Mounting question

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Hey guys, So I have a project for a guy i work with, I have to make a small stainless pipe rack for his truck, nothing crazy, but when I asked how he wants it mounted, he wants it to go in the bed stake holes (2010 Silverado 1500) with nothing actually drilled into his truck. how would you guys mount this?my thoughts were either a rubber expansion block, or I believe there is a hole already punched in the truck bed, so maybe drill and tap into the post going into the bed stake?Idk if that little drawing makes it any easier to understand, the thick black line is the pipe rack at the back of his truck, and the thin line represents his truck tailgateMiller Spoolmate 200 w/t S-52 WirefeederMM 211'09 Miller Trailblazer 302
Reply:If there is a hole in the stake pocket then drilling and tapping the rack would seem like a good idea.  Be sure to check how the stake pockets are made. The few I have looked at looked like they wouldn't be very strong.Airco Ac/Dc 300 HeliwelderMillerMatic 200 (stolen)Miller Maxstar 150STLMiller AEAD200LE (welding and generating power) Hobart MIG
Reply:The stake pockets on trucks now aren't worth a crap for anything. In fact the whole bed is flimsy garbage. With that in mind, let him know ahead of time how whimpy those stake pockets are and give what he wants. Of course he may be the kind that never hauls more than a couple of 2/4's."The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life." -Theodore Roosevelt
Reply:The most load its ever going to see is maybe 4, 10ft lenths of half in EMT electrical conduit, sooooo nothing really, its more just to get it out of the way of his toolbox, which right now if he has a load of pipe on his truch he cant get into.Just to clarify the pipe right now sits on his backrack, and the rest is shoved down into the corner of his bed.I think im going to use something along the lines of a toggle bolt, I'll post pictures!Miller Spoolmate 200 w/t S-52 WirefeederMM 211'09 Miller Trailblazer 302
Reply:I would suggest making a headache rack to stabilize the front end and give it a lot more support and then maybe the suggested rack at the back. I made one for the back of mine that fit into a socket in the bed and then had an offset bracket that fit into the rear stake pocket. Much better braced than just into the stake pocket. And about anything you do is going to be a lot stronger if you can bolt it instead of just gravity attachment.
Reply:I'd use aluminum sized to fit two pockets. Plate the rail with 3/8 6061 leaving two protrusions near each end Use square tube to fir these down to the underside of the rail. Drill these with two bolts each. Another piece of 3/8 plate will pass under the rail shimmed to fill the space under the rail. I'd want a leg to the floor of the truck bolted down to the floor. Anywhere painted body sheet metal is in contact with aluminum or bolts must be liberally coated with Noalox by Ideal. I'd make the rack out of 2" square 1/4" wall with gussets where it welds to the rail plate.
Reply:The guy already has a headache rackthe toggle bolt idea would draw up the plate inside the stake pocket to the outer "skin" where the bed was perforated from the factory.the idea here is to not bolt to the bed, as anywhere that is drilled though is going to be a rust spot in a few years.Miller Spoolmate 200 w/t S-52 WirefeederMM 211'09 Miller Trailblazer 302
Reply:If it's a real work truck ...There will be lots of rust spots in a few years no matter how hard you try not to have themBacked my CATMA over your CARMA oops clusmy me  What would SATAN do ?? Miller Trailblazer 302 AirPakMiller Digital Elite  Optrel Welding HatArcair K4000Suitcase 12RC / 12 VSHypertherm PM-45Rage 3 sawRusty old Truck
Reply:Originally Posted by killdozerd11If it's a real work truck ...There will be lots of rust spots in a few years no matter how hard you try not to have them
Reply:Don't drill, clamp. Where it touches painted body use something to cushion. I have a roll of vinyl travel trailer roofing I like to use small pieces from. Any place metal is layered it must be coated with Noalox. This stuff is amazing. Coated metals will not corrode. I've done back up plates serving as huge washers on the underside of truck floors with drilled holes, 12 years later the sheet metal not protected is rusted out, covered by the plate; rust free. As for the pickup, clamp carefully to the bed rail. Near the floor level, isn't there an anchor point you could attach to?The alternative is take it to Adrian Steel, or one of their competitors. They take your money to give the truck to a minimum wage employee, who will smile while drilling TEK screws into beautiful painted body steel. Then it will rust out, and likely tear out. I once saw a new van someone used a screw too long from inside punching out through the outside!Nothing says professional like streaks of rust from a badly installed Chinese rack tek screwed to unprotected body.Last edited by Willie B; 01-04-2015 at 08:30 AM.An optimist is usually wrong, and when the unexpected happens is unprepared. A pessimist is usually right, when wrong, is delighted, and well prepared.
Reply:so here is the idea right now, that plate that inside the bed stake hole should hopefully slip inside at an angle, then when pulled "level" it wont be able to pull out, I was thinking a 1/4 stainless platethoughts? obv a rubber gasket between the stainless and the steel truck bedMiller Spoolmate 200 w/t S-52 WirefeederMM 211'09 Miller Trailblazer 302
Reply:Ian;You have designed a special wrench to rip out a stake pocket. 70 years ago pickups were built to have actual wooden stakes used 8 at a time. Modern truck stake pockets aren't as rugged. A bare minimum is to actually anchor the rack all the way to the bottom of the pockets. As it's being driven that rack is going to whip around terribly. Eventually it will rip something.An optimist is usually wrong, and when the unexpected happens is unprepared. A pessimist is usually right, when wrong, is delighted, and well prepared.
Reply:Originally Posted by Willie BIan;You have designed a special wrench to rip out a stake pocket. .
Reply:Does that bed have the plastic top rail cover all the way around? Which stake pockets are you gonna use? The two back corners or the back corners and center pockets?  Back in the day, when we were able to use the stake pockets & make inserts for stake pockets we would have a small plate all the way around the stake so that gave it a spread out surface to set on. If I were to try it now without bolting I'd at least use a 2" x 3" or 2" x 4" angle section wrapped around my insert to get as much support as possible from at least three directions.  As a side note while you're in the process of building this thing, don't assume the bed is the same width on the inside - front to rear.. You just might find out it is narrower in the rear than the front."The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life." -Theodore Roosevelt
Reply:I just looked at my GMC, the stake pockets have two factory holes one on the bottom and one on the inside facing the bed ,Also the stake openings are smaller than the pocket itself so will need to be shimmed so the rack doesn't move around  . Oh and the holes in the botom of the pockets can be reached from underneath with a long extension