rear rack idea...

[Tacomaoffroader]

Alrighty guys,

I've been thinking of adding some protection for my fenders and was talking w/ a guy in TX who suggested I just build up a rack in the back, Now I'm not sure what I'd do for the front, but I think it would turn out becoming a full exo-cage.

Cuz in order for the fender protectors to work they need to be supported so that they don't come back into the truck if hit decently hard in the middle.

Here's my ideas.

I was thinking after I built up this rack in the back I could add a roof-top tent on top of it, and some jerry cans, as well as a place to mount the hi-lift, shovel, etc.

I actually think if it was done right it would look great!

What do ya'll think?

-Laurence

 

[Brian894x4]

I wasn't able to log on to see the photos, but my two main concerns would be too much weight up high and wind noise, reduced speed and economy with the exo-case.

I'm not exactly sure what you have in mind, but I've talked to guys who built full on exo-cages and ended up hating them, because they cut down on the power and economy on the highway. For rig that sees mostly off road or where power and fuel economy doesn't matter, then it's not a concern. The other issue weight.

I've been thinking about a roof top tent myself and how I would support one, since my aluminum framed, aluminum canopy can't support much weight, so I've been thinking a little bit about how I'd run supports from the bed rails up over the canopy.

If I ever did that, I'd build it as close the canopy as possible and uses as light/small pieces of metal as I could get away with.

Good luck.

 

[viter]

here is his page - http://s36.photobucket.com/albums/e12/Tacomaoffroader/rear rack idea/

looks very interesting and way to think out of the box!

I think thought that the long tube going over the cab does not seem to have much support so theoretically it could collapse relatively easily during rollover - just my guess

also, maybe add another tube that would go across the truck right under the rear window but above the bed rail

you could also put an x looking frame under the tent to make the rear frame stiffer and stronger

plus looks like you could make cage low enough in the back to put the flipup tent that would sit in line with your roof, making truck more aerodynamic then if it was sitting higher up

 

[erin]

:iagree:

I also think he might have to reenforce the single rear bumper brace to withstand the additional stress the cage could exert there from a side impact.
Another idea, could be to go the route that Desert Dude used on his 04, though possibly constructing it lower to keep tent height at cab level, but this way would negate the protection value.

 

[toyrunner95]

i hate to tell you this man, but i personally think its a bad idea. and there are a few reasons why. 1. weight, 2. do you really need an exo cage, 3. accessability.

weight will make you top heave on off camber situations and clearly own your gas milage.
where do you go that you rally need an exocage? i live in the PNW and we have tight trails, and i mean tight, ive seen a fullsize bronco get wedged beween trees. the solution to this is, build wider rock sliders, mine stick out past the door a good 3 or 4 inches, that way nothhing can reach out and grab me. another thing that helps is wheel spacers on the rear. i puropsely made my rear axel almost as wide as my front so i can litterally bounce it off trees and rocks, keeps the bed from getting mashed, granted it kills my turning but i used 3" spacers on each side. you may want something like a 1.5"

if you put a cage on it you will hate it because you cant move anything. once its there its there, unless you want to cut it all apart and re build it.

now with that said, the idea is sound. perhaps look into making something out of your stake pockets. a simple 2 hoop design with cross members, also you can connect this to your rock sliders if you feel its necessary.

realistically, damage is enevitabel and you better get used to dents and scratches. thats y i never pay too much for paint. i think princess laia said it best

the more you tighted our grip (i.e. try to protect it) the more will slip through your fingers.

 

[chet]

I never found the exo cage I had on my toyota too top heavy. fuel mileage def. went downhill though!!! :sombrero:

A nice bed rack I think would cover most everything you want to do right?

 

[Tacomaoffroader]

Appriciate the help!

Thanks for all the info guys!

Yeah, I'm not one to freak out about dents and scratches, but when I got told about a rack type thingy in the bed, it sounded like a great idea. Cuz then I could store stuff up there but I see where your coming from with the noise, and weight issues.

Hell I have no money right now but it's always good to keep thinking about mods!

It'll hang out on the back burner for a while and I'll see if I can come up w/ maybe a removable one?

-Laurence

 

[devinsixtyseven]

toyrunner95 made some excellent points there.

have you seen tacodoc's build thread? he's having a bed rack built right now, based on cell4soul's design. take a look around page 25 of the "building an 05 tacoma for expedition travel" thread for a link to the pictures.

as far as your original idea...i like the general idea but not the exo part. how attached are you to your sheetmetal fenders and bedsides? consider this...an expedition vehicle doesnt have to look a certain way, nor does it need to be stock form...it just needs to be reliable, functional, and capable of remaining self-sufficient for a long way over potentially very rough terrain. your exocage is additional metal to protect sheetmetal that doesn't actually serve a particular purpose related to reliability, functionality or capability...the inner bedsides delineate your cargo space, and the channeling and flanges between the inner and outer bedsides provide rigidity. ive always thought of an exocage as turning a buggy inside out...if youll wheel it hard enough to need an exocage, should you be doing it in that truck? and if youre willing to carnage a nice truck like that, why do an exocage when you could put it inside with the same benefit and less wind noise?

so...on to the next part...if youre considering an exocage, i'm gonna assume you have access to a bender, welder, and other handy toys. how about this...go fiberglass. you *will* ditch some weight that can go towards tents and such, and if the going gets really rough, you can pull the fenders and the bedsides--like if youre going on a trail day vs an expedition trip. if you're going fiberglass and you were thinking about an exocage, how about a bed cage to hold the glass in place, dovetail the glass slightly, add a deck for "blank" cargo space, plus permanent mounting locations for gas cans, water, mtn bikes, hi lift, shovel, cooler, drybags and so forth...with an upper deck or hoop to support a rooftop tent no higher than your existing roofline and a sturdy floor that you can stand on similar to cell4soul's rack. if you use larger diameter tube, you can minimize the wall thickness since it's structural, not bash protection, which will keep your center of gravity low. the entire structure will be narrow enough that youll be running difficult trails with the bedsides in place--wide sliders and track width as mentioned previously will keep your doors and bedsides off the rocks--and if you trim the fiberglass fenders, youll have a narrower front end than you would stock, with the same benefits...harder to damage. the cage will replace the structural functionality of box formed by the inner and outer bedsides. also, it's easy to fix fiberglass so it looks like it wasn't hit, and it does flex whereas sheetmetal gets trashed and stays trashed. if you really want to wheel hard when youre not on an expedition trip, the bedcage can be attached to a cab cage and eventually a front clip, all without going exo and with no need to do anything but the bed at first. in addition, you can plan it however you want...30g gas, 20g h20, fuel cell, cooler, bikes, anything you want can have a place since you're designing it and youre not limited to the configuration of the stock sheetmetal.

also, you would not believe how much room there is between the inner and outer bedsides...it's wasted volume. if you glass it, you can use that volume for stuff.

-sean