Bed Rack or Ladder Rack

[Mudwolf]

Okay. So thinking of ditching the fiberglass topper, cause well, mine is in rough shape anyways and I am worried about survivability as the off road miles add up.

Can someone explain to me why you can buy a decent ladder rack at places like northern tool for $300 but bed racks are well over a grand?

What would be the disadvantage to buying the ladder rack and spending a few hundred modifying for gas can mounts/ and other accessories.

Sorry, just can't figure out why guys are paying absurd amounts of money for something that is basically a ladder rack with out the over cab extension.

 

[SnowZone77]

I can’t tell you why people are spending that much for bed racks, but I’d suggest either building one or having one built by a local welder. Mine cost less than $50 in material and took me a 1/2 day to build, it’s exactly what I wanted custom sized for my truck and tent.

 

[Mudwolf]

Would love to see some plans if you have them snowzone77 $50 sounds crazy cheap. I went through close to that in wire welding up my rock rails. LOL

 

[billiebob]

Ladder racks are built to support ladders which are light plus they have structural integrity. Bed racks are designed for more weight and point loads. You really get what you pay for.

I'd never put an RTT on a ladder rack.

 

[Fording]

This is an older thread but brings up a good topic, especially for the newer travelers with little money.

There is nothing wrong with using a ladder rack for a tent. I’ve logged a few thousand miles around the country using a CVT MT Rainer on top of a TracRac ladder rack (craigslist purchase) with a Foxwing awning mounted beside the tent. Worked perfectly! It has no stock mounting points for side loads (ie. maxtrax) but with an 800 LB weight limit, I saw no reason not to drill a few holes and add some aluminum angle to carry my Chinese maxtrax. All told, there is probably 300 lbs of dynamic load on that rack for a grand total of $250 in purchase. It also is tall enough to allow me to fully open my toolbox. Then again, the bolts vibrate themselves loose despite locktite, the tent is definitely acting like a mini sail, being so high up, and during a trip in a decidedly rough access road to San Bernidino Forest, I had to put diagonal straps on it to stop the sway.

Bed racks are triple the price but are solely designed for overlanding. They have all the mounting points, keep the tent partly below the roof line for better aerodynamics, and usually don’t have to be dismantled every year to re-locktite all the bolts.

Your mileage will vary but either option will work for overlanding. Carrying lumber, on the other hand, only one of these can do if the boards are long. I also canoe a lot with friends and no one is using a bed rack for a 17’ Coleman canoe. I use what works the best for me.

 

[Wilbah]

If you live in a part of the country where rust isnt an issue a used CL ladder rack might be a good source of metal for what you need to customize a rack. The bed racks look cool and serve a purpose keeping a RTT out of the slipstream, but as @Fording mentioned, not so good for hauling long lumber or canoes. Life is full of tradeoffs for sure.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Ladder racks are built to support ladders which are light plus they have structural integrity. Bed racks are designed for more weight and point loads. You really get what you pay for.

I'd never put an RTT on a ladder rack.

Just a random example, probably not even a particularly high end one, the Smittybilt contractor rack.

https://www.smittybilt.com/product/index/41.htm

• 800 LB Capacity *Evenly Distributed*
• Manufactured from .120 wall 2" tubing

Now new this Smittybilt is $400 so it's not cheap either, but having something similar made or finding it used could help with the cost.





http://www.haulerracks.com/html/hauler_racks_-_steel_truck_rac.html

- Weight capacity:
1,000 lbs. for trucks
750 lbs. for trucks with caps


Even a pair of these $110 AA-Racks bars are rated for 800 lbs, or at least a probably empty wood crate anyway.



https://www.aa-racks.com/products/aa-racks-pick-up-truck-utility-ladder-rack-x35

This ain't rocket surgery, welded steel tubes are welded steel tubes. The limit you need to be concerned with is the bed sides collapsing or spreading, which probably would happen first. Truck beds aren't made all the well anymore.

Plain old ladder racks have the been the choice of dirt bag boaters and climbers since Chouinard was still in short pants.

 

[gatorgrizz27]

I’ve never understood paying for a full roof rack just to cover it all up with a RTT, when a pair of load bars would do the job just fine for less $ and weight.

Here’s a universal pickup load bar setup from Front Runner, that will allow you to mount a tent or their bike/ski/etc racks. It wouldn’t work great for gas cans or spare tires since those span multiple slats, but you’ve got a whole truck bed for that...

Pickup Truck Load Bed Load Bar Kit / 1345mm(W) - by Front Runner

A set of Pickup Bed Load Bars used to transport gear over the bed of your truck when there’s no need for a full Front Runner Rack. This low profile, smaller footprint solution includes 4 188mm Load Bed Legs, 2 1345mm Load Bars, 2 Pickup Load Bed Tracks and fitting instructions - all the...

www.frontrunneroutfitters.com