Eezi-Awn Table Under Front Runner Rack (1 Viewer)

[perrobravo]

In order to free up some space in the truck for other gear, I thought I'd try putting a camp table under my Front Runner rack. I chose the Eezi-Awn table since it looked a bit more stout than other options and bought the associated rails to secure the table under the rack. I haven't seen other posts on this combination so I thought I'd offer up a bit of my experience for those who might be considering this. Installation is complete and I'm going camping this week, so will report back if there are any major/interesting findings.


After receiving the table and rails, I realized there was no way it would fit under the Front Runner without taller rack feet, so I ordered them (Front Runner SKU FASS005 x 2 and FASS003 x 1...my FR rack has only 3 feet per side). Too lazy to remove my RTT, I instead struggled lifting one side at a time and replacing the feet. Probably not the best way to go about this, but luckily my kids have smaller hands and are pretty good with a wrench.

The rack is visibly taller with the new feet. We'll see how this impacts the already bad gas mileage. The fairing is now pretty much vertical and likely even more useless than it was before. I'm also a bit concerned about it being trouble to reach the tent to get the cover back on.

Even with the taller rack feet, it is a tight fit...not much clearance at all, especially along the ribs of the roof that run front to back. Instructions say to put the table upside down, but the table top flexes and rubs. Instead, I drilled a small hole and put a cotter pin in the folded table legs to keep them from dropping down onto the roof. The clearance is still so tight that I put some cheapo adhesive-backed carpet strips along the legs in case they come in contact with the roof.

The Eezi-Awn rail kit normally comes with a nice looking lever to hold the table in place and even lock it. The kit I received for some reason didn't have this part and since it was made for the Eezi-Awn rack, may not have worked for me anyway.

So, I found some bits at the local hardware store to make the lever pivot smoothly (and quietly) then put a bolt through the rack, cut, drilled, and bent a piece of aluminum and made a make-shift lever. No locking feature, but I don't anticipate leaving the table up there unless I'm with the truck.

A little square of carpet on the back to hopefully keep it from scratching the table and some reflective tape on the front to cover up all the scratches I put on it while trying to drill the hole just right.

Close up of "finished" product.

Am looking forward to seeing how this works and will report back if there are major/interesting findings.

 

[CappyKD]

Nice!

 

[BryanFRO]

Awesome install!

 

[perrobravo]

Awesome install!

Thanks!

A couple other observations after a few camping trips and a couple other uses around the garage/driveway/neighborhood parks:

1. Overall I'm happy freeing up room in the truck. Inside storage space is at a premium when camping with the family, so using the otherwise wasted space under the rack is helpful.

2. The table itself is solid. Very easy set up, cleans easily, is stable and provides some useful space to cook/eat on like a table should. If I had to complain, I'd ask for it to be a hair taller. The height is good for camp chairs, but standing and preparing food or doing dishes requires me at least, to bend over more than I'd like. YMMV.

3. There is a bit of a rattle from the table when closing the doors on the truck. Thankfully I don't hear anything while driving. That said, it has been hot in San Diego, so the windows are up and the AC is on and I have an EMS exhaust that pretty much cancels out other sound.

4. Getting the table down is far easier if the tailgate is up. I'm 6' tall, and can't easily reach the table if leaning over the open tailgate. Not a huge deal, but something to think about. Of course this would be less of a factor if the truck were not so tall.

5. It looks like the table could be mounted so that it would be accessible the side of the truck/rack, rather than out the back. I haven't looked closely at the spacing between the crossbars on the Front Runner rack, but doing that would allow for even more storage under the rack. A second table might be a bit much, but I'm thinking maybe room for a solar panel or whatever else might be able to slide under for storage while in transit.

 

[duggy]

What are the dimensions of the table? I think I'll make my own mounts but it's hard finding a table that will fit under my rack. I have gamaviti mounts so I can adjust them up and down as needed to make space of the thickness but I have about 2.5" to fit currently under the rack before I hit the truck.

 

[perrobravo]

What are the dimensions of the table? I think I'll make my own mounts but it's hard finding a table that will fit under my rack. I have gamaviti mounts so I can adjust them up and down as needed to make space of the thickness but I have about 2.5" to fit currently under the rack before I hit the truck.

According to Equipt (http://www.equipt1.com/item/k9-stainless-steel-camp-table-large), the closed dimensions are 46”L x 29-1/2”W x 1-3/4”H. I'd add another 1/4" for sag in the top surface of the table or the legs to hang, depending on how you're putting the table in. Then you'll want to consider the thickness of whatever mounts you use.

I haven't looked closely at this aspect of the Gamiviti rack, but I would be surprised if you had 2.5" along the entire roof line. The Front Runner, with standard height feet wasn't even close to that, especially at the center of the truck where the roof curves a bit. Even with the tall feet it is too close for comfort (see my comments above about adding padding/carpet to the legs to protect the roof).