Rack made for above camper shell

[jtpaintball70]

So I was driving around today and saw a truck with a rack similar to this (couldn't snap a picture at the time), but all my searching comes up with a ladder rack like above. The truck I saw had a cargo rack with lightbar up front. I'm looking for something similar for my truck, since a camper shell is high on my list of things to get.
Anyone know of anyone that makes a cargo rack similar to the ladder rack above? Or is it probably a modified one?

 

[lucernech]

Anyone know of anyone that makes a cargo rack similar to the ladder rack above? Or is it probably a modified one?

While not identical this may be worth looking into.
http://rackitinc.com/truckracks/3000seriescampershellrack.html
The guy I bought my camper shell from had one and it looked pretty good if that is something you need. He hauled kayaks I think. Good luck!

 

[Raul B]

I just finished making this.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

 

[jtpaintball70]

While not identical this may be worth looking into.
http://rackitinc.com/truckracks/3000seriescampershellrack.html
The guy I bought my camper shell from had one and it looked pretty good if that is something you need. He hauled kayaks I think. Good luck!

That's one of the ones I saw... I might get it and weld some metal mesh onto the underside so I can use it as a true cargo rack... I want one that goes full length-ish over the cab, as well as helps with extra storage.

 

[jtpaintball70]

I just finished making this.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

I'm a big fan of that type of rack. I might try something like that...

 

[vonhanson]

I made a ladder rack from a f150 fit onto my stepside ranger, i loved the look and it was super useful.

and one loaded up from camping for fun.

 

[jtpaintball70]

I made a ladder rack from a f150 fit onto my stepside ranger, i loved the look and it was super useful.

and one loaded up from camping for fun.

That looks good! And probably what I'm gonna wind up doing. That type of rack is generally what I want, I might just have a buddy weld up part of it to act as a cargo basket.

 

[JAngeli]

Looking to do the same for an aluminum boat.

 

[Kottonwood]

It wouldn't be hard to modify one of those ladder racks. You could just weld or screw down a sheet of expanded metal for the floor and weld in one more cross bar in front. Though if you are already gonnna have to weld and paint it you might as well build your own, unless of course you can get a cheap used one, probaby could get one for less than the cost of the steel.

I built mine from aluminum to save a bit of weight, but mainly to save myself the hassle of painting it!

 

[Lynn]

Just a thought, but I saw one years ago like the one posted up by vonhansen (nice rack) with a difference that I thought was ingenious.


Instead of just having tabs run between the truck bed and the shell, the guy used a length of steel treadplate (diamond plate) that ran from the front upright to the rear upright. Just like with the tabs, the treadplate carried the load to the bed sides, and the shell sat on the treadplate.


By having the treadplate extend out about 4", he could stand/walk on it while loading or unloading.


Since some have posted that they are looking to build a rack, I thought I would pass that along...

 

[jtpaintball70]

It wouldn't be hard to modify one of those ladder racks. You could just weld or screw down a sheet of expanded metal for the floor and weld in one more cross bar in front. Though if you are already gonnna have to weld and paint it you might as well build your own, unless of course you can get a cheap used one, probaby could get one for less than the cost of the steel.

I built mine from aluminum to save a bit of weight, but mainly to save myself the hassle of painting it!

Welding is something I still need to do. So unfortunately I have to buy it or have someone build it for me. I live in an apartment, so shop space is an issue as well...

 

[zscott]

I built this set for my truck. The rack on the the roof of the truck is specific to the newer toyota tacomas, but the design for the other rack on the topper is easily adjustable for any shell really. The two racks align so if I want to haul lumber, full lengths of steel, or kayaks it is easy. Otherwise the rack on the topper will carry the roof top tent and the rack on the cab of the truck will carry misc camping/recovery gear. Eventually I will paint them black but for now they are just bare aluminum.

 

[southpier]

fantastic & industrial utilitarian all in one. are the cross pieces 80-20?

consider sharing how you fabricated & installed?

 

[zscott]

I won't give out exact dimensions and such because I sell these over on Tacomaworld, but It is pretty simple really. The rails on the sides were drawn in CAD and plasma cut. The cross members are all 80/20 and technically you could use any number of their different profiles to suit your needs. You can have them cut them pieces to any length and tap the ends. Then it is just a matter of bolting it together. The Tacoma rack mounts to the OEM mounting holes and the rack on the topper is mounted to thule tracks using the same hardware that thule uses to attach their tracker foot.

 

[KK6POV]

I built this set for my truck. The rack on the the roof of the truck is specific to the newer toyota tacomas, but the design for the other rack on the topper is easily adjustable for any shell really. The two racks align so if I want to haul lumber, full lengths of steel, or kayaks it is easy. Otherwise the rack on the topper will carry the roof top tent and the rack on the cab of the truck will carry misc camping/recovery gear. Eventually I will paint them black but for now they are just bare aluminum.

Your rack looks totally **************! I am probably going to use your design and modify it for my first gen.