I've been working on a bed rack to mount a Saris MHS bike rack. For the bed rails and cross bars I used unistrut and I cut and welded the uprights and mounting plates. Used hammered spray paint for now but when it starts rusting I will probably have it all powder coated. I liked the idea of mounting the bike over the bed so I don't loose bed space. I thought about a hitch carrier but I didn't want to have to remove the rack each time I pull a trailer.

 

Noice.

 

Good thinking. With my '94 &' 95 I could lift my bike over the side. There is no way I'm doing that with this one. I'm too short for that. Not excited about a hitch mount either.

 

I was putting the bike over the tailgate for awhile with a moving blanket. That works well but I was always opening and closing my cover and worried about the blanket overtime waring on the paint.

 

So the bed cover looks like a Retrax (or similar) with the slotted track for on the sides for racks, etc...

From what I can see, the rack is bolted to the unistrut at each corner with the first two bolts, while the rear two (smaller hex head) bolts hold the unistrut to the tracks on the bed rails. Can I assume you purchased or fabricated some sort of metal plate that fits inside that track?

 

It is a Retrax cover but it isn't one that has the slotted track on the rails. The smaller bolts are holding the unistrut that runs on the bed rail to a L bracket I made that is being clamped with the same clamps that hold the Retrax rails to the bed. There is a company that makes similar brackets.

I would imagine that if you had the retrax cover with the slotted track you could easily make a plate that fits inside the track to bolt items too. It is a similar concept to 80/20 extrusion if you are familiar with that.

 

Hope you like your bike used as a bug shield!
I'll never forget my trip from NorCal to Bend in my Kia Optima with two bikes up top, they were CAKED!!

Why not opt for a hitch rack?

 

Yeah I am a little concerned about the bugs. Luckily my local trail that I ride the most is only about 15 minutes away.

I thought about a hitch rack but two issues. The truck won't fit in the garage with it on and I often pull a trailer and don't want to be swapping the rack for a ball all the time.

 

I took an easy route regarding making a rack to haul the bikes and the fishing rods. Nice set up!