Leitner ACS Forged bed rail solution? Maybe?

Good evening,

I recently installed a Leitner ACS forged on my 2020 crewmax. Without going much into the rack i will say the craftsmanship is outstanding, the thing is solid as a rock and looks killer.

During the install process, you are required to remove the bed rail system on both sides of the bed. This is the only thing i dont love about the rack system. I uninstalled my cali raised bedside molle panels (due to absolutely horrible fitment, they rattle and bend back and forth because they only bolt in 3 places) and opted for the Leitner (which ill eventually get gear pods for).

I was wondering if anyone out there had a re-installed the bed rail in a lower position by drilling into the bed of their truck. I know there are many out there that wouldnt dare to drill into their bed, however i am not one of them. If i am able to gain good functionality from a product, and it requires drilling I would be happy to do it.

The main goal of getting the bed rail back would be to install a @ragofabrication bedside panel onto each side of the truck for mounting some heavier things like propane and fire extinguishers etc. Hell if @ragofabrication makes some adapters to mount the molle without the bed rail i guess problem solved but they have yet to do so.

This weekend I am going to play around with the bed rail and see if there is a way to re-attach it lower in the bed without sacrificing functionality. If anyone has any ideas let me know! Im down to be the guinea pig on this one.

 

The quad fold tonneau cover I installed came with 10 or 12 simple, flat, brackets which drop the factory tiedown rails a couple inches to give proper clearance.

Top hole on the brackets screw into the existing, threaded holes for the tiedown rail. Then the rail is reinstalled in the lower bracket holes with nuts and bolts.

I can grab a picture later if that makes things easier.

Drop brackets would be very easy to make.

 

This is exactly the reason i love this website. Drop brackets would be perfect. A picture would be perfect and if you dont mind including the brand of the tonneau and model i would appreciate it. I may just reach out to them and see if they can send me just the brackets. Thank you!

 

Hope this helps.



Just flat pieces of steel with two holes drilled.

Cover is a bakflip mx4... It's sweet

 

Thanks it totally does. However I have come up with a different solution that works just as well for what I need. I didn't even think to try this the first time but my Tundra has two holes that are almost exactly the length of the rail apart. Im gonna source some metal plates with capture nuts in them and put them on the other side of the bed sheet metal and use a bolt and washer to secure it down properly. This was how my old molle panels mounted using a 1/2 bolt (a little excessive for the bed rail). Since I won't be mounting much to the rails I figure they will be fine with just the two points. If I need to add a little rigidity to the center of the bed rail I'm going to do this bracket trick. Thanks again!!!! Ill post pictures here when I finish tomorrow