I'm building my idea of a perfect (for me) Gladiator rack

[Etoimos]

Nice work WhatExit. I'm wondering why you went with the taller brackets? Do you have plans to undermount something on the rack? I'm assuming you will not typically run with anything in the bed that sits higher than the tonneau cover.

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[furrymurray]

Do you think you could find end caps for that strut you bought at the Depot? Just to clean the ends up a little. It looks great and I like what you have put together.

 

[WhatExit?]

Do you have the link for the supplier brackets? I very like what you done!

Sure. Here's the "Tonneau Brackets" story...

So I originally purchased 4 of the MAX Modular Bed Rack Tonneau Brackets but it seems that my purchase of 4 of them caused the good folks there to re-think their sales of them. To be clear, their website offered them to "test" the fit of the bracket on the Buyer's truck (Gladiator, Toyota, other trucks). They expected customers to only buy one but I bought needed and bought four. And they asked me what I'm doing with them - why I bought four of them.

I realized the upper brackets would work best with 8 of the Max Modular Bed Rack Tonneau Brackets so I tried to buy 4 more. But they changed their offering and they now only sell the brackets individually with no holes in them - what they call the
MAX Modular Bed Rack Tonneau Cover Single Test Bracket:

So now the only option they offer on their website is to buy the Tonneau Brackets with their other brackets - what they call their MAX Modular Bed Rack Tonneau Brackets...

Per their website:
These handy little brackets allow you to use your bed rack with most tonneau covers.
Rated for RTT's.
Raises the overall height of the bed rack by 2.5”.
Black textured powder coated.
Kit includes four attachment clips, four brackets, and mounting hardware.
$150.00 for 4 sets

I wish and hope they'll sell only the Tonneau Brackets to the market. I understand they're a business and they're doing what they think is best for them. And I'm sure they want their customers to buy more of their products (Racks). They didn't ask me for my opinion but I suggest they sell as many of these Tonneau Brackets while they can before someone else "builds a better mousetrap" and the potential for them to sell these brackets has gone away.

 

[WhatExit?]

And here's the info on the "Upper Brackets"

I did a lot of online research into racks. As I noted above, I wanted a high quality rack that would be attractive and meet my needs for being able to carry more gear on my off roading ("overlanding") trips. I looked at all kinds of bed racks on all kinds of pickups and vehicles. I researched the Toyota Bed Rail and all the things people did to use them as our Gladiator Trail Rails are almost identical which is great for us (we can see and learn from what others have done).

I found Compact Camping Concepts and their "NO WELD TRAILER RACK TOWERS - COMPACT CAMPING TRAILERS" - it was clear to me that their brackets could not only work but I hoped they'd enable me to roll up the factory Tonneau Cover all the way. I didn't know if it would work but I gave it a try. And based on their website and others I've seen, their brackets WILL work with Roof Top Tents (RTT) as you can see here...

Here's their bracket on their webpage and a link:

https://compactcampingstore.com/products/no-weld-trailer-rack-towers?variant=392017838101

It was interesting to me that they could sell 4 of their brackets for $89.00 versus other suppliers (name withheld )

Here are a couple more pics of how folks are using their brackets...

 

[WhatExit?]

Here are my pics...

Note: I bought 4 of their brackets that were "seconds" - they were in excellent condition and I was OK with them as I was going to paint them anyway. I drilled out the 4 mounting holes to fit the ⅜" stainless steel bolts for the stainless steel T-Bolts (for the Trail Rail), cleaned them up, wiped them down with Acetone and then I sprayed them with Rustoleum Automotive Primer (fast-drying) and then finished them with the Rustoleum Metallic Black ("Galaxy" see back of can - I think the number is 252383 but it's the only one called "Galaxy") spray paint.

Below: Here's a pic of the brackets as I received them before drilling the holes (let me know if you need any tips on this). You can also see the steel flat bar stock I bought at Home Depot which I used for the CO2 tank installation...

 

[WhatExit?]

To be honest, I lucked out! The combination of these brackets allows me to completely roll up the factory Tonneau Cover - it just fits under the Superstrut cross rails - it's exactly what I hoped for and I'm really pleased with how this rather involved project turned out (better than even I expected).

 

[WhatExit?]

One more pic of the Tonneau Cover rolled up...

 

[WhatExit?]

Do you think you could find end caps for that strut you bought at the Depot? Just to clean the ends up a little. It looks great and I like what you have put together.

Yes. I haven't had time to buy them and then do what's necessary to paint these plastic caps...

Note: I used "Superstrut" purchased at Home Depot. There's also "Unistrut" (not sure if that's what Lowe's sells nor do I know what the differences, if any, might be - I suspect they're interchangeable but I can't confirm that).


<EDIT: I can't add these end caps because the brackets are bolted right at the ends of the Strut>

 

[WhatExit?]

Here's the "Roof Rack Top Cargo Carrier Basket" I purchased after researching them online (some of these baskets/racks are expensive and some are super expensive).

This one is a great size for what I wanted - it's 53 inches long by 43 inches wide. The quality of this thing is excellent. It apepars to be very well made, the finish is really good (painted black). The size is good - I'm happy with the length and my only wish is that it was a bit wider but it's a good size for my needs.

Note that the wind deflector is easily unbolted and removed. The brackets are high quality as is the hardware that comes with it.

It was $135.88 on Amazon - such a deal for a quality product with excellent ratings.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y4GLGDN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I wiped it down with acetone, sprayed it with primer and then with the Rustoleum Metallic black ("Galaxy") paint. It wasn't nearly as bad to spray paint as I thought it might be. I masked off the hardware (threads on the U-bolts and the nuts) and everything now matches...

 

[WhatExit?]

Nice work WhatExit. I'm wondering why you went with the taller brackets? Do you have plans to undermount something on the rack? I'm assuming you will not typically run with anything in the bed that sits higher than the tonneau cover.

Thanks. If you've followed this thread you know that I used the "taller" brackets to allow the factory Tonneau Cover to open completely...

 

[Etoimos]

Ah, I missed that the tonneau was that large when rolled up.

 

[smlobx]

Dan- I’m using the CCS brackets on my Overland trailer and can attest to how stout they are! I’m using three pairs to haul my rtt with.

In looking at your creation (and in case anyone else might be interested) do you think you could just attach the brackets right to the trail rail if you weren’t concerned with using the tonneau cover?

 

[WhatExit?]

Dan- I’m using the CCS brackets on my Overland trailer and can attest to how stout they are! I’m using three pairs to haul my rtt with.

In looking at your creation (and in case anyone else might be interested) do you think you could just attach the brackets right to the trail rail if you weren’t concerned with using the tonneau cover?

Hi Eddie, very cool that you found these brackets too! They are stout - very well made - and 3 sets would be ideal for a large RTT with people weight - as you've seen it's what some are doing with their trailers like this...

As for your question, yes, absolutely - these brackets SHOULD work directly on the Trail Rails as long as the height of the lower flange (before the outward bend of the bracket) is tall enough to clear the Gladiator's bedside top rail plastic covers. You or I can check that dimension vs the bed's dimensions to confirm that.

 

[OneTraveler]

I realized the upper brackets would work best with 8 of the Max Modular Bed Rack Tonneau Brackets so I tried to buy 4 more.

Dangit! I had seen that, too, and had thought the same thing but hadn't pulled the trigger as I was waiting things out. Good on you!

 

[OneTraveler]

So now the only option they offer on their website is to buy the Tonneau Brackets with their other brackets - what they call their MAX Modular Bed Rack Tonneau Brackets...

That schematic looks like it's still two (non welded) pieces, right? So you get the "test bracket" (that you originally ordered) PLUS that piece that fits their racks? So still a possibility, albeit more expensive and with stuff you don't need....

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