Im looking for a very specific bed set up and im not sure how i should go about doing it, am open to ideas and products that you guys know of.

I want to achieve several things with one system...
id like to have the bed covered, need the ability to remove the entire bed cover occasionally, i think this points to a snap tonneau cover system... i hate snap system but i think its better than velcro and might be the only option. an ideal set up would be a hard cover system that locked and slid fwd somehow but with the rack id like to add i think thats out of the question... brings us back to snap cover :(

I want to attach 8.5 foot surf boards just OVER the bed, BEHIND the cab window, right at bed height. like a roof rack something just a few inches above the rails of the bed, going across the bed. the tail of the board will hang past the tail gate, with the nose up the cab window.

theres plenty of systems that will mount boards, ladders up high but i def dont want a system like that, i want just two low bars going across the bed, and the ability to cover and uncover the bed at the same time.

any ideas?

 

Most soft tonneau covers have cross bars that would easily hold your boards. You would just need hooks on the side to secure the boards.

 

the bars that support the tonneau covers wont work because they are under the cover itself. The boards are actually windsurf boards that are stacked two high, they are much bulkier than typical surf boards. they need a somewhat beefy roof rack equivalent type system to secure them properly over the bed itself. all the systems im finding are mounted way too high in the air for my liking.

easiest solution would be just changing hobbies :) windsurfing is a logistical pita

 

well, heres what i ended up doing... i found a tonneau cover that sits inside the rails. Then im adding Thule car roof rack tracks to the rails (full length), and using Thule system to add cross bars on regular roof rack 'feet'. its going to be awesome. My boards and longest mast will sit just a few inches above the bed, hang off the tailgate by a foot or two, the tonneau cover remains fully removable and the cross bars can be quickly removed or re-spaced if i need to transport different boards. Im pretty excited because for the past 5 years ive been using my explorer which has been a total pain in the crank. loading and unloading is going to be a breeze now :)

I will post pictures on Saturday when the installation is finished, parts should be in tomorrow.

side story... i added the ford remote keyless entry keypad today as well, works great.

 

It's all done.
This set up perfectly suits my application. Used Thule roof rack tracks down the bed rails, added feet and cross bars with the low profile tonneau cover that sits inside the rails.

I'll prob keep the tonneau off for summer activities and on for winter.

 

intresting