Has anyone installed one? i want to build one but i dont know how they stay in the steak holes. Does anyone have any experience with them?

thanks

 

Well, you can do a bed insert with rails that run the length of the truck rails but float it so any impacts to the bed rails dont damage the actual bed rails... see picture. I didn't have to drill any mount holes to mount mine, just used HD turnbuckles.

 

Like that picture, I'd try to spread as much of the force over as large an area as possible. If you just want a clamp in, there are rubber expanding blocks that drop into the stake pocket holes and expand out as you tighten the bolt, or you could use toggle bolts.

 

The BackRack system uses an "L" shaped bolt that drops down into the stake hole and turns so the threaded end passes through the hole inside the bed. Big bolt, I think 7/8 inch dia. sticks out from the stake pocket into the bed and that gets tightened. The other end of the bolt is directed straight up through the stake hole and through the mounting plate of the rack.
Feels pretty sturdy to me, but I guess it all depends on what you are hauling in the back of your truck as to whether or not the strength is sufficient.

 

Really depends on what year make model of truck. Some trucks have holes in the stake pockets so you can put a bolt through whatever is in the stake so it can't lift out. Or you can drill a hole through the stake pocket yourself. Some stakes have a hole in the very center at the bottom you can use to bolt a rack down that has the bolt at the bottom, from underneath the truck.

I guess it comes down to is what are you looking to protect from that could cause a headache.

 

alright well thanks, i have a bed liner on it now, so i gotta take it off. and im gonna start construction on the headache rack

 

Here are pictures of the BackRack method of attachment on a '97 250 HD.
You can see both ends of the L shaped bolt that goes into the stake hole.

 

was that just an l-shaped bolt you bought? or did you turn a straight one into an l-shaped one

 

I bought the whole rack off craigslist for $40. The bolts came with it.
It is forged in an "L" shape, as opposed to being a bent bolt.
But, I don't know why one couldn't make his own by heating and bending some 3/4" ready-rod.
Keep in mind, though, that the horizontal leg of the "L" (that which comes through the side of the stake hole) has a "washer" on it in order that it can be drawn tight against the side of the stake hole and held in place by the nut inside the bed.
here is a drawing of what one looks like:

 

so i have mine almost done, im gonna try to figure out pics. the frame is built, im gonna bring it to school to finish up the welding tomorrow. (we got snowed in today, no school). Its going to have 4 lights up on the top bar, one facing back, and antenna mounts on the sides.

so far ive spent $18.
10ft of 1x2" rectangular tubing-$10
14ft of 1" square-$8

and other odds and ends laying around in the garage