Bed rack for roof tent?

I'm looking to get an ARB (or similar) roof top tent and I'd like to mount it over my bed at the same height as the cab. Can anyone recommend any options for this? I've seen it done before but I don't see how such a rack would mount in the bed or where to get one, for that matter.... I know I could go with something totally custom but something off the shelf (if available) would probably be easier on my wallet. Anyone have any ideas?

 

Ah! Thanks!

 

Yeah, that's exactly what I was hoping for, but IIRC he had that made by Demello for big $$$

 

Front Runner makes a bed rack called a Bakkie tent mount frame.

 

I would also like to mount a RTT in the bed of my truck but I want to mount it lower in the bed.

 

All-Pro sells them for $399, same style as the one on the Baja Taco but made to fit 2nd gens.

 

I used Thule racks and mounted them to the bed. The tent is slightly lower than the roof line. It keeps the center of gravity down and helps with the fuel mileage.

 

That's what I'm looking for thanks!

 

That looks like a baja rack

Link

 

I like your setup. Nice and low. Which RTT is that? Do you flip the tent open to the side or rear?

I could always go with a Thule rack mounted to my cover as a short term solution. I'll just use my broom stick with a hook on the end to grab the action packers from the front of the bed.

I have a Diamond Back SE cover on my truck and it supports 400 pounds. Sort of wish I bought the HD cover that supports 1600 pounds. It seemed overkill at the time and I would have laughed at the idea of mounting a tent on my truck.... I might need to beef up the underside of my panels to handle the weight of a tent + 2-3 adults. If I keep the mounts directly above the sides of the bed I should be OK.

I've been researching tents and mount options for a few weeks now. I hope to find something off the shelf but I might need something fabricated. I'll mount so it flips open to the rear. I want 4 permanent mount points on the Diamond Back panels. I'll need a permanent mount on the bottom of the tent (roof rack or basket parts maybe) that will mate and lock into the base mounts on my bed cover. The two supports on the rear deck or under the tent will need to allow the RTT to slide backwards a bit so I can open my forward panel -even when the tent is deployed. I was wondering how I could still make use of the front panel of my cover with a tent mounted on top when I saw this AT video showing one of their trailers being opened while the tent is deployed.

 

It's an Eezi Awn 1400. It opens to the passengers side. I like to use the tail gate as a table and getting stuff in and out of the bed is easier not having the tent there. I can move the tent to open any way I want but I always set it to open to the passengers side. The cover is a retractable aluminum cover. I'm not sure how you will make your cover work with a tent on there but my rack mounts to the bed and the cover mounts to it's own rails so I can have the cover open and the tent up.

I had the tent mounted on an ARE cover and got tired of lifting it up and down to get stuff out of the bed.

 

Damn I like this

 

Which product from front runner is this exactly, and how much weight can this support?

 

Front Runner Bakkie pickup bedrail load bar system. I'm not sure how much weight it can support. I looked at getting this setup before but they were unavailable at the time. I went with the Thule Xsporter rack instead.

 

Thanks for the quick response I really appreciate it. I'm trying to get a list of future parts together and was tripping out on this a little bit haha

 

Just to throw our rack into the mix:

2005+ Tacomas:


95-04 Tacoma:


The APEX Pack Rack mounts onto CNC laser-cut bed rails that are gradually tapered for the exact fit of your truck's bed rails and disperse the weight without collapsing the factory plastic trim. On the 2005+ Tacoma, the Pack Rack simply bolts to the beds existing cargo tie-down system to provide for an easy, no-drill installation.

The upper tubular structure is made from heavy-duty 1.5 x .120 wall DOM steel tubing. Our modular design allows you to break it down for easy storage when not in use. We also offer the added cargo rack as shown. Long & short bed versions available.

 

Pelfreybilt. Had the opportunity to see it first hand this weekend and its sturdy as hell, lots of tie down points, and it's what I'll be getting. Even has a gb going right now.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/group-buys/226232-feeler-tacoma-back-rack.html

 

I made mine. Cost about 200 bucks in materials, plus a few days.

 

IIRC the Bakkie rack has to be bolted to the bed. The All-Pro racks look good but can't be adjusted.

 

I have the all pro bed rack and I like it. I am still working on and how to mount the tent to it, (bought the tent used and have no hardware). I am thinking of getting this baja rack, , (http://www.bajarack.com/4runner-exp) and then put the tent on top of it.

Here is the truck for reference: