Not familiar with the Xtrusion rack but based on the pictures, the SE doors look like they would come in contact with the cross bars. I agree with the cost point, I got an SE myself. The military discount helped a little but I think if you don't need the extra weight capacity, I don't think the $400 markup between the SE and HD is worth it. IMHO I dont think the struts will help much in lifting a fully loaded cooler.
I am thinking of laying track perpendicular between the beams just below the cover top. Thinking a small corner bracket mounted to the side of the beam would be enough to hold the track. Put some spring clips on the track. I want to utilize the space between the beams without taking additional bed storage height.
That looks so nice with the textured top. The bikes pretty sweet too!I finally got my Front Runner Rack System installed on my DB SE this weekend. Instructions weren't the best but thanks to YouTube I was able to get it on. It seems the DB has a slight taper from front to back you have to account for when installing the rails.
That looks really cool. I'm probably going to copy what you did. I needed a place to mount a shovel too. Looks like you could find another use for that $120 you woulda paid for the DB Toolbar, LOL!Here ya go @Pookie. It was pretty easy and feels fairly solid, although I will probably add some locktite once I give it a good test. The aluminum drills super easy and I picked up some nice black sheetmetal screws, but ultimately went with the self tapping because the thread count was higher.
The aluminum is pretty soft so I hand tightened the screws so as not to strip them out. We'll see if it holds. The grips are solid but the shovel looks like it might rattle a little.
Overall, I do like the clearance when the shovel is in place...It will be easier to slide plywood in the bed without having to move a bunch of stuff.
Now I just need to relocate that box of tie-downs and rope.... It's forever in the way!
Thanks man. It's my carbon gravel bike which I built myself. I also mountain bike too. One of the guys on this Forum said I would regret getting the DB HD cause the SE isn't as tough. SE looks plenty tough to me based on my needs. Ha ha!
Im sure this will be very helpful when it comes times for my install. Thanks!Well, I got my Gladiator-specific shim kit and a set of new rail caps and did my second attempt at the shim kit install today.
With the specific instruction s for a Gladiator (my first attempt was using a Tundra kit before the Gladiator kit was available), the install went a lot better.
Only difficult part of the install was following the instructions for shim placement—even just a photo with the correct placement would have helped (the photos in the guide are black and white and do a poor job of establishing which side of the truck it is referencing and does not establish wheee in the rail it is taken from.
Also, some of the wording doesn’t make sense—when it references placing a shim “at the bottom of the letter R or L on the rails”, the bottom of the letter works for the R, but the L it actually should be at the top of the letter (it’s like a mirror reversal).
I took some pictures of the intended placement for the left and right rails so others can get an idea of what was unclear in the instructions/photos:
I also marked the shim placement along to cargo rails with blue tape, to use as a reference when placing the clamps back on the center piece.
It all looks a lot better now…
Removing these rail caps is horror, how did you go about doing it?Well, I got my Gladiator-specific shim kit and a set of new rail caps and did my second attempt at the shim kit install today.
With the specific instruction s for a Gladiator (my first attempt was using a Tundra kit before the Gladiator kit was available), the install went a lot better.
Only difficult part of the install was following the instructions for shim placement—even just a photo with the correct placement would have helped (the photos in the guide are black and white and do a poor job of establishing which side of the truck it is referencing and does not establish wheee in the rail it is taken from.
Also, some of the wording doesn’t make sense—when it references placing a shim “at the bottom of the letter R or L on the rails”, the bottom of the letter works for the R, but the L it actually should be at the top of the letter (it’s like a mirror reversal).
I took some pictures of the intended placement for the left and right rails so others can get an idea of what was unclear in the instructions/photos:
I also marked the shim placement along to cargo rails with blue tape, to use as a reference when placing the clamps back on the center piece.
It all looks a lot better now…
Patience and a butter knife. Once you get the process down and figure out how to do it on one side, the other side goes pretty easy. But I did snap off a few clips along the way, no way around that I think.
