Pickup Bike Bed Rack

[Squashfest81]

The tiny 5’7” bed on the Silverado doesn’t even fit a bike straight in. Once the camper is hitched up and the bed is loaded…
Was thinking roof rack, cool, but way high. My father mentioned adding 80/20 bed rails and mount whatever I want.
Thinking just mounts as I don’t need the adjustability, but I do need 5 inches to clear the rolled tonneau. Picked up a 3 bike rack for the bike mounts.
Heres the mock-up.

 

[Squashfest81]

6ft sticks of 1.5 inch extrusion is on order for the crossbars.
6 inch aluminum channel for the mounts.


infiniti q60 awd 0 60

 

[Squashfest81]

Never tossed aluminum through the table saw until today. Actually cuts smoother than some hardwood.

 

[Squashfest81]

4 mounts cut.

 

[Squashfest81]

Pic cause I had to.

 

[captain14]

Very good. How are you fastening the assembly to the bed?

 

[WoodsTruck]

Gravity...

 

[Squashfest81]

Yeah, mostly gravity, but I’ll add a pair of bolts through the rail. It’s all accessible from beneath, so easy enough to pull when needed.

 

[4xdog]

Looks nice, Squashfest81.

KBVoodoo sell bed rack crossbar mounts that are designed to fit under tonneau covers, but their design doesn't allow roll-up covers to retract all the way (as far as I know).


On my Tacoma, I use Thule crossbars and clamps for my fork mounts. The uncommon Mountain Top aluminum checkerplate tonneau I've used on my Gen 1 and Gen 2 trucks has Perrycraft Dynasport rails. I may upgrade those to Front Runner aluminum T-track similarly to what Ryan did on his Tacoma/Diamondback cover (see his blog post on that for lots of details on his excellent mods.)

The one-piece tonneau lifts with gas strut assist on my Tacomas, so this way of mounting the crossbars works for me. Shown here on my G1 and Gen 2 for those who find this thread for future reference.

 

[Squashfest81]

Thanks Captain and 4x.
Those Voodoo mounts look good. If I had a cover that went to the edges I think that would be the only way to go. My cover is basically contained within the bed which leaves the rails open.
There are some rails that you can then mount Thule or Yakima style bars to. It was an option.
The combination rack and solid cover is a perfect solution if you have or want a hard cover. Yours looks great 4x.

 

[Squashfest81]

My extrusions showed up today. Here’s the mock-up. I’ll need to get some bikes tossed in to decide the rail spacing. I need to alternate the facing of the bikes, but I want the wide mount where the bike arms mount sitting on the rails. Without offsetting the bike mounts the bars would be too close together and look ridiculous. So, the bikes will alternate front to rear and offset like 8 inches to keep the bars spaced nicely.

 

[Cardboard Man]

Squash - I'm not at all questioning what you're doing; I like seeing a problem being solved especially when it involves fabrication! I guess my only thought is that it might be hard to get the bikes up and down from there? I see lots of folks mount them to the back bumper of the camper where they're easier to get to. Personally I remove the front wheel and put them in the truck bed under the cover.

 

[Squashfest81]

Drilled some holes in the Silverado.

 

[Squashfest81]

And mounted some crossbars.

 

[Squashfest81]

One bike mounted. Need to grab a few more stainless washers for the racks. Overall, super excited.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Nice job, I really like how you did the uprights.

 

[mkat1951]

Looks Good!!

 

[cruzer75]

Nice! are you going to add some end caps to the end of the bars? 8020 can be sharp! You can either make them or buy them!

You showed a photo of Thule Gutter mount feet on the first post - why not get artifcial rain gutters (sold by Thule) and mount them?

Was their not enough clearance with the Thule bars and Gutter mount? They sell taller feet as well that are gutter mount....hard to come by now days and your solutions is proabably much less expensive than the Thule version!

 

[Squashfest81]

Thanks guys,
A few comments.
Cardboard, hear you. It’s not the most convenient loading into the rack, but doable from the outside. From there I can just hop in the bed and lock them in. If I had a 3/4 ton truck I don’t think I could.
the rear of the camper is an option, but I don’t love the idea of not being able to see them back there and also just getting longer.

 

[Squashfest81]

Cruzer, I may get caps, but for now I just knocked the edges off with a file and scotchbrite.
The artificial gutters are cool and I’m tempted to add them to my roof! In my first mock-up pic I have the Thule bars, but to span the bed of the truck I’d need to buy 6ft bars and artificial gutter feet. That still wouldn’t get me the versatile custom feel I was going for. Plus, I don’t love all the Thule screws, clamps, buckles, it just looks so busy.

 

[Squashfest81]

Next pic will be of 4 bikes mounted. Now I’m really thinking I need to look into the artificial gutter mounts for the roof.

 

[Squashfest81]

First camping trip with the bikes in the rack. It opened up the bed so nicely.
The Thule big mouth clamps are pretty great. The tire straps that come on the mounts don’t fit a big fat 26in tire, so I just pulled them. I tossed zip ties around the tires to retain them. Want something super durable and easy? Maybe those reusable big twist ties?
Oh, the dude in the next campsite has a similar truck, but roof racks. I’ll talk with him tomorrow and post pics.

 

[VR6ix]

Nice work! Are you able to weld aluminium? Some end caps on the c-channel standoffs would add a ton of strength & stiffness.

 

[Squashfest81]

Thanks VR6. I haven’t messed with welding aluminum, yet, but I’d like to.
End caps would add a ton of strength, but I’m not sure it needs it. The 3/16 thick stuff is pretty stiff.

 

[Squashfest81]

The dude next door at the campground had a similar year Silverado. He carried a pair of bikes hung off the back of the camper and a pair of kayaks on the roof of the truck. Thule bars and feet. I saw the pics online when I was looking into what is out there, but didn’t understand how they grab.
Well, without gutters they just keep reaching into the cab looking for the first thing to latch onto. Interesting!


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