How to mount RTT on Tacoma bed?

[theferg]

I'm trying to find a good way to mount my tent about 8-10 inches above the topsides of the Tacoma bedsides and get the top of the closed tent about level with the top of the cab. Similar to what the FrontRunner Bakkie pickup bars or Xsporter can do, but for a lot less money. I'm thinking maybe attach some tall gutter mount thule bars to the topsides of the Tacoma bed. I've seen where someone is using the rails of their soft tanneau cover and just attach some gutter mount towers to it and it looked slick, but I don't want to spend money on a tanneau cover just to get the rails to use for this--and I have no use for a tanneau cover.

My idea is to run the thule bars for carrying the tent but also for carrying bikes etc (nothing long like canoes or kayaks though). Maybe even at the same time if the fit isn't too wide. Again, I'm also wanting the bars about 8 inches or so above the topside of the bedsides.

Anybody got some good ideas for this? I don't have a welder or any good metal saws right now so custom isn't really going to work either. I'm not totally stuck on Thule (don't care for yakima) stuff, but I've not found much else out there that might work--I am totally open for other ideas though.

So in looking around, I've found some thule artificial rain gutters that mount to a side or flat top surface that I think might work if the bolts are beefed up. #542 Thule Artificial Rain Gutters I'm thinking bolt them to the topside of the bedside and then use them with the thule #387 tall gutter mount towers (which have about 8" clearance). Could also use the thule #953 super high gutter mount towers which have 11" of clearance....

I figure if I can find the towers and bars used, this can be a very affordable way to mount the tent.

-Ferg-

 

[theferg]

I actually ran out and picked up some artificial gutters last night....

What do you think about mounting them inverted and on the inside of the side of the bed? I would think it would end up putting a ton of stress on each of the two bolts...but I like the idea of it better. Not sure the gutter towers would actually work on them this way, but they might. I'm gonna find some and just see.

My reasoning is that with the artificial gutters mounted flat on top of the bedside, it looks like the towers are going to be hanging over the side of the bed--which I don't want. But maybe the little bit that hangs over is acceptable... I'll see when I find some towers to try out I guess.

-Ferg-

 

[FloridaFJ80]

I would look at this website for ideas. Its a venezuelan website.

Carpas Anaconda - Galería de Imágenes

Go through all the pics, they have pictures of them mounted on the beds of a pickup.

Hope this helps.

 

[CruiserStuff]

IMHO, both the ways you've shown to mount the artificial gutters will not work well. The idea is to have the "footprint" of the clamp sit in the channel and support the weight of the crossbars (and whatever is on top of the crossbars).

My suggestion would be to mount them on the inside of the bed (because I wouldn't want them mounted on the outside either), but with the channel at the bottom (and with the lip of the channel facing inward toward the center of the bed). Does that make sense?

Click my banner below to check out the heavy duty rain gutter mounts and our exclusive "Triple Dog" supports.....

 

[theferg]

I would look at this website for ideas. Its a venezuelan website.

Carpas Anaconda - GalerÃ*a de Imágenes

Go through all the pics, they have pictures of them mounted on the beds of a pickup.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the link. There's some great stuff going on down in VZ for sure. Some good mounts for tents on pickups as well and is pretty much what I envision when I think about mounting my tent. Most of them look custom built though and I don't have a way to do anything custom at the moment and I can't justify spending $300+ just to mount the tent. Maybe I can find a local place that could make something similar for not too much money.

-Ferg-

 

[theferg]

IMHO, both the ways you've shown to mount the artificial gutters will not work well. The idea is to have the "footprint" of the clamp sit in the channel and support the weight of the crossbars (and whatever is on top of the crossbars).

My suggestion would be to mount them on the inside of the bed (because I wouldn't want them mounted on the outside either), but with the channel at the bottom (and with the lip of the channel facing inward toward the center of the bed). Does that make sense?

I thought the same thing as I looked at them, but the Thule pics show the artificial gutters can be mounted flat. I'm hoping to find some towers to test and see what they look like. I'll post up some pics to see what you guys think.

And yes, makes sense about mounting them the correct side up and inward on the bedside. I'd thought of that as well but it then requires the towers to be mounted wrong side inwards, which then presents a new problem...

 

[CruiserStuff]

If, instead of the Thule towers, you went with a "bulldog" style clamp, you could also turn the clamping portion of the clamp inward. If that is as clear as mud, let me know and I can post a pic of what I'm envisioning in my feeble mind.....

 

[theferg]

Buddy of mine found this one over on TacomaWorld from All-Pro. They have them for 1st and 2nd Gen Tacos. Nice to see somebody making something of this sort. Not too bad of price for what you're getting. I would love something like this but about half the height and less coin is always good too... Sorry if I'm a cheap bastid.

I'm really leaning towards building something now. Same buddy has a welder and tools so we're gonna try and make something up. Just don't have a tube bender.

Tacoma Bed Racks

 

[CruiserStuff]

Yeah, that looks great, but is a grip of coin. You can build something like you've described for A LOT less. Check a local tool rental place for a tube bender.....if a local MUDDER doesn't have one. Where exactly are you in the "wild west?"

 

[theferg]

I'm in Utah. I've actually got a similar thread on a local offroad board (rockymountainextreme.com) and have found a few fab guys that are interested in talking about the idea and seeing if we can figure something out. Also got a guy that said he'd help me bend some tube up if that's the way I go. I'm heading out to my garage to brainstorm and maybe mock some stuff up. I'm really leaning towards just making something with some local help. I'll post up in the thread how it turns out.

Thanks for all the input so far!

 

[theferg]

I decided to just give the false gutters and gutter towers a try.

The false gutters are Thule 542s. The gutter feet I used are the 953s and they are 11" tall. (I wanted to use the 387s which are only 8" tall, but I happened across the 953s for a killer deal so I'm giving them a try.) And the bars I used are the 65".

The tent floor sits about 12" above the top of the bedsides and about 26" above the bed floor. When closed, the tent sticks about 3" - 4" above the roof of the cab.

The bars stick 6-3/8" past the tent on each side, but the fender flares stick out much farther and so do the side-mirrors so I'm not really worried about them being too wide. I may cut the bars down later though if I don't find good use for them sticking out past the tent.

I'm pretty sure I'll be stepping down to the 8" towers, but this works for now. I drilled out the falsegutters to take M8 size hardware as the stuff that came with it was about half that. Otherwise, the whole thing is super sturdy and isn't going to go anywhere without some massive force. Actually the weakest part is now the puny 4 bolts that bolt the tent floor to the tent crossbars--I'm going to add a few more bolts there.