Recently, I sold my Rebel Off-road Xplor bed rack and purchased an Xtrusion Overland setup. As with anything, there are pros and cons associated with this change.
Rebel Off-road Xplor Rack
I carefully selected this one prior to purchasing the truck. It seemed to be the best option by a mile. I still think it was the right call, but I had some reservations after quite a bit of use:
It's very heavy
It obstructs the rear view considerably
It isn't modular
It only comes in a 6-tower configuration
I wanted something that solved for each of those, and I landed on Xtrusion Overland, which builds racks from extruded aluminum.
Xtrusion Overland
This rack is just about as modular as you get (save the Trex system, which allows for custom heights and such) and I tend to like the look of extruded aluminum. Naturally, it's far lighter, and even better, I was able to select a height that keeps it just out of view of the rear-view mirror.
Perhaps the best part is that I can now install storage between the 4 towers. Note: ignore the zip ties (temporary) and consider that, with a different size of storage box, I could mount it a little further back to where it's flush with the rack itself.
All that sounds great. Score on all fronts, right? Ehh, not exactly.
Drawbacks
Firstly, this rack was delivered in pieces over the course of ~5 months. I believe their commitment was something like 8-12 weeks max, and this ship time was unacceptably longer than that. No communication from the company during that time.
The next drawback is the mounting system. It's an awful design. Because of the system, you have to mount it kind of far back in the bed, leaving an ugly gap between the rack and the cab. Additionally, it just has a really unfinished look to it, where a rectangular piece of aluminum sits in a curved piece of steel. Even worse, it hangs off the edge of the bed a bit.
On an Xtrusion Overland YouTube video, I saw a different kind of mount, which seemed great. I asked the company about it and they said they no longer make them because they are too difficult to manufacture. Frustrating, because "it's hard" doesn't sound like a great answer to discontinuing your best design.
Custom Mounting
This winter, I'll likely be designing a new mount that allows for freedom of installation position and eliminates the overland and unfinished look. I really like what Billie Bars designed for retractable covers (see here). That will be what I'll go for. In hindsight, I wish I had just ordered these from Billie Bars and created a mounting system of my own for the bed rails.
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