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

[WhatExit?]

@WhatExit? thanks for the link. How did you secure the Apache case to the bar?

I put the case on the rack, positioned it where I wanted, made sure it was square/inline and then looked up through the rack's Unistrut/Powerstrut to mark the holes. Drilled holes and used SS bolts (from Lowe's - they have great Stainless Steel hardware at reasonable prices unlike Home Depot which doesn't), flat washers, lock/split washers and lock nuts (Stainless Steel lock nuts with nylon inserts in them - between them and the lock washers they'll never come undone).

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[CMT]

I own a Tacoma and this thread has been far more valuable than any Tacoma thread I have found regarding a DIY bed rack. I ended up having to make my own mounting brackets from scratch, as the CCC brackets would not fit with a Tacoma OEM hard tonneau cover. I also didn't want to spend $185 for the Max Modular brackets, especially since I would only need the bottom portion. $46 per bracket + shipping seems extreme to me. Anyway, I have two questions for you...

1) When mounting the apache case, did you do any weather-proofing to the holes in the case and/or mounting hardware?
2) I used the same 12 gauge unistrut and am wondering if/how you painted the inside curve of the lip at the bottom of the bar.

Thanks a ton...

 

[WhatExit?]

I own a Tacoma and this thread has been far more valuable than any Tacoma thread I have found regarding a DIY bed rack. I ended up having to make my own mounting brackets from scratch, as the CCC brackets would not fit with a Tacoma OEM hard tonneau cover. I also didn't want to spend $185 for the Max Modular brackets, especially since I would only need the bottom portion. $46 per bracket + shipping seems extreme to me. Anyway, I have two questions for you...

1) When mounting the apache case, did you do any weather-proofing to the holes in the case and/or mounting hardware?
2) I used the same 12 gauge unistrut and am wondering if/how you painted the inside curve of the lip at the bottom of the bar.

Thanks a ton...

Hi Chris, glad you find this info/thread helpful! I understand you didn't want to pay the Max Modular guys for the parts you don't need. I think they'd rather not help people make their own racks so it's take-it-or-leave-it for them. There will certainly be other bracket options so it will be their loss.

As for the long gun case (used for off road recovery, first aid, air compressor, etc.), no need to weather proof the holes as I used washers inside and outside (underside). And you could easily buy some rubber sheeting and put that on both sides of the plastic case held in place by the washers. No water will get in if you do that but I'm skeptical of any water getting in from the underside anyway - the holes are barely larger than the bolts.

Unistrut - just rattle canned it from every angle. As long as you don't overspray/glob it on there the spray will get in most places. And inside those 2 tiny curves/rounded edges, it's so hard to see in there no one will notice if it's completely spray painted.

Post up pics of your work. I look forward to seeing what you're creating!

 

[CMT]

Thanks for the reply. I should have clarified that I'm not so concerned about the appearance of the paint job as I am about potential rust. I'm thinking that if I can't get paint into that bottom groove, I may just try to run a bead of clear caulk to fill it.

 

[WhatExit?]

Thanks for the reply. I should have clarified that I'm not so concerned about the appearance of the paint job as I am about potential rust. I'm thinking that if I can't get paint into that bottom groove, I may just try to run a bead of clear caulk to fill it.

You're talking about this?

 

[CMT]

You're talking about this?

Yes- the inside of the curved channel at the bottom going across the whole bar (the channel you could roll a bb down if you tipped the bar). I get a decent amount of precip. where I live so I'm thinking that channel will likely collect water. I'll probably need to fill it with something. Here's a quick pick of the maiden voyage this morning.

You're talking about this?

Yes- the inside of the curved channel at the bottom going across the whole bar (the channel you could roll a bb down if you tipped the bar). I get a decent amount of rain where I live so I'm thinking that channel will likely collect water. I'll probably need to fill it with something. Here's a quick pick of the maiden voyage this morning.

 

[MPMB]

Thanks for the reply. I should have clarified that I'm not so concerned about the appearance of the paint job as I am about potential rust. I'm thinking that if I can't get paint into that bottom groove, I may just try to run a bead of clear caulk to fill it.

Or you can flip the unistrut over.

 

[GreyGhost]

Diy rack on Diamondback cover recumbent bike on....

 

[WhatExit?]

Diy rack on Diamondback cover recumbent bike on....

I like it - let's see a close up pic of your DIY rack!

 

[clubmanager]

Yes! I’m really keen on a hard tonneau but would like a rack as well. This is the first I’ve seen.....sorry to resurrect an old thread but more intel would be appreciated!

 

[itsthedeave]

Here is my rack, will be mounting a hi lift next to the basket

 

[.:eMETAL:.]

This thread is just gold. Plain and simple… gold.

My Mojave is on order with a 12/1 build date and I’m just roaming the ever living intrwebs for this exact thread. Now I realize that my mopar hard tonneau probably won’t work with this but I’ve already decided to ditch it and go with the bakflip revolver and this will work, I just know it. I may plan to run 3 of these towers on each bed side just for the multiple rotopax mounting capabilities.

pure gold! Thank you WhatExit? !!!

 

[aqcjeepGlad]

Here is my rack, will be mounting a hi lift next to the basket

Looks great!!! What tonneau cover is that? Also what did you use to attach the towers to? The same test brackets as whatexit? used or something else? Thanks.

 

[Paddy193]

I just PM'd this to Justin...

Hi Justin, I don't understand why Scott is saying his brackets won't work with the Gladiator tonneau covers. I gave him the dimensions of my VooDoo brackets so he could copy those dimensions - did he not do that?

My tonneau cover does catch on the bolts when I'm rolling it open but it's a very minor issue as I simply angle the cover when rolling it and I can get the cover past the bolts. And you could reverse the bolts with the bolt heads on the inside to avoid this issue.

The question is what is the dimension of his bracket from the inside edge of the bed rail to the inside of his bracket (what's the width of the flat part of the bracket as it would sit on the side rail?).

If you can get that dimension you and I can check our tonneau covers' dimensions. I suspect his brackets will work but we can determine that using the dimension and we can calculate the overall inside dimension from inside the bracket on one side to the inside on the other.

Here's a page in my thread that shows his bracket and I mention about my tonneau. I'm sure you've seen it but it's worth having as a reference: https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/...-a-perfect-for-me-gladiator-rack.27705/page-8

Let me know what you find out from Scott. He should remember me as I helped him a lot with his brackets - designing and selling them.

Hi all,

This is a great thread. Thanks for all the info.

We moved from the UK to Calgary, AB last year and have a Gladiator and I really want to fit 2 crossbars above our roll up bed cover to give another option for bike carriage. This is the ideal solution.

Dan,

I like yours with the 2 mounting plates as it leaves a gap in between them that a tie down could go if needed. Its very annoying that Max Modular will not sell multiple of the test fit brackets.

I have reached out to CCC about their bed rail brackets but they are no longer making them.

So I think I am going to design and have cut and bent a bracket that combines the best of both.

Dan,
I'm not at home to take measurements at the moment (and don't trust the long haired general to do them either) but I want to get on with designing and ordering. Would it be possible for you to provide the dimensions for the two fold lines shown on the line drawing above? i.e. how far are they both from the base of the bracket?

that would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

paddy

 

[Paddy193]

Hi all.

I was inspired by this thread, and another, to make my own set up. The maker of the towers is no longer make the bed brackets which also sent me down the DIY route. I had already made the bed rail using uni-strut.

I wanted to be ably to carry bikes above the truck bed in summer and skis/snowboards in winter, leaving the bed for other luggage.

I wanted the bed cover to easily clear and roll up past the towers and if needed I wanted to be able to just remove the uni-strut cross bars to transport tall items in the bad without removing the whole mounts, this is way the towers rise at a right angle from the bed rails. I also wanted it to be strong enough for a roof top tent in the future and to incorporate lashing points to make up for the space being used up on the bed rail system.

I ordered the brackets in 2 parts from Send Cut Send using their standard templets of their website. They were 2 parts because there was not a template that would allow me to make them in one part and it allowed me to chose the amount of overlap between to adjust the height slightly it needed.

I ordered them blank and drilled any holes my self. This way I could be more precise with the hole locations and not need to oversize anything or use slots. It also kept the price down and the order simple, as did the 90 degree bends.

I'm really happy with how it turned out and the price I managed to do it for , especially in comparison to of the shelf items which also would not full meet my requirements. I still want to hole saw a hole in each tower. I like the look and it can be used to pass cable locks through and I still need to paint it and the bed rails. The bike mounts are Swaggman Enforcer fork mounts. Could easily fit 5 nose to tail in recon.

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