A Toyota Tacoma bed rack lets you maximize the space in the back of your Taco. In this article, we look at some of the best options in the industry.
The Toyota Tacoma bed normally provides ample storage space for everything an owner could want to carry like firewood, lumber, camping gear, and plenty of other materials. But in order to get the most out of the vertical space above the bed, your truck needs a bed rack. A bed rack – sometimes called a “ladder rack” – is most often designed as a pair of horizontal cross bars affixed to vertical risers that attach to both bedsides, giving you an elevated structure that you can use to carry long items without taking up valuable bed space. This is especially useful if what you’re carting around is too long to fit in the bed.
Good news for Toyota Tacoma owners: there’s no shortage of sturdy, well-built Tacoma bed rack options on the market. Here, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite Tacoma bed rack designs on the market today, covering a range of different needs and price points.
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Yakima Overhaul HD Adjustable-Height Bed Rack
As one of the most trusted brands in automotive cargo accessories in the world, Yakima is one manufacturer that we would never hesitate to entrust with our hard-earned cash. For the Toyota Tacoma, we like this Yakima Overhaul HD bed rack, which is made from a durable aluminum alloy and ships with a max load rating of 500 pounds – or 300 pounds for off-road use. You can load it up a-plenty without having to worry about deformation, but what makes it a truly excellent choice is its full-range height adjustability. Need to haul something especially long that needs to stretch over the cabin? Just raise the height until the crossbars are above your Tacoma’s roofline. As an added bonus, it’s compatible with a full range of Yakima mounts and other accessories, including Yakima SideBars, which let you mount essential off-road equipment horizontally between the uprights. Make a note that the Tacoma may require an extra Bed Rack Kit 1 Accessory in order to use this rack.
Rola Haul-Your-Might Bed Rack
If Yakima isn’t within your budget, and you don’t need the height-adjustability, Rola offers a solid Tacoma bed rack that we feel is a great alternative. Rated to carry an impressive 800 pounds, this rack offers just a single extension height, which puts the crossbars above the roofline for maximum versatility. It’s made from a mix of anodized and black powdercoated aluminum with stainless steel fasteners, so you never have to sweat a bit of rain or snow. The crossbars feature a universal t-slot that allows you to make use of various accessories from a wide range of different manufacturers. Best of all, this bed rack is designed to work with the Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Tundra, and Nissan Titan bedrail systems from the factory, so there’s no need to invest in a separate mounting kit to install.
Hooke Road Truck Bed Bike Rack
If you only need a Tacoma bed rack to carry light gear like bikes or kayaks, and you’d just as soon stick to something that’s lightweight, low-profile, and above all, inexpensive, this Hooke Road truck bed rack is perfect. Made to fit Tacoma models from 2005 up, this bed rack system is slick and aerodynamic, extending just above the bedsides to minimize any disruption to your truck’s aerodynamics. That means less wind noise in the cabin, and a minimal loss in fuel economy. The crossbars are made from black painted aluminum, affixed to ABS plastic uprights. This design means that you get a maximum 88-pound (on-road) load rating with this bed rack system, but if all you’re using it for is a kayak or a pair of mountain bikes, that’s all you need. When you see the price tag for this rack system it leaves little to complain about.
Hooke Road Tacoma High Bed Rack Cargo Carrier
Another excellent Tacoma bed rack option from Hooke Road, their High Bed Rack Cargo Carrier system looks entirely more aggressive than others in this list. It’s an off-roader’s best friend, with integrated side rails for mounting tools like shovels or off-road jacks, and offers plenty of space to carry fuel packs, a spare tire, and whatever else you might need on your next off-road adventure. The thick, beefy square steel tubing with a durable e-coating and black powdercoat finish providing excellent corrosion protection. Installation on the Tacoma is a simple bolt-on affair, with a design specifically made for Tacoma’s from 2005 and up and feature a generous load rating capacity: 440 pounds while moving, and up to 880 pounds static.
Decked Pickup Truck Storage System
While not a Tacoma bed rack per-se, the Decked Pickup Storage system is just too handy not to mention. This handy drop-in accessory helps you separate your cargo and maximize your use of space in the bed by enclosing a couple of large, pull-out drawers underneath a sturdy deck. The deck is rated to carry up to 2,000 pounds, making it significantly stronger than any of the bed racks on this list, and it dramatically increases the available cargo surface area. What’s more, the Decked system also provides your Tacoma truck bed with some much-needed weatherproof storage space, allowing you to keep sensitive items like duffle bags and power tools in the bed without having to worry about them getting soaked in a downpour. Best of all, the Decked system is easy to put in and take out; after the initial setup, all you need is about 15 minutes to remove it from your Tacoma’s truck bed, and another 15 to put it back in again.
How do I know which bed rack is right for me?
What exactly are you planning to do? Some of the racks in our guide are fairly basic and give you increased bed space so you can carry large/longer items up high. If you’re big into overlanding, you might like the offering that gives you the ability to carry items on the side of your rack in addition to the load you’re able to have on top.
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