Rack Systems for Your Pickup Truck

Trucks are undoubtedly one of the most useful vehicles due to their bed, which lets truck owners haul large cargo loads. Having a truck bed adds a lot of cargo space, but sometimes this added space isn’t enough for longer or larger items.

Whether you’re hauling lumber for a DIY project or like to spend time on the water with your canoe, a little extra might be needed to help carry such items with your pickup. If you need some additional cargo space occasionally or every day, there are a multitude of options available to help you out!

If you’re looking to haul motorcycles or quads and want a little extra security for your toys, a headache rack might be the option. Products like the Kargo Master Fleet Headache Rack are designed to help protect the back of your cab and rear window while also providing a secure hold for larger cargo. As a bonus, these racks can even provide a secure footing for added accessories like emergency lights or light bars.

If your objective is to haul a canoe or kayak, something like the Thule XSporter might be a better option. This truck bed rack system is fully adjustable to make hauling anything simple, and even includes one-key lock cylinders to secure the rack to your bed. This rack clamps on without any drilling or modifications to your truck, and with its durable and lightweight aluminum construction and aerodynamic design, your ride remains smooth.

If you have a tonneau cover installed on your truck or plan on getting one in the future, truck bed racks like the Access Adarac or BAKFlip CS (Contractor Series) Truck Bed Rack/Tonneau Cover Combo are excellent choices. The Adarac is one of our best selling truck bed racks, and for good reason! The rack installs easily with no drilling and is completely adjustable to meet your needs. With the Adarac truck bed rack you can haul up to 500 pounds of additional cargo securely without losing any access to your tonneau cover.

There are many options available to suite any need. Check out our collection of Truck Bed Rack Systems to find out what’s available for you!

Auto Truck Depot

107, 42 Ave SW, Calgary, Alberta

Toll Free: 1-855-253-4330

Local: 1-403-253-4330

info@autotruckdepot.ca

www.autotruckdepot.ca

Making Sense of Truck Racks Part 2: Truck Bed Racks

In the last installment of our blog on Making Sense of Truck Racks a style of truck rack with two names, Headache Racks or Cab Guards. Commonly know as Truck Racks, these racks can help with cargo hauling, but if maximizing your bed storage space is your ultimate goal, there may be a better solution.

Truck Bed Racks, or Ladder Racks, are one of the easiest ways to double up on the cargo space in your truck bed. They are fairly small, generally lightweight, and capable of carrying quite heavy loads. They also leave your rear window clear, so that you get the full range of vision while driving, unlike Headache which can completely obscure your rear window when you have cargo secured.

Truck Covers USA manufactures an interesting variety, from their American Truck Rack, a heavy duty unit designed to mesh with their other products and covered in features, to their American Rack System. The Rack System is unique because it fits the category of Truck Bed Rack in installation and style, but it's designed to carry more specific cargo using Yakima racks. I'm going to start off, however, talking about a classic rack before I get into more complicated ones. This Truck Rack is one of the best sellers on both Auto Truck Depot and Tonno Cover Depot, and it's a comparatively inexpensive cargo solution.

Access Adarac Truck Bed Rack

The Access Adarac is one of our best selling truck bed racks. This is likely because it's cost effective, simple, easy to use, and lightweight. The Adarac installs without any drilling or modification to your truck, meaning you can put it on a leased vehicle, or swap it from truck to truck as needed. It can be installed in an hour with basic tools, and it's compatible with all Access Tonneau covers as well as most other inside-the-rail tonneau covers.

The rack is fully adjustable, meaning you can slide the crossbar rails around to meet your cargo hauling needs. Whether its canoes, lumber, ladders, or other long cargo, it can all be stored securely. Its steel frame construction can support up to 500 pounds of weight, and it's powder coated black to protect the metal from corrosion and give the rack a sharp style. The Access Adarac even has integrated tie down rails so you can be sure your cargo will stay secure.

There are a tonne of varieties of Truck Bed Racks, and a lot of companies make racks similar to the Adarac, including the Thule XSporter Multi-Height Rack, and the Dee Zee Invis-A-Rack Collapsible Truck Bed Rack. Each brand has tried to add something unique to their product, so if you're looking for a truck rack to fit a specific purpose, make sure you shop around. A collapsible rack may be great if you're looking to only use it once in a while, and the multi-height may be good if your cargo variety changes a lot. If you're looking for something a little more heavy duty, however, you should look into our Contractor Rigs.

Pace Edwards Contractor Rig 

The Contractor Rig from Pace Edwards is a heady duty Truck Rack engineered with the contractor in mind. Do you spend a lot of time hauling tools, equipment, or cargo to job sites? These racks are made for every day heavy use, so you know they'll stand up. The thick aluminum trusses create exceptional rear to rear stability when compared to other racks, and they can hold a tonne of weight. The extension beams on the front provide even more security if you're hauling extremely long cargo, and PVC inserts on the rear cross member held reduce friction when loading the rack to make the process easier on your cargo and your arms. 

The Contractor Rig is designed to work with your Pace Edwards Explorer Series Rails and a Bedlocker of JackRabbit tonneau cover, and it even comes with winches to help ensure maximum security for your cargo. The cross members are adjustable to make loading easier and increase cargo versatility, and the aluminum construction with stainless steel fasteners makes this rig rust proof and great for all weather conditions and climates.

In conclusion, there are a lot of different styles and brands of Truck Bed Racks. Each model has its own benefits and limitations, and unfortunately I can't go through every single one of them. Your best bet is to start by setting a price cap for yourself. There is a huge cost range, from $249.99 all the way up to $1,709.99. There are full bed racks, heavy duty contractor rigs, and even the Elite Universal Rear Rack, which is designed to work with a Headache Rack to give you a full Truck Bed Rack system.

Whichever system you choose, a Truck Bed Rack will increase the cargo carrying capacity of your truck bed, and make your life just a little bit easier. Check out our selection on Auto Truck Depot and Tonno Cover Depot.

How to Survive the May Long Weekend

May Long Weekend, widely hailed as the first big camping weekend of the season, is quickly approaching, and I don't know about you, but I'm very excited. Hopefully you've booked your campsites already, because even with unpredictable weather they fill up fast.

Whether you're planning to hit some trails with your ATVs or bicycles, tow your watercraft to the lake, or are just out for a relaxing weekend it's important to be prepared. The roads are going to be crowded with people trying to leave the city, gunning for the mountains if you're here in Alberta, and the stores are going to be chaotic with people trying to pick up last minute supplies before they leave. It happens every year, and every year people fall into the same trap.

In this article, I'm going to list some tips to help you get your adventure started with relatively low stress so you can get right to the relaxing, fun part and spend more time there.

1. Get Your Site Early

Before anything else, you should know where you plan on going. On an average weekend, you'll usually be able to book a camp site a week in advance without too many problems, unless you're trying to go somewhere that's exceedingly popular.

May Long, however, everything becomes exceedingly popular. Everybody is trying to get out of the city and get their first taste of summer, so any campsite with an opening works. If you're smart, you'll plan ahead, find a place that you really want to spend your weekend, and book a site far in advance. Another benefit is that once you've decided where you're going it's much easier to lay out a plan for what you want to do, based on what's in the area.

2. Pack and Prep your Vehicles Beforehand

Yes, it's true that all of us wake up the morning of departure to pack bathroom bags, finalize the cooler, and get the last of your clothes together, that's hard to avoid. I'm not here to tell you to have your bags packed a week before hand, that doesn't work for everyone. What you can do to make your life much easier is get your RV or watercraft out of storage a couple of weeks beforehand. Make sure that if you're hauling a trailer or RV out to the woods, you've properly inspected and prepped it. If there's a problem that crops up on the Friday, you're going to have a hard time getting it fixed before you leave. For more info how how to prep your trailer or RV for the camping season, check out this article. If you're planning on hauling out any watercraft, make sure you've thoroughly checked them for damage before the weekend, or you may be short an activity, as it will be hard to get repairs done on a motorboat on May Long.

Cargo Storage

Getting yourself to your destination is fairly easy. The hard part is getting all of the gear you're gong to need out there when you have a vehicle packed with friends and family. It helps to know what you want to do beforehand. You don't need to plan every minute of every day, but having a general idea of the activities you want to hit on the trip will help you prepare your vehicle storage space.
If you're going to be camping near a beautiful lake or river and you want to do some kayaking or canoeing, make sure you can get the boats there. We offer a wide range of accessories that can help you get your boats out with you, including the Thule Hull-a-Port Pro Kayak Carrier and the  Access Adarac Truck Bed Rack. If you're towing a trailer, we even have trailer racks, like the Swagman Roamer LT Pop-Up Trailer Rack, to help you get your gear safely to your destination.

If you're not hauling watercraft, a Cargo Box may be a good way to make sure your ride is comfy. When you have your car packed with people, hauling enough camping equipment, personal gear, and food can be difficult, especially if you're planning on tenting. If your vehicle has a roof rack installed, you need to check out our selection of Cargo Boxes, like the Yakima RocketBox Pro 14 or the Thule Force XXL. Both of these are large enough to accommodate a tonne of gear so your vehicle is less squishy. If you don't need something so large, maybe SkyBox 16, or one of our many Cargo Baskets will do the trick for you. If you don't have a roof rack, we can get you set up with one quickly and easily.

Bed Extenders

Once you're at your destination, how do you plan on transporting your ATVs? A trailer with a garage for your toys is great for the long haul, but horribly inefficient for transporting quads to a staging area. Be nice to yourself and the environment, and get a truck bed extender for your pickup, Not only will you have a better time hauling cargo, you'll be able to securely transport your ATVs in your truck bed. The AMP Research Truck Bed Extender, on our sister site Tonno Cover Depot, is one of several great options.

Tonneau Covers

A great way of increasing your secure storage space is by using a tonneau cover. A cover like the Access Original Roll-Up can turn your truck bed from an exposed area for storing large items into a secure, locked off place for hauling smaller cargo. If you're looking to haul a trailer, you still have options. Retractable Tonneau Covers, like the Pace Edwards JackRabbit can be locked in multiple positions, so you can haul a fifth wheel trailer and keep your cargo covered.

3. Plan for Your Absence

Always plan for the fact that you will be away from your house for several days. If you have a pet that isn't coming with you, set them up in a pet hotel or recruit a friend to visit them at your house once or twice a day. Make sure your heat is turned down, as this can do wonders for your heating bill. Secure all your windows and doors and at least partially close some of your blinds or curtains. If you're especially worried about break-ins, you can set a lamp in your house on a timer to come on in the evening for a few hours. These steps will help discourage potential thieves.

4. Buy Supplies Early

Don't be the person shopping to fill your cooler on the way out. Stores are always overcrowded at the beginning of the weekend with people who forgot hamburger buns, need ice, or forgot to pack water. Buy your groceries a few days before hand to minimize your time spent in lineups for a cashier. If you need to get camping gear, or other equipment, check that the week before and pickup up then. You run less risk of not findingh what you need, and then you can just pick up and go in the morning without having to mess around in a store.

4. Leave Your Work Behind

The long weekend is mean to be exactly that, a weekend. While it is a good idea to bring cell phones and a GPS in case of an emergency, leave behind your pagers and computers. Keep your cell phones off unless you really need them, because this time is the time to be with your family and friends. You only have one go at life, and once you retire, all you're going to have is the people around you so treat them right. 

5. Stay Safe, and Be Respectful

Remember that the people around you may not be as prepared as you are. Some of them have to work the weekend, some of them may be scrambling and stressed, Treat everyone around you with respect and basic decency, and everyone will have a much better time.

Make sure you treat the environment around you with respect as well. We want to be able to visit these campsites and wilderness for many years to come. We are lucky to have all of this wide open space in Canada, so get out their and enjoy it and stay safe!

Auto Truck Depot

107, 42 Ave SW, Calgary, Alberta

Toll Free: 1-855-253-4330

Local: 1-403-253-4330

info@autotruckdepot.ca

www.autotruckdepot.ca