Kit 1 Adapter Kit For Select Tonneau Covers
- Yakima OverHaul HD racks
- Yakima 8001156 HD Heavy-duty 60" Small Black Aluminum Crossbars
- Yakima BigCatch Kayak Fishing Boat Saddles

 

[davidtg7123]

I installed the gator efx tri fold cover when I first got the truck. When I started to get the itch for a bed rack it was very difficult to find one that would be compatible with my tonneau, and I really did not want to commit the money to buying a new one when mine worked perfectly fine. I ended up getting the ADARAC Aluminum Series. Pretty easy to install and I can take the rack on and off in like 4 minutes. The rail that is drilled onto the bed rail stays on. Feels extremely secure

 

[My12SecRanger]

I am giving away a free rack if you pick it up

 

[Egg69]

Looks like OP needs a weekend in Vegas!

 

[Realtruck]

There's a couple good combos out there. One of the simplest setups is the RealTruck BAKFlip MX4 TS Hard Folding Tonneau Cover w/ T-Slot Rails and the RealTruck Elevate Rack. The cover has integrated T-slot rails that the Elevate rack slides right into!

 

[Stevedbvik1]

I have the Truxedo Lopro roll up tonneau cover with the Elevate tslot racks

 

[Josh Stretch]

I have't done it yet but my plan is to buy an RCI 12" HD bed rack with their tonneau cover adapter which I will modify to fit on a track system. I have a BAK revolver X4TS. We'll see if it works out.

 

[$4Ranger]

I've got the BAKflip MX4 and love it. I'm just not going to purchase another one with the T-Slot rail just so I can mount the Elevate. I'm exploring some options of mounting some Rhino tracks along side my BAKflip on the bed rail with some rivet nuts and mounting racks on them. I'll start a new post here if you're interested @jeffp619

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

@LaBalbe dropped by a few weeks ago and we installed the Real Truck Elevate on his truck, which has a folding tonneau. I’m not sure of the brand - hoping LaBalbe will chime in.

The install was very straightforward - no modifications to either item to make them work well together. The interface between the tonneau rails and the rack rails is clean and not bulky. We were able to lower the rack from its high factory setting so it was just above roof height and still allowed for the tonneau to be flipped open.

It looks sharp on hus black Ranger.

 

[Realtruck]

@LaBalbe dropped by a few weeks ago and we installed the Real Truck Elevate on his truck, which has a folding tonneau. I’m not sure of the brand - hoping LaBalbe will chime in.

The install was very straightforward - no modifications to either item to make them work well together. The interface between the tonneau rails and the rack rails is clean and not bulky. We were able to lower the rack from its high factory setting so it was just above roof height and still allowed for the tonneau to be flipped open.

It looks sharp on hus black Ranger.

It's good to know that the tonneau rails and the rack rails worked together, especially without any mods. I'm also curious to know which hard folding cover this is. The setup looks clean, and I hope he's happy with it!

 

[LaBalbe]

@LaBalbe dropped by a few weeks ago and we installed the Real Truck Elevate on his truck, which has a folding tonneau. I’m not sure of the brand - hoping LaBalbe will chime in.

The install was very straightforward - no modifications to either item to make them work well together. The interface between the tonneau rails and the rack rails is clean and not bulky. We were able to lower the rack from its high factory setting so it was just above roof height and still allowed for the tonneau to be flipped open.

It looks sharp on hus black Ranger.

Thanks, Duke. I've been meaning to post about this, but time has gotten away from me. I have to get around to getting a picture of the tonneau cover mount system nestled into the T-rail mount system for the Elevate, to show how they nestle into each other nicely.

My tonneau cover is the Ford-branded one that I got from the dealership when I bought the truck. I'm not 100% sure, but as near as I can figure out, it's essentially the BAKflip with Ford branding instead. It won't clear the crossbars on the lowest setting (I suspect the same would be true for all tri-fold covers), but the middle and highest setting are no problem. As Duke noted, it's on the middle setting in the pic above.

The only real mod that it requires is getting some extra weather-stripping and filling in the gaps at the front and rear of the tonneau cover, since it no longer sits flush with the head of the bed of the truck or the tailgate. The sides don't matter, since it still sits flush with it's mount system, which is itself nestled nicely into the T-rail mount.

We also found that the bed clamps that came with the Elevate were a little longer than the ones that came with the cover, and did not have carriage bolts like what comes with the tonneau clamps. In the end, we made use of both types of clamps.

On each side, we used two of the three Elevate clamps on the outside ends of the rail, and the three clamps that came with the tonneau cover in the three middle positions, so now I have five clamps holding both the racks and cover down on each side; ten in total. A little overkill, perhaps, but hey, why not use them?

Using the shorter clamps in the middle also gives me the clearance I need for some of the stuff that's strapped to my BRI MOLLE panels on either side of the bed, of which the longer clamps would likely have gotten in the way.

I've also gotten some additional T Track Mount Tie Down Anchors that I'm planning to attach to the underside of the crossbars to give me additional tie down points that I can use in tandem with the provided cleats. I'll get pictures of the whole set up one of these days and post them.

 

[bmidd]

My old setup. Truxedo Lo Pro and Elevate rails.

 

[RealRigsRattle]

I've had good luck with my Embark LS (Retrax XR Pro), Universal Amazon special bars, holding up to off-roading with a rooftop tent.

The whole setup is currently for sale for $1200. Located in Phoenix, but willing to meet up within a 6 hour drive if needed.

Arizona - Roof Top Tent, Rack, Embark LS Tonneau Cover Combo $1200 FIRM | 2019+ Ford Ranger and Raptor Forum (5th Generation) - Ranger5G.com

 

[LaBalbe]

As promised, the close-up pictures. The nestling of the two mount systems isn't quite as visible due to the extra weather-stripping I added, but you get the idea.

You can see here how we used both sets of clamps.

Added weather-stripping at the front of the bed...

...and at the tailgate (that gap used to not be there; it was flush with the tailgate)

Here it is with the added tie-down points

@Realtruck, you might want to revisit the drainage of the crossbar cradles in the uprights. I noticed that water is pooling there a bit. Hopefully it won't pool so much that if/when it freezes it'll cause damage to the cradle.

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