Bed rail mounts with hard tonneau cover

austinb324

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Firstly, sorry if this specific topic has been covered elsewhere but I have not been able to find discussions regarding my exact scenario.

I have the Bakflip MX4 tri-folding hard cover on my ranger bed and am interested in options for adding some type of bed rack or even simply bed rail mounts that could be used to secure payloads on top of my bed cover (I think it is rated at 300lbs). My immediate requirement is to come up with a way to mount kayaks on top of my bed cover so that they hang off the back of the truck and also extend over or rest on a hitch mounted dirt bike.
Longer term I could see a low profile rack system (that is removable) that I could mount a basket or even roof top tent to being awesome but this may require significant modification to my rails and bed cover. I wish I had known I would need these things when I made the bed cover purchase a year ago and I would have just bought a rack integrated bed cover.
Here's my bed cover:
TruckBedCover.jpg

Here's what I mean by hitch mounted dirt bike:
DirtBikeHitchRack.jpg


So I guess what im asking is for is if anyone has any ideas on making a homemade version of this (or something that achieves the same result with kayaks):
1590174150770.png
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LightingBlue

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They make covers which incorporate a rail that is exactly what you're looking for. Here's our ranger with RETRAX pro tonneau and bed rails. They are rated to 500lbs and have done very well for us! Great product overall!

track system.jpg


RoadTripRanger.jpg


RuffCycles.jpg
 

Pvsaint

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It can be done. These pics are of a Ford F150 but the company can most likely have them for Rangers.

KB Voodoo

F-150+with+CBs+close+up.jpg

F-150+with+CBs.jpg
 
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khyros

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Keep in mind, if you have any bars or anything above the bakflip, you won't be able to open the cover.
 
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austinb324

austinb324

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Keep in mind, if you have any bars or anything above the bakflip, you won't be able to open the cover.
Yea, I would want the setup to be removable. While cargo is loaded on the racks, i'd have to crawl under the cover to get anything I needed. I am considering just doing what this guy did with his Tacoma:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/rhino-rack-w-bakflip-mx4-mod.585305/

Basically, drill some holes and install rhino racks:
1591126191354.png

1591126229942.png

1591126243838.png


Looks clean even when not in use and will cost a heck of alot less than replacing my cover with a rack integrated one. Even the fact that I have to drill the bed caps is not a big deal to me. I looked them up on the ford parts catalog and they can be ordered for ~$45-70 each if I needed to replace them for any reason.
 


Ryanosaurus

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Truxedo just released a rail system called Elevate that is exactly what you are looking for. You'll have to completely remove your BakFlip to install, because the Elevate rails are sandwiched in between your truck bed rail and the BakFlip mounting rail. It took me some trial-and-error to get everything lined up right, but it works great now. It works with any rail-mount crossbars (Rhino, Thule, Yakima, etc.), and Truxedo also makes their own proprietary overhead ladder rack. I will post some pics for everyone this evening.
 
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austinb324

austinb324

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Truxedo just released a rail system called Elevate that is exactly what you are looking for. You'll have to completely remove your BakFlip to install, because the Elevate rails are sandwiched in between your truck bed rail and the BakFlip mounting rail. It took me some trial-and-error to get everything lined up right, but it works great now. It works with any rail-mount crossbars (Rhino, Thule, Yakima, etc.), and Truxedo also makes their own proprietary overhead ladder rack. I will post some pics for everyone this evening.
Sounds intriguing. The downside of the solution I proposed is that it has a max weight off road of 145lbs which would pretty much eliminate the ability for a roof top tent over the bed.
 

LightingBlue

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Sounds intriguing. The downside of the solution I proposed is that it has a max weight off road of 145lbs which would pretty much eliminate the ability for a roof top tent over the bed.
250lbs offroad with the Truxedo still isn't getting you to having the bunkbed tent you want.

Obviously you loose a TON of off-road cred with the Tacoma boys and save enough money for worthwhile modifications, but could you just use a regular tent or does it have to be elevated?
 
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austinb324

austinb324

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250lbs offroad with the Truxedo still isn't getting you to having the bunkbed tent you want.

Obviously you loose a TON of off-road cred with the Tacoma boys and save enough money for worthwhile modifications, but could you just use a regular tent or does it have to be elevated?
I have seen a few tents under 200lbs so that still may be feasible. Really the benefit of the mountable tent is just convenience in the summer and ability to camp in the Rockies during the winter without having to dig out a site in the snow. It's not 100% necessary though as you said so I'm not going to loose sleep if it doesn't pan out.

Ryanosaurus do you (or anyone) have a link to the solution we're discussing here? I couldn't find it on their website.
 

Ryanosaurus

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Truxedo just released a rail system called Elevate that is exactly what you are looking for. You'll have to completely remove your BakFlip to install, because the Elevate rails are sandwiched in between your truck bed rail and the BakFlip mounting rail. It took me some trial-and-error to get everything lined up right, but it works great now. It works with any rail-mount crossbars (Rhino, Thule, Yakima, etc.), and Truxedo also makes their own proprietary overhead ladder rack. I will post some pics for everyone this evening.
Here's the pics I promised. I haven't gotten the rack yet, but I do have a set of Rhino crossbars (not installed). As I mentioned, it took a little trial-and-error; once you have the Truxedo rails sandwiched between the truck bed and the tonneau rails, the tolerances are much tighter. The only problem I've identified is that the 1/8" thickness of the rails creates a small gap at the tailgate seal, something I can probably solve with a little tailgate seal material (see the picture with my finger).

If the overhead rack doesn't have the capacity you need, you can just go with crossbars, and add a third crossbar if you're worried about weight capacity. In that case you'd just have to worry about how get things out of the bed...just the excuse you needed to buy a Bedslide!

Truxedo has taken down their link, but here's the link to the manual: https://truxedo.com/images/Install Guides/1118345-OWNERS-MANUAL-ELEVATE-RACK.pdf
Description on RealTruck.com: https://realtruck.com/p/elevate-rack-system/trx-1118328/

IMG_1176.jpg


IMG_1177.jpg


IMG_1179.jpg


IMG_1180.jpg
 

jlarrabee104

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Does anyone have a link to the Elevate system for the ranger, or am I missing it somewhere? Looks perfect for what I need
 

Ryanosaurus

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Does anyone have a link to the Elevate system for the ranger, or am I missing it somewhere? Looks perfect for what I need
Like I said, Truxedo has taken down their link, but here's the link to the manual for the rack: https://truxedo.com/images/Install Guides/1118345-OWNERS-MANUAL-ELEVATE-RACK.pdf

Several third-party vendors carry it and have thorough descriptions:
RealTruck.com: https://realtruck.com/p/elevate-rack-system/trx-1118328/
TonneauFactoryOutlet.com: https://www.tonneaufactoryoutlet.com/tracrac/elevate-rack-system-3/elevate-rack-system.html

Videos:
SEMA 2019: and
RealTruck.com:

Bear in mind that the rail and the rack are sold separately. I started out with just the rails, less of an investment.
 

Bsenecal

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I called Thule to ask about this rack and according to the person I spoke with it has been pulled from sale as there were some “quality control issues “ that needed to be fixed. They said it is expected to be back out for sale in 4-6 weeks. I hope it comes out soon as I am waiting to purchase a tonneau cover for my Ranger until I can verify it will work with this rack.
Brian
 

LightingBlue

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Chris, post #2 had other options for you that were no-drill.

If the goal is to stay under a $200 price point then you're going to have to MacGyver something up from bits at Home Depot.
 

Nick Barber

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I'm disappointed with these clamp-on bed rail systems. I would prefer something that replaced the stock plastic bed rails entirely, allowing seemless integration with tonneau covers, racks, etc.

if anyone has seen something like this please let me know but I have not found it yet.
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