1UP-USA Rack Flush Mounted to Tailgate

My 1UP Roof Rack arrived today and I was keen to get it mounted in the bed and test fit my BMC Two-Stroke One, 29er. I decided to mount the rack to the top of the tailgate and also tie into the Leitner ACS forged crossmember.



Context:

• Cannot mount to the hitch | I will be towing a Vorsheer XOC trailer behind my Taco so a traditional, hitch mount solution would not work
• Up top is sub-optimal | I'm not keen on an XL frame bike on 29 inch wheels being on top of the rack as I plan to hit some trails - I'm trying to keep the overall height of the rig with the bike as low as possible
• The bed will not work | There is not enough room for the wheels to clear the cross members so flush mounting the rack to the decked drawer system was not an option

Below: I repurposed the 3rd cross bar mounts on my Leitner ACS forged setup to use on the 1UP. My roof top tent (RTT) will be going on the XOC's roof which will free up my bed rack. I no longer need the 3rd cross member in the bed rack - it was just there for supporting the RTT.






Below: I pulled the plastic tailgate cover to find the widest mounting spot that would not interfere with the holes for the plastic trim tabs, measured and marked then reinstalled the plastic trim to drill through the cover and the sheet metal. Like many racks and roof top tents, the 1UP-USA roof rack has a channel that bolts slide into so it is just a matter of figuring out how and where you will be mounting this to your rig and then sliding the bolts into this channel, through the mounting holes on your bracket and then tightening the nuts.




Below: The mounts are secured to the top of the tailgate with M8 riv-nuts, 4 M8x1.25x18mm fasteners per bracket. This was the most stressful part of the install as putting holes in my Taco is not to be taken lightly.




Below: Holes drilled, plastic cover reinstalled with mounts. Note - the brackets will be trimmed and I have M8 x 1.25 x 18mm button heads on order. This was just for initial test fit. I was hoping to repurpose the M8s from my Leitner cross bar but those are a few MM too short.



Below: With the brackets installed it was just a matter of getting the 1UP provided bolts into the rack's channel, lining up the bolts with the bracket holes, centering the rack on the tailgate, and tightening up the nuts.


Below: I repurposed a RTT mounting bracket from Leitner and plan to secure the pedal to the mount via a lock or a custom fabricated plate. The idea is to tie in the bed rack to the bike mount for both strength and security.


Below: View of the rack as it would sit in every-day, normal use, (sans bike)


Below: Rack with the tail gate lowered. This is the only issue with this mounting solution. If I need to get into the drawers, I will need to pull the bike. It is a carbon hard tail so the bike is in the low 20s for weight so it is no big deal to pull off, but it is something to consider.


Below: Rack with the bike 3/4 view.



I hope this has given you some ideas. I am pleased with the 1UP rack and for $249.00 and a few bucks for M8 fasteners at home depot the price cannot be beat IMO. If I decide to mount this on top of the bed rack with another fat bike or whatever it will be a relatively easy switch and I'll just buy a new plastic tail gate cover piece and no one will ever know the M8 riv-nuts are sitting under the plastic tail gate protector.

I will update this install thread with future modifications.

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2.2.2022 Edit: A few pics of the install detailed above in better light. Button head M8s are in the mail and when they arrive I'll modify the mounting brackets so they are not hanging over the tailgate.

 

Reserved for future modifications.

 

Reserved x2 for future modifications.

 

That is awesome. Leaves your hitch open for a tire carrier! Does it hold well with the bike mounted and tailgate down?

 

Thanks! I have not tried to lower the tail gate with the bike mounted - nor will I try as the force applied to the riv-nuts is exponentially more with the bike mounted than with just the rack. If I had welded a plate and threads I may try lowering the tailgate with the bike attached but not in its current configuration. I think that is just asking for sheet metal to bend and riv-nuts to break.

 

True. Eh only takes 3 seconds to mount/dismount a 1up anyway. Hmmm I wonder if that rack would work on the side rails?!