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rbattelle
TDR MEMBER
Today I installed a "Back Rack" brand headache rack and thought I would review it here. My purpose in installing the rack is to provide a location to mount my High-Lift Jack and a pair of off road lights.
The rack uses the front stake pockets as attachment points. It includes large (15x6) reinforcer plates that sit atop the bed rails so you can carry large loads properly distributed across a large area of the bed rail without fear of warping your sheet metal.
Here's a picture of these plates:
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The one on top in that picture has 1/16" rubber sheets cemented to it. I did this to both plates (the pic shows 1 only for contrast) in order to prevent abrasion of my Line-X over time.
To the plates are bolted 90-degree brackets into which the rack itself bolts. Here's a picture of all the hardware that comes in the box, including the brackets:
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Notice the specialty bolts that install in the oval-shaped hole that accesses the stake pocket from inside the bed. These keep the rack secured to the bed, but cannot be overtightened. I tightened the bolts just enough to crush the split washer that was included. Here's a view of the plate and bracket installed on the driver's side:
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And here's the rack itself from behind:
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Finally, from the side:
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This rack is very sturdy. It is constructed entirely from 0. 20" thick steel, and I am quite impressed at it's strength. However, having never owned a headache rack before, I cannot say whether it's any stronger than any other rack out there.
On the negative side, I was a little disappointed with the lack of attention to detail on the powder coating. There were a couple missed spots near welds that I had to touch up. And during shipping the rack got a couple scratches that also needed to be cleaned up.
Eventually, I'll mount my Hi-Lift jack to the rack, and 2 off-road lights. The website for the manufacturer is http://backrack.ca/
The rack uses the front stake pockets as attachment points. It includes large (15x6) reinforcer plates that sit atop the bed rails so you can carry large loads properly distributed across a large area of the bed rail without fear of warping your sheet metal.
Here's a picture of these plates:
The one on top in that picture has 1/16" rubber sheets cemented to it. I did this to both plates (the pic shows 1 only for contrast) in order to prevent abrasion of my Line-X over time.
To the plates are bolted 90-degree brackets into which the rack itself bolts. Here's a picture of all the hardware that comes in the box, including the brackets:
Notice the specialty bolts that install in the oval-shaped hole that accesses the stake pocket from inside the bed. These keep the rack secured to the bed, but cannot be overtightened. I tightened the bolts just enough to crush the split washer that was included. Here's a view of the plate and bracket installed on the driver's side:
And here's the rack itself from behind:
Finally, from the side:
This rack is very sturdy. It is constructed entirely from 0. 20" thick steel, and I am quite impressed at it's strength. However, having never owned a headache rack before, I cannot say whether it's any stronger than any other rack out there.
On the negative side, I was a little disappointed with the lack of attention to detail on the powder coating. There were a couple missed spots near welds that I had to touch up. And during shipping the rack got a couple scratches that also needed to be cleaned up.
Eventually, I'll mount my Hi-Lift jack to the rack, and 2 off-road lights. The website for the manufacturer is http://backrack.ca/
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