Headache rack for Ridgelines?

[Minimoney]

I have a 07 RTX and occassionally I need to haul 10' + peices of pipe/lumber for home improvements projects. I have seen a ridgline in the SF-CA Bay Area with such a rack in place. Sadly I have not seen it since. I have been all over the web and this site with no luck. Any Suggestions?

If it is on this site please point me in the right direction, as I'm new to this whole forum thing. Thanks.

[northernlights]

Dont know what kind of rack you have in mind but you can take look at Sportraxx and see if you can make it work?

[VoicesInMyHead]

I have no idea what a headache rack is...

but, would something Like This help?

Or This?

[Beaullieu]

A headache rack is generally a metal screen (or bars) that attach to the bed of a ickup and shield the rear window from cargo.

Here's a link that shows you what one is.....
http://www.chromepickup.com/home/cp1/smartlist_14


I've not seen one for the RL other than custom models owners have fabricated.

[VoicesInMyHead]

Originally Posted by Beaullieu

A headache rack is generally a metal screen (or bars) that attach to the bed of a ickup and shield the rear window from cargo.

Ahhhhh! Makes sense! Keeps you from getting a headache! Literally and financially!

I guess I could have googled it... but 1 person making sense this early in the morning is enough!

[djeaux]

This may be what you have in mind, but the photos come from some place in Scandinavia & AFAIK nobody stateside sells 'em.

[HH4]

Here's a pic of the Back Rack from my Sierra easily modified to fit the RL. I use it to carry lumber and even a 32' extension ladder.

[Minimoney]

"HH4" Thank you! The "Back Rack" shown in the photos is exactly what I'm looking for. Did you modify it yourself? or have it done professionally? Thanks for photos too, pictures really are worth a thousand words!

[HH4]

Originally Posted by Minimoney

"HH4" Thank you! The "Back Rack" shown in the photos is exactly what I'm looking for. Did you modify it yourself? or have it done professionally? Thanks for photos too, pictures really are worth a thousand words!

I had it done at a local welding shop. Just cut the main horizontal bar to length and weld on the two plates to bolt in behind the stock upper tie down points. I replaced the stock bolts with longer grade 8 bolts and cut a piece of plywood to fill the recess that the tie down sits in. Also had to remove ,shorten and reweld the two side extensions to fit the narrower RL.

Some retailers sell the rack as a complete unit listed for a particular truck. Others sell the rack seperately for either a full size or compact truck and then you have to purchase a model specific mounting kit. It would be cheaper if you can go this route as all you need is the rack itself. Check the measurements, as a compact truck rack may not need the side extensions narrowed.

The rack usually sits closer to the roof but I chose to mount it slightly higher to give a little more clearance to the roof. I used Duplicolor bed liner in a spray can to paint the entire rack when finished as it had seen several years of use.

One final thought. This mounting method using grade 8 bolts seems sturdy enough for most uses. I even run my ATV up against mine when I load it in the truck. You can make it much stronger by using mounting plates that extend down to the bottom of the bed to pick up the bolts in the lower tie downs as well.