I loveย the upgrades I made to my Ford F-150 work truck, but the TracRac SR Sliding truck rack is possibly the most productive for what I do on a daily basis.ย With a short 5-1/2 footย truck bed, about the only way youโreย going to carryย anythingย over 8 feet in lengthย out of the local lumber yard is through the use of a good ladder rack.ย TracRac is owned by the Thule Group, and the TracRac is aย second generation product, adding some flexibility to theย original TracRac aluminum truck rack system. The TracRac SR slidingย truck rack is ideal for carrying a wide range of items, from laddersย andย lumberย toย kayaksย andย canoes.
We chose the TracRac SR sliding truck rack because we had a positive experience with theย TracRac TracONE universal truck rackย and wanted to see what improvements the updated SR model offered. In addition toย its new sliding capabilities, the TracRac SR is also compatible with the Peragon aluminum tonneau coverโa nice bonus. That allowed us to have a way to transport equipment beneathย the cover while also allowing us to carry longer materials to and from jobsites.
TracRac SR Sliding Truck Rack Features
What makes the TracRac SR so innovative is its lightweight, powder-coated aluminum construction and track system, which allows you to move the twin racks forward and back as needed. On a 5-foot-6-inch short bed, this is a handy feature to adapt from a smaller load to a longer stance that turned out to be long enough to transport a 12-foot-long Werner podium ladder.
The TracRac SR can carry up to 1,250 pounds across its two cross bars, giving youย more than enoughย capacity toย haul lumber orย other materials. If you need to move something heavier, you really want to hook something up to yourย trailer hitch. There are also aluminum load stops that can slide in and out of the top slots of the cross bars, letting you brace the transported materialย so itโs tied down safely. It alsoย prevents your load from sliding horizontally while you drive. For every load, I recommend at least one ratchet strap to ensure you donโt have forward or reverse movement during braking or acceleration.
Most of the adjustments for the TracRac SR sliding truck rack are made via handheld knobs. Theseย not only facilitate sliding the tracks forward and back along the side rails, but theyย also let you hand adjust (and even remove) the load stops in the same manner. Small Allen stop screws affix to the front and rear ends of the side rails, ensuring your TracRac system doesnโt push too far forward or even slideย off the back.
Installing the TracRac SR
The TracRac SR comes in two boxesโone forย the rack rails and one for the aluminum sliding racks that glide on top of them. Assembly will vary from truck to truck, and the main difference is what length of rail your truck needs (its bed size) andย whether or not you have visibleย stake pockets. The rack rails include brass pocket nuts, square rubber expansion blocks, and bolts that youย tighten to secure everythingย in place. I
On our system, we had front and rear stake pockets, but the cab-sideย pockets were covered by the plastic bed rail cover. To reveal the pockets, we used a Hidden Pocket Router from BullRing (You can buy one here). They even give you a guide for where to place the drill bit to startย your pilot hole. After drilling the pilot hole, theย Hidden Pocket Router bit can be inserted and moved around the stake pocket until you have the entire hole cleared and ready for your rubber expansion block and brass pocket nuts, which hold the side rails in place.
After the rails, you assemble the front and rear racks by placing the top cross barsย across the side pieces before fastening them in place with corner braces. You also need to fasten the included aluminum cleats to the sides of each sliding rack. Other than the cleats, we left most of the bolts loose to allow us to position the racks on the side rails before locking them down.
The sliding rack rails use nylon inserts to help them glide along the aluminum. Once everything was in place on the side rails, weย tightened the corner braces and other boltsย to lock it all in place. At that point, testing the rack by sliding it forward and back confirmed that everything was aligned correctly.
TracRac SR Sliding Truck Rackย Quick Specs
- Load capacity:ย 1,250 lbs
- Material:ย Aluminum with dual-stage powder coating
- Aluminum HD load stops
- Aluminum ARC side cleats
- Aluminum crossbar endcaps
- Dimensions: 80ย xย 14ย xย 5 in.
- Weight: 80 lbs.
- Price: $1,129.98
Testing theย TracRac SR Sliding Truck Rack
Almost as soon as the TracRac SR sliding truck rack was installed, we made use of it. Our first task was transporting some plywood for our best cordless drill head-to-head article. We were able to easily load the 4 x 8 sheets of 3/4-inch plywood atop our truck. Trying to get this into a short bed is doable, but with a tonneau cover, having the freedom of a ladder rack is much more convenient. The following item we transported was a Werner 10-foot podium ladder that we received for review. This ladder is the size of a 12-foot step ladder, so being able to get it atop our TracRacย rack system was the only way we were going to get it to our workshop. I also loved how easy itย was to secure the crossbar tie downs independently so as to braceย both the front and rear of the ladder (which, obviously, differed in width.)
Theย TracRac SR sliding truck rack is a great product for takingย your work truck and making it much more flexible and capable. While itโsย almost a necessary accessory for short beds, itโs absolutely handy for long and medium bedsย as well. The TracRac SR is likeย a tool that helps you transport other tools more easily. Ladders, lumber, electrical conduitโyou name itโthe TracRac SR takes your work truck andย gives you capabilities that wouldย otherwiseย take a trailer to achieve.
The TracRac SR costs around $1,000, and you can get it from any TracRac authorized dealer, including Amazon.com. Everywhere we go, people ask us about the TracRac, and Iโm pretty sure weโve โsoldโ at least a half dozen just by demonstrating its features first-hand. Once you get itโฆyouโll likely want to get it. Get it?
