Bed rack survey: steel or aluminum?

[Exceed Fabrication]

Guys, I have a question. We are developing the SR2 bed rack. We calculated that the cost of making it with aluminum alloy would double, but the weight would be reduced from 97 pounds to 55 pounds.

Do you think it is necessary to make an aluminum alloy bed rack? Do you think these weight reductions and cost increases make sense? Any real-life experience?

I am not sure why many brands choose to use a hybrid of steel and aluminum sheet bending, or use extruded aluminum, but there are very few brands that use aluminum sheet bending for all bed frame parts.

Why do you think it is? Toughness? Cost? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Please let me know if I missed anything!

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[KQL]

Corrosion susceptibility is also a consideration for many of us in the northern states. Can’t imagine 40lb making a difference to someone, but being rust free for the life of the rack would to me.

 

[Exceed Fabrication]

Corrosion susceptibility is also a consideration for many of us in the northern states. Can’t imagine 40lb making a difference to someone, but being rust free for the life of the rack would to me.

I think most spraying quality is about the same now, at least many metal shops I've been to do the surface treatment at the same spray shop.
According to what you said, aluminum alloy is a better choice

 

[Marklk]

I really like what you guys have been doing. Will this version, or do you plan on doing a version, that will be compatible with soft toppers?

 

[ALT2870]

I believe SR2 will. If you look in the SR1 thread you can see.

 

[Exceed Fabrication]

I really like what you guys have been doing. Will this version, or do you plan on doing a version, that will be compatible with soft toppers?

I've thought about it, and I think it should, because the profile extends beyond the edge of the bed, and it's a pretty big rack, but I can't promise you that right now, because we haven't got a sample to test yet.

 

[Exceed Fabrication]

I really like what you guys have been doing. Will this version, or do you plan on doing a version, that will be compatible with soft toppers?

If you need soft topper, what brand do you use? Bestop? Maybe we can go get samples to verify

 

[Exceed Fabrication]

I recently learned that some people add iron powder to aluminum alloy to reduce costs, and it is easy to reduce 40-50%. This is why sometimes even aluminum alloy products will rust.

 

[Exceed Fabrication]

Because the Gladiator's carrying capacity is limited, some people may want to reduce the weight of the rack as much as possible to carry more gear.

 

[Sweetums]

I'd rather have aluminum to save weight and reduce corrosion. Aluminum and steel would be my last choice, because anyone doing that probably doesn't understand galvanic corrosion.

 

[Exceed Fabrication]

I'd rather have aluminum to save weight and reduce corrosion. Aluminum and steel would be my last choice, because anyone doing that probably doesn't understand galvanic corrosion.

Aluminum alloy is definitely the trend. I talked to many factories and they all said so. But as I said before, the material cost alone will double. I am not sure how many people are willing to pay an extra $200-300 for better corrosion resistance and lighter weight. Some amz racks are only about $200 in total.

 

[Main Line Willys]

I would vote for aluminum.
Less prone to corrosion, less weight above the bed keeping the COG lower.

 

[Sweetums]

Aluminum alloy is definitely the trend. I talked to many factories and they all said so. But as I said before, the material cost alone will double. I am not sure how many people are willing to pay an extra $200-300 for better corrosion resistance and lighter weight. Some amz racks are only about $200 in total.

Okay, but every pound matters, and at $200 what's the load rating? Not the static load, dynamic loading is what matters. I've seen way too many of those cheap bed and roof racks buckle or do damage to a vehicle off road because they can't handle more than a few pounds of dynamic load.

 

[Exceed Fabrication]

Okay, but every pound matters, and at $200 what's the load rating? Not the static load, dynamic loading is what matters. I've seen way too many of those cheap bed and roof racks buckle or do damage to a vehicle off road because they can't handle more than a few pounds of dynamic load.

You are right, many amz racks seem to ignore dynamic loads. I have even seen racks made of 17-gauge steel (about 1.5mm thick) that seem to be able to be bent by hand.
Based on my observation, it seems that many brands (including some big names) apply some static loads to the rack, such as standing a few people on it and calculating their weight, or putting some heavy objects such as RTT. If the rack does not deform significantly, they will think it can bear the load. If the static load is 1000lbs, the road dynamic load will be noted as 500lbs, and the off-road dynamic load will be 250lbs, which is just a simple halving.
For dynamic loads, I have only seen Yakima have a test machine, and there is a vibration test clip in a certain video. Many other brands do not seem to be clear about how they test, maybe they install a lot of real gear to go off-road for thousands of miles. Or they drive continuously on a winding mountain road to test whether it is torsion-resistant. But there are no more simulation methods or more laboratory tests, which is also confusing for us.
I have also seen a saying that I don't know if you agree with. Some people say that the rack itself is too strong, even stronger than the bed, and the real weak point is the connection between the rack and the bed, that is, those clamps or T slots.

 

[Sweetums]

I disagree with that last part. As long as it's has proper materials, is correctly engineered, and securely connected to the bed, the rack will add strength the same way a roll cage or roof adds rigidity to a chassis.

If the rack is breaking the bed of the truck, then the mounting system is not properly engineered.

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