I'm going to try kayak rack out of 2 x 4's that will work with the bak flip. Anyone ever done anything like this?

 

We did a bike rack on my 08 F150. One board into the the front steak pockets, one 2x4 across, then put 4 fork mounts on the 2x4. I had to remove the front wheels from the bikes to work with the mounts I used. The back tire sat on the lid. I took 1 2x4 with 4 u-bolts to hold the back tires in place. Using ratchet straps I was able to hold the 2x4 in place. We made it to Florida and back with that setup holding 4 bikes in place. The solid bacflip cover is fairly sturdy.

 

My prob is there aren't stake pockets in the front of the bed , but I've got a plan for that.

 

I don't know why Ford did that on the newer trucks. I use those pockets all the time.

 

They are there, you just have to cut out the plastic, as obviously there are no removable tabs. I had to cut them out to install my back rack on my short box.

 

We have lumber racks on our trucks, so we just have bolt-on carriers like the Swagman aero (Swagman Exo Aero Rooftop Kayak Carrier System with Tie-Downs - Saddle Style - Universal Mount Swagman Watersport Carriers S65145). They're about $99 a set.