The Strong-Ender Ladder Rack is installed by mounting two receivers, one at the front and one at the back of the truck bed. The bottom of this receiver is bolted to the floor of the bed, and the top of the receiver screws to the bed rail of the truck. Each receiver holds the main part of the rack, which is removable. This includes a vertical stanchion with an adjustable horizontal crossbar upon which the ladders rest. The receiver is designed to fit any pickup truck with conventional fleetside bed rails as long as there is room to place both receivers. This includes the vast majority of pickup trucks; however, there are a few four-door trucks with extra-short beds where the rear wheel well abuts against the front of the cargo box, so there is no room to place the front receiver. The other model truck that this rack will not fit without modification is the 1997-2003 Ford Super Crew. The reason this will not fit is that the bottom of the bed in the front corner is not flat. A special modification is required to fit the Ford Super Crew.
Unlike most other side-mount ladder racks, the Strong-Ender Truck Rack is adjustable in height to more closely conform to your height and that of your truck’s cab.
Side-mount racks will not fit any truck with a plastic bed, including the newer Toyota trucks that have the Deck Rail Mounting System on the side of the bed rail.
Side-mount racks will not fit any truck with a plastic bed, including the newer Nissan trucks that have the Utili-Track Mounting System on the side of the bed rail.
The Strong-Ender Truck Rack is used primarily for carrying one or two ladders up to 30 inches wide and weighing up to 250 lbs. This pickup truck rack is not just for ladders, however. It can also be used for carrying kayaks, canoes, and other cargo not exceeding 30 inches in width. Care must be taken to ensure that the load does not exceed the strength of the truck bed rails.
This pickup rack is constructed of square tubular steel, with wall thicknesses ranging from .095 to .065 inches, depending upon the load requirement. The exterior surfaces of these parts have been electrochemically passivated and then powdercoated for long service outdoors. All threaded parts are stainless steel.
This truck rack attaches by bolting to the floor and by drilling into the bed rail of the truck. Although similar in this respect to other side-mount ladder racks, this rack has been made especially secure by using a plate in front of and behind the lip of the truck bed rail to reinforce it. This greatly strengthens the truck bed rail and makes it less likely to rip the bolts through the lip of the bed rail as can happen with other side-mount ladder racks. Moreover, the stanchion that goes into the receiver rests directly on an insert tube, which carries the vertical load directly to the floor of the bed, reducing the forces acting against the bed rails. See below.
The initial installation of the receivers may take an hour or more. Installation is made much easier than some other racks because the fronting plate may be used as a template to mark and drill the holes in the bed rail, and the backing plate already contains the nuts into which the bolts screw. When the rack arrives in its shipping box, please carefully read all instructions. After the receivers are installed, the mounting of the main part of the rack into the receiver can be done in a couple of minutes.
There are many different types of bed liners. Spray-on bed liners offer no obstacle in installing the side-mount truck ladder rack. It can also be used in any case where the carriage bolt in the bottom of the foot is long enough to pass all the way through the bed liner and floor of the bed to connect with the nut under the floor of the bed. Should there be a case where your bed liner is over 1 inch thick, you will need an extra-long bolt. The newer style under-the-rail bed liners allow for the easy attachment of the receiver to the bed rails. The older style over-the-rail bed liners, which are a single piece, will require a slit or a hole being made in the bed liner. U.S. Rack offers a bed liner kit, consisting of a 2-1/2 inch hole saw to make a hole plus 4 plastic caps to plug the holes later when the rack is removed.
In order to offer a higher security option for those who are concerned, U.S. Rack offers high-security screws which include a keyed button-head cap screws and matching keyed Allen wrench. When these screws are tightened, the receivers cannot be easily removed.
Four tie-down hooks and two rope cleats are provided on the rack to make securing ladders and other cargo easy. Get the tie-downs here.
Once you are familiar with the rack, you can remove the rack in 5 minutes or less.
The Strong-Ender Rack is offered in a matte black coating.