Can You Install A Truck Rack With A Tonneau Cover?

6 comments Feb 15, 2023

Installing a truck bed rack with a tonneau cover isn’t always possible, it depends on both the tonneau cover as well as on the bed rack itself. In this short article we will go over the different reasons or methods to make both accessories work, as well as some of the tonneau cover models and bed rack models that do work together.

That said, the answer is yes, you can install a truck rack with a tonneau cover, if both the tonneau cover and the truck rack have specific characteristics that allow them to work seamlessly and simultaneously. Not all truck bed racks work with all tonneau covers, they have to have specific mounting features. Also, not all tonneau covers work even with the specific truck racks, since some covers have features that make them incompatible even with the truck bed racks that are designed to work for most other covers.

 

What Features Are Needed For A Tonneau Cover To Work With A Truck Rack?

Tonneau covers come in all shapes and sizes, so to make sure that they will work with a truck rack, you need to make sure of only one thing: the tonneau cover must be mounted between the bed rails or bed edges.

The tonneau covers must not cover the bed rails, as that will mean they’d cover the truck bed’s rail sides, which prevent you from installing the feet of the truck bed rack, which often need access to the stake hole pockets of the bed rails, or need to clamp or even bolt onto the bed rails. Any tonneau cover which prevents this, won’t work.

 

Tonneau Covers That Work With Bed Racks 

Most tonneau covers will work with bed racks. Some of those that won’t are soft vinyl tonneau covers, the most basic ones, which tend to cover the bed side rails.

Instead, here are some models that do work:

• BAKflip Covers
• Retrax Covers
• Pace Edwards
• Revolver Roll-Up Covers

You will find tonneau covers such as the DiamondBack covers, that have a very specific function: full protection of the bed and being able to carry items such as bikes or ATVs over it. These are fully made of aluminum, cover the side bed rails, but given how strong they are, you can actually install a very specific type of truck rack over them. You’d need to get a truck rack that mounts to the panels of the Diamond Back cover, such as this UpTop Truss Bed Rack.

 

Truck Racks That Work With Tonneau Covers

Now we need to look the opposite way: do all truck racks work with tonneau covers?

No. Not all of them, and actually just a few of them.

We already showed you the UpTop Truss bed rack that works with DiamondBack covers, but that’s because of the very specific features of the Diamond Back covers.

For a truck rack to work with a tonneau cover, it must be installed onto the side rails of the bed of the truck. This can be achieved by either bolting the feet directly to the rails, normally after drilling onto them. Since not everyone wants to be drilling, other options exist, for example, using a t-slot system, to which the bed rack mounts to.

Another option is to use the truck’s stake hole pockets, to which there are plenty of truck racks that can be installed on. Essentially, though the stake hole pockets you can bolt the rack without the need of any modification, or without causing any trouble to the bed cover.

Some of the best truck bed racks that work with tonneau covers:

 

Leitner ACS Forged Tonneau

In our himble opinion, the best truck bed rack for tonneau covers. The Leitner ACS Forged Tonneau us a beast of a bed rack. Fully forged, no weak points or bolts rattling with the vibration of the road, this bed rack works only with t-slot rail tonneau covers, such as the Retrax XR or the Pace Edwards Ultra Groove.

The reason it is such a great truck rack, is the simple fact that it is of the highest quality out there. On top of that, weighs only 85 lbs, which is nothing, and it has a static weight capacity of 800 lbs, which is essentially the most you can get for bed racks compatible with tonneau covers.

 

BillieBars (Check style first)

Billie Bars manufactures a lot of different bed bars and truck racks that are compatible with all sorts of covers. For example, you have a whole line dedicated for bed covers that are retractable and with t-slots, such as the Retrax XR.

However, it doesn’t end there, they also have more “traditional” bed bars that can be mounted with other types of covers, some even with the factory cover of the truck, or with the Bakflip covers. You must check if you have an internal drain channel as some systems require special installation. But the truth is, BillieBars makes it work.

Finally, the greatest thing about these bed bars is the fact that they can be removed super quickly, allowing you to have full access to the bed, and to “keep your truck a truck”.

 

Putco

The Putco Venture Tec rack is an excellent truck rack, featuring a very simple design, in which the slats in the feet of the bed rack can mount to the side bed rails without any drilling required. On top of that it can use the stake pocket mounts of the rack to go over the truck bed’s stake pockets, not causing any issues to any tonneau cover.

Since the truck rack is built using a CN 7 axis, there is precise bending that allows an exact vehicle contour for a more sleek design, less air resistance, and a very strong static weight rating of 1000 lbs. These are really strong truck racks that can be used with a tonneau cover.

 

RCI (With the adapters)

RCI makes their racks directly in their headquarters in Colorado. They como in different heights, ranging from 12” tall to 18” tall. The racks are fantastic, and what makes it even better is that any of their racks is compatible with the special RCO tonneau cover adapters.

These are specific adapters, that will raise the height of the truck rack by around 3 inches, which allow you to mount most tonneau covers, except tri-folds. Why? Well, tri folds, after being folded completely, are too tall to fit inside the height of these adapters. The adapters are a C-Clamp style, which can also bolt to the side rails.

That said, the RCI bed racks have a lot of great features, such as side mounting options for panels, additional gear and such.

 

Front Runner Slimline II Bed Rack (Configurations that SPECIFY that work with tonneau covers)

Front Runner makes a ton of different bed rack systems. However, they have a specific line of the Slimline II bed racks that work with the Retrax XR cover, or mountain roll top covers. These bed racks mount or work only wih retractable bed covers with t-slots.

The rack itself is different from all the others mentioned above, since they literally are a flat platform rack, just over the bed of your truck. It’s a mid height bed rack, and perfect for roof top tents, or bigger cargo. And as usual, 660 lbs load rating!

 

UpTop Truss Rack For DiamondBack Covers

As mentioned previously, specifically designed bed rack from UpTop overland that go over the Diamond Back aluminum covers. This can bolt onto the aluminum cover, and can be left there or easily removed.

 

Let’s Wrap It Up

We mentioned it above a few times, but we’ll answer the question again: yes, truck racks work with tonneau covers, but not all of them. First, you need to make sure you are buying a tonneau cover that will not cover the bed side rails of the truck, and then you need to ensure you’re purchasing a specific truck bed rack that can work with the specific tonneau cover you own.

If you have them both, then you’re ready to go to have one of the most useful configurations ever.