Seeking Rack for Roof top tent that keeps tent at roof height

[HoosierT]

Awesome. What hardware are you planning on for mounting? I'm worried about pulling through the sheet metal on the bed rails. It didn't seem like there was a whole lot of room underneath for backing plates/washers. I'll have a ~185lb Tepui tent mounted.

I plan to use 1/4" bolts with nylock nuts and 7/8" O.D. washers underneath. There's just enough room for that setup. I'm not worried about the sheet metal, plenty of people mount headache racks in the same way with no issues. Also, theres going to be weight on top of the rack so much more down force the lift on it.

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[tivct]

I plan to use 1/4" bolts with nylock nuts and 7/8" O.D. washers underneath. There's just enough room for that setup. I'm not worried about the sheet metal, plenty of people mount headache racks in the same way with no issues. Also, theres going to be weight on top of the rack so much more down force the lift on it.

Great, keep us posted!

 

[Johnpenn]

The nice thing about the Truxedo Pro X15 I have is that it literally only extends over top of the bed rails maybe 3/16" leaving nearly the entire rail for mounting IF you're willing to drill through the rails and top mount a rack, bars, channels, etc. Additionally, I will be able to roll it back completely open with the bed rack in place. The bolts will be on the inside of the legs so they'll be fairly concealed. I designed this so that the inside of the feet land right outside the tonneau rails by about 1/16".

I have the Ford OEM / Truxedo cover and was hoping to mount a 12" high rack so I still have access to the bed with the cover rolled back. I like your rack design. You should go into production with your design using some sort of quick mount so the rack can be easily removed when the tent isn't needed. I think Yakima makes some sort of rail/track that mounts to the bed rail .

 

[Julie dominesey]

I am looking for a rack that will hold a RTT at a height that keeps it a roof height when traveling.

Any body make one yet?

I set mine this high on purpose .. could be 6 inches lower ... Yakima makes a different heavy duty rack that would be much lower and put the tent right in line with the roof .. I wanted full access to my bed and if I take tent off it’s good at this height for canoes

 

[khyros]

I set mine this high on purpose .. could be 6 inches lower ... Yakima makes a different heavy duty rack that would be much lower and put the tent right in line with the roof .. I wanted full access to my bed and if I take tent off it’s good at this height for canoes

Julie - you've had your setup for awhile now. How do you like the side bars? So you find that you wish that you didn't have them so you could access the side of your bed, or does it not really bother you? They're the one thing I'm unsure of at this time.

 

[SafetyDan]

I like the side bars for the fact that they would add rigidity to the uprights. I am thinking about this to make sides for the unit so my dogs could ride back there.

 

[Mcoop57]

If you spring for a t-slotted cover you can easily make something like this. Aluminum 1X2’s.

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