Headache racks

[kevinwak]

I've liked the looks of the Cattleman headache racks. I'm looking to put one on the wife's F150. I'll probably modify it so I can also leave her back flip toneau cover installed. That's been pretty handy for securing things in the bed and she insists on having it. One thing that absolutely drives me nuts on her 2014 F150 FX4, is the tie downs are down in the bed, there're no provisions for top of the bed rail tie downs. So, you have to dig down through whatever you just loaded to find these cheap sheet metal tie downs in the 4 corners. Who's the idiot at Ford that decided on that? What ever happed to stake pockets that you could install a eye hook in? I guess they figured that with a 5.5' bed, you don't actually have a pickup truck, just an SUV with an open trunk :mur: Rant is over.:laughing: I have a waterjet at work, so I'm looking at cutting some plates that match the contour of the top of the bedrails and bolt on. I'll then weld on some proper bed rails that I can use for tying down things and also mount the headache rack to it. I was looking at it over the weekend and I think I can make it work and also allow the tonneau cover to still be used.

the 5'6" ford beds still have the stake pockets, they just didn't make the plastic plug removable. To access them you have to cut out the plastic on the bed rail. I recently saw a website that made a metal insert for them that you permanently installed. This insert was powder coated black. It had a 5/16" bolt hole in it. So you were able to bolt on many accessories to the top rail of your bed as you needed it, such as eyes to attach tie downs to or bed rails etc I don't have the link in front of me as to the company that made them. But I can try and dig it up in a few days when I get home.

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[gsganzer]

the 5'6" ford beds still have the stake pockets, they just didn't make the plastic plug removable. To access them you have to cut out the plastic on the bed rail. I recently saw a website that made a metal insert for them that you permanently installed. This insert was powder coated black. It had a 5/16" bolt hole in it. So you were able to bolt on many accessories to the top rail of your bed as you needed it, such as eyes to attach tie downs to or bed rails etc I don't have the link in front of me as to the company that made them. But I can try and dig it up in a few days when I get home.

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I believe you're right. I felt up under the rail last night and I could feel a pocket. I'll have to explore that some more.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I had racks on my last two Pickups. Now my GMC 2500 has no rack and a solid glass window. I like the unclutered appearance much better and the clear view. I built a ladder rack twenty years ago that goes in the hitch receiver with the ladder going on the rack behind the cab. Now that I don't have that, I bought a rack that I thought went into the front stake pockets. That thing sat in the box, in the shed for over two years. When I finally needed it, this last spring, I discovered that it required bolting to the truck box, so I returned it!

My other Headach racks had tube extensions that bolted them down to the box floor. When you have a HEAVY DUTY truck with a box made out of steel thinner then a Tuna Fish can, what is a guy to do?

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

It's a real eye opener on the price range on these racks. I like the Protech but their dealer network in my are is weak. I really like the Royalty Core racks but they are way overpriced. I'm still haven't found the "one", I like the spyder industries offerings but feel their overpriced as well.
I've got no issues spending money but I just don't think it's worth $1k+ for a headache rack.

Matt

 

[Haoleguy]

GWH - If the price isn't out of whack you might try give a look through the Highway Products line .......... Pickup Truck Accessories by Highway Products Inc. .

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

GWH - If the price isn't out of whack you might try give a look through the Highway Products line .......... Pickup Truck Accessories by Highway Products Inc. .

The pricing on the Highway products isn't to bad, I'm just not that into the look. At this point I'm leaning towards the plain ole back rack. It's low cost and offers good vision. The Pro products rack is nice but I want it in black and there's no dealers close by. The Dee Zee version is similar looking to the Pro Products unit but I just don't care for the mount section, it's too high profile for my tastes.

Matt

 

[mikeharold]

When I bought my F250 I didn't want to put lumber racks on it so decided to go with a headache rack. Problem was, I didn't like anything I saw either and prices were kind of out of whack. I wound up having a welding shop fab me up one out of round tubing the way I wanted. Then I called in a favor and got it powder coated black to match my tool box. Always hated the racks with the mesh in em and I didn't need the window protection. It matched the cab sides of the truck and I had them make the top of the rack just barely taller than the cab. Last thing I did was take it down to the local bedliner guy that did my truck and had him spray the top contact area of the rack so material was less likely to slide off and wouldn't beat up the powder coating. Worked great for years and I loaded it up pretty heavy on more than one occasion. Still have it, just have a camper shell on the truck now so it sits.

 

[700R]

I built my own. $100 in materials (and I still have enough left over to build another). Maybe this will give you some ideas:


Headache Rack

 

[GreatWhitehunter]

When I bought my F250 I didn't want to put lumber racks on it so decided to go with a headache rack. Problem was, I didn't like anything I saw either and prices were kind of out of whack. I wound up having a welding shop fab me up one out of round tubing the way I wanted. Then I called in a favor and got it powder coated black to match my tool box. Always hated the racks with the mesh in em and I didn't need the window protection. It matched the cab sides of the truck and I had them make the top of the rack just barely taller than the cab. Last thing I did was take it down to the local bedliner guy that did my truck and had him spray the top contact area of the rack so material was less likely to slide off and wouldn't beat up the powder coating. Worked great for years and I loaded it up pretty heavy on more than one occasion. Still have it, just have a camper shell on the truck now so it sits.

At this point I'm also pricing out a Leer cap with roof rack, if I'm going to spend that much money on a rack the cap seems more versatile.

I built my own. $100 in materials (and I still have enough left over to build another). Maybe this will give you some ideas:

Nice job on the rack 700! Is that all mig? Paint job looks really nice.

Matt


Headache Rack

 

[700R]

Nice job on the rack 700! Is that all mig? Paint job looks really nice.

Matt

Thanks. Yeah, I used my Miller 180 for the whole thing. I love that little machine. The paint ain't so good up close...I had some issues (mostly my fault). I didn't let the first coat cure long enough before applying the second coat...so I got a little alligatoring in the paint the first go around.

I like fabricating and metalwork (not sheetmetal!)