ladder rack or truck cap

91stranger · Dec 6, 2017

So I'm in a bit of a dilemma. Currently, I have a nice stainless steel ladder rack and an aluminum tool box on my truck. I just got an aluminum truck cap with a ladder rack built onto it. I am kind of leaning toward keeping the ladder rack and tool box on right now but I wanted to see what everyone else would do. The downside to the ladder rack is that there is a lot of wind noise and it probably hurts my MPG a little. Currently I do not use ladders on a daily basis but I run into using my ladder rack a lot for lumber, furniture and other long things that don't fit in a small truck bed. The cap would be nice for winter coming up to keep my bed clear of snow and I could still use the ladder rack. If I keep the ladder rack and tool box on the truck then I am outfitting the trailer with the cap mounted to it. cap is a little short than the trailer so it doesn't cover it all but I also have a plastic tool box that may split the difference. I just want to see what the preference is out there.

hank857 · Dec 6, 2017

I am in the process of putting a ladder rack on my 94 so we can use it for a towd vehicle and carry the boat on it. I was wanting to put a tonnue cover on the bed behind the crossover tool box so I can carry the battery motor etc. I have the same bed cover set up on my F350 and it is great for travel.

For yours it may require a little modification since the rails go full length on the bed. Mine is a HD round type and has big attachment knucles so it will be necessary to put on/take off as needed. Your rack could be modifies by cutting the posts and installing internal pieces to join them when needed leaving the behind the cab posts in place. The rail pieces could be the same or cut off and then removed with the rack. You would need to leave enough to bolt it back to the bed when needed. I plan to leave the front plat for the rack on, move the tool box back enough to clear and then cut the fiberglass cover to fit the remainder of the bed. It will be a put on take off deal since the rear nuckles wont allow for the bed cover to work with them. Will use the cut portion of the cover the close off the space in front of the box, thinking of adding some cable rack pieces to hold a plywood cover so I can secure stuff under the work box. Just some ideas for you.

91stranger · Dec 6, 2017

hank857 said:
I am in the process of putting a ladder rack on my 94 so we can use it for a towd vehicle and carry the boat on it. I was wanting to put a tonnue cover on the bed behind the crossover tool box so I can carry the battery motor etc. I have the same bed cover set up on my F350 and it is great for travel.

For yours it may require a little modification since the rails go full length on the bed. Mine is a HD round type and has big attachment knucles so it will be necessary to put on/take off as needed. Your rack could be modifies by cutting the posts and installing internal pieces to join them when needed leaving the behind the cab posts in place. The rail pieces could be the same or cut off and then removed with the rack. You would need to leave enough to bolt it back to the bed when needed. I plan to leave the front plat for the rack on, move the tool box back enough to clear and then cut the fiberglass cover to fit the remainder of the bed. It will be a put on take off deal since the rear nuckles wont allow for the bed cover to work with them. Will use the cut portion of the cover the close off the space in front of the box, thinking of adding some cable rack pieces to hold a plywood cover so I can secure stuff under the work box. Just some ideas for you.

Wow, that was confusing to read. lol. the truck cap has a ladder rack on it. I just don't want to lose the space if I go with the cap. Its hard to put tall things in a cap. I'm not cutting the ladder rack because I don't need to. it is bolted to the bed and the tool box is as well. I had to make small plates for the sides of the tool box because it was just barely too small and wouldn't sit on the bed rails. I could easily remove the ladder rack and tool box with just 4 bolts. I like my tool box too. I think I may be able to fit the cap over the tool box since it doesn't sit on the bed rails.

ericbphoto · Dec 6, 2017

It really depends how you want to use the truck. I used to have an F150 with a custom ladder rack and a tool box. That worked great for me as an electrical contractor years ago. I also had an F350 with a cap. The cap was ok. I even used it as a camping shelter a few times. But I liked the openness and versatility of the rack and toolbox better and finally transferred that over to the heavier truck as my work truck.

Eric B

alwaysFlOoReD · Dec 7, 2017

I had a flareside truck and a regular size ladder rack. I ordered custom 1/4" x 8" aluminum side rail caps, bent with a 2" downward L shape. I bolted these to the rails and then mounted the ladder rack. I found a cap that would slide in under the ladder rack. And with the extra "shelf" space on the inside, I spanned half of the bed from shelf to shelf with a piece of plywood. The plywood can slide up to the cab and be pulled back if I need to reach something easier. Also installed a sliding base on the bottom on the bed so I can slide it out to reach things under the shelf. It works really well for loading and accessing my tools.
Later I mounted this system onto a regular width size box and it works just as well there.

91stranger · Dec 7, 2017

well for the time being I am leaving the ladder rack and tool box on my truck. Going to mount the cap to the trailer. I got the cap because it was a good deal and when we go camping this would make goo rain shelter for camping stuff, keeping firewood dry, or even sleeping. Through an air mattress in and some sleeping bags and you got a bed. The way it is now I can easily remove the ladder rack and toolbox with 4 bolts, 8 bolts if I want to separate the two. here are some pictures of how the tool box and rack are mounted since the tool box doesn't fit on the rails.

ladder rack or truck cap

91stranger

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hank857

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91stranger

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ericbphoto

Overlander in development

alwaysFlOoReD

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91stranger

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