smurfslayer
Be vewwy, vewwy quiet. We’re hunting sasquatch77
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2016
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I picked up one of the 2x tire bed racks as discussed here - Gen 2 Dual Tire Rack, $500
( as of the date of my post, apparently still 2 left )
So here we go
They’re bare metal, so I procured some duplicolor bed liner in a rattle can. Or rather my wife did and got me exactly 1 can. When I buy for a project, I overbuy. better to have and not need, than need and not have. In fact, I mentioned I may need multiples, but... I got what I got. Next time I get sent on an errand, I’m getting the smallest possible, mini-travel size prep-h, advil, benadryl, what have you. I used 3.75 cans of duplicolor spray on bedliner for what it’s worth.
Sanding was a *****. Since it’s delivered as bare steel, it collects rust spots. I was fortunate that it was only very light surface rust, so 60 grit sandpaper took care of all but the corners, and for that I had a wire wheel. We’re talking... 2, maybe 3 hours here.
STEP 1: Check your bed bolts FIRST! you need a t55(plus?) bit for this. Make sure you have a clean bite on ALL of the contact area for the torx bit. if you had spray in bed liner, strip the liner off your bolt heads ! Don’t make the mistake I did when I put the d-rings on, stripping one. If you get any resistance, like - you need a pry bar just to budge the bolt or it rounds off the heads, take it to a shop, don’t try to force this. If you are able to break all 4 of the mounting bed bolts free, ok to proceed.
anyway, here are some prep shots:
This stuff went on easy. Only a couple hiccups as I banged into the rack trying to spray weird spots. it’s tough to spot here, but I know from cleaning up that one of the anchor points found its way off the cardboard and into the grass. Easy-peasey cleanup with bed liner material, but if it was anything less coarse or evenleadfoot primer grey, I’d be doing some clean up.
So I let it sit overnight, taking up huge room in my space compromised garage. This think is not that heavy. 35? 40 pounds, maybe? 1 person job, x 1.5 pints of beer. (only 1 pint of Canadian beer for Americans, do NOT underestimate a pint of Canadian brew).
heft into the bed:
Now, line it up and get some bolts started
Do this judiciously, get a bolt started and threaded, but leave loose, move to the other side, repeat. Now, tackle the rear bolts, make sure to slide the rack into place so the rear holes line up, start the bolts. When you’re starting the bed bolts, you’ll be tempted to use power tools. Resist this temptation, and start these by hand to ensure they’re line up, and not cross threaded. It’s ok to use power tools to do some of the work for you after you know you have the bolt properly started, but I’d recommend finishing with hand tools as well. Bonus points: Once you’re done, blast the exposed part of the bolts with marine grade white lithium grease.
Done and dusted.
Now, all I need is a 2nd spare ’17-’18 bead lock & KO2, jack, fuel cans, and a fabricator to weld a pintle mount.
If you’re concerned, this rack will --not-- fit under a bed cover, not even a bed cover that sits on top of the rails. The eye hooks sit about 3/4” above the height of the bed rails.
( as of the date of my post, apparently still 2 left )
So here we go
They’re bare metal, so I procured some duplicolor bed liner in a rattle can. Or rather my wife did and got me exactly 1 can. When I buy for a project, I overbuy. better to have and not need, than need and not have. In fact, I mentioned I may need multiples, but... I got what I got. Next time I get sent on an errand, I’m getting the smallest possible, mini-travel size prep-h, advil, benadryl, what have you. I used 3.75 cans of duplicolor spray on bedliner for what it’s worth.
Sanding was a *****. Since it’s delivered as bare steel, it collects rust spots. I was fortunate that it was only very light surface rust, so 60 grit sandpaper took care of all but the corners, and for that I had a wire wheel. We’re talking... 2, maybe 3 hours here.
STEP 1: Check your bed bolts FIRST! you need a t55(plus?) bit for this. Make sure you have a clean bite on ALL of the contact area for the torx bit. if you had spray in bed liner, strip the liner off your bolt heads ! Don’t make the mistake I did when I put the d-rings on, stripping one. If you get any resistance, like - you need a pry bar just to budge the bolt or it rounds off the heads, take it to a shop, don’t try to force this. If you are able to break all 4 of the mounting bed bolts free, ok to proceed.
anyway, here are some prep shots:
This stuff went on easy. Only a couple hiccups as I banged into the rack trying to spray weird spots. it’s tough to spot here, but I know from cleaning up that one of the anchor points found its way off the cardboard and into the grass. Easy-peasey cleanup with bed liner material, but if it was anything less coarse or even
So I let it sit overnight, taking up huge room in my space compromised garage. This think is not that heavy. 35? 40 pounds, maybe? 1 person job, x 1.5 pints of beer. (only 1 pint of Canadian beer for Americans, do NOT underestimate a pint of Canadian brew).
heft into the bed:
Now, line it up and get some bolts started
Do this judiciously, get a bolt started and threaded, but leave loose, move to the other side, repeat. Now, tackle the rear bolts, make sure to slide the rack into place so the rear holes line up, start the bolts. When you’re starting the bed bolts, you’ll be tempted to use power tools. Resist this temptation, and start these by hand to ensure they’re line up, and not cross threaded. It’s ok to use power tools to do some of the work for you after you know you have the bolt properly started, but I’d recommend finishing with hand tools as well. Bonus points: Once you’re done, blast the exposed part of the bolts with marine grade white lithium grease.
Done and dusted.
Now, all I need is a 2nd spare ’17-’18 bead lock & KO2, jack, fuel cans, and a fabricator to weld a pintle mount.
If you’re concerned, this rack will --not-- fit under a bed cover, not even a bed cover that sits on top of the rails. The eye hooks sit about 3/4” above the height of the bed rails.
