Tonneau cover and rack combo

sno1 · May 24

2024 3500 Crew cab short box

I want a hard folding or rolling tonneau cover but I also want to add racks for carrying ladders, pipe, boards, kayaks, etc.

Would anyone like to share their experience, pictures, or recommend a cover and rack set up? Or point me toward a thread that already covered this?

Thanks in advance for any advice

sealberta · May 25

www.diamondbackcovers.com

sno1 · May 25

15 minutes ago, sealberta said:

www.diamondbackcovers.com

Thank you for the suggestion. Looks like racks mount on the cover? I'm hoping to be able to open the cover while racks are loaded. I believe I need to find racks that mount to the side rails and a cover that mounts between the side rails.

Sonders · June 4

I went through Agri-cover and got the Lomax Stance tri-fold cover in carbon fiber and added their Adarac system on mine. I can fold the cover back partially with the full uprights installed. I also have set of 6" height racks that go on that I put bike carriers on for camping trips. I can run it with both sets of racks on to haul multiple items at different heights as well; it's a very versatile system.

sno1 · June 4

6 minutes ago, Sonders said:

I went through Agri-cover and got the Lomax Stance tri-fold cover in carbon fiber and added their Adarac system on mine. I can fold the cover back partially with the full uprights installed. I also have set of 6" height racks that go on that I put bike carriers on for camping trips. I can run it with both sets of racks on to haul multiple items at different heights as well; it's a very versatile system.

That looks like a great set-up! I'll definitely be checking that out. Is it fairly easy to remove racks when not needed?

Sonders · June 4

yes, each bracket has 2 9/16 bolts that secure it to the base rails. The base rails have a track the full length of them that the threaded inserts can be slid along to mount the uprights at whatever spacing you want. Here is a better picture of the side rails; if you look closely you can see the threaded inserts that the uprights bolt into.

Edited June 4 by Sonders
to add picture

sno1 · June 4

2 hours ago, Sonders said:

yes, each bracket has 2 9/16 bolts that secure it to the base rails. The base rails have a track the full length of them that the threaded inserts can be slid along to mount the uprights at whatever spacing you want. Here is a better picture of the side rails; if you look closely you can see the threaded inserts that the uprights bolt into.

Thank you very much for the additional picture, I really appreciate that.

It doesn't look like the base rails interfere with the tonneau cover at all, they must be fastened to the stake pockets?

I've seen some rack bases that clamp to the inside bed rail where most tonneau covers get clamped, which then interferes with the cover. That set-up you have looks really good.

Sonders · June 4

Correct, they bolt into the stake pockets. Only downside is it requires cutting out the cover to get access to the front stake pockets. Now if I ever pull the base rails off I'll have open stake pockets up front that I can't cover up ( I have a set of covers for the rear stake pockets). The whole setup, cover and rail system from Agri-Cover is pretty simple, I've been quite pleased with all of it. I've had the cover on the truck for over a year with no issues. I've only used the full height upright rack a handful of times, but have used the short rack several times. I had the bright idea of getting a retractable cover that would give full bed access when using the short rack. I even purchased one and installed, however the base rails wouldn't fit with the cover. I ended up selling that cover and sticking with my tri-fold.

curly · June 22

@Sonders

Since I see you are pulling a camper, do you use the GM factory extension camera for trailering? If so, how does that work with bikes on the rack? I just put an undercover tri-fold on my truck and I really like the rack system you’re using.

Sonders · June 22

No, my truck is a Custom, it doesn’t have trailer camera option. My camper has bluetooth Furrion camera installed, which is all I use.

Meade2024 · June 24

I did the adarac as well, with a roll up cover, I would have preferred a trifold cover, but it’s more convenient to just roll it up when we are going camping for bikes, etc

sno1 · June 24

16 hours ago, Meade2024 said:

I did the adarac as well, with a roll up cover, I would have preferred a trifold cover, but it’s more convenient to just roll it up when we are going camping for bikes, etc

Nice!

No problems just tying kayaks to racks? Racks are stout enough not to flex and buffet at freeway speeds without a strap from bow to front of truck?

Sonders · June 24

I've not had any issues with kayaks moving on mine, but the fastest I've driven hauling them is probably 55-60. Mostly country roads and state highways around me where we go kayaking.