Thule TracRac SR Sliding Truck Bed Ladder Rack Review
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Review of the Thule TracRac SR Sliding Truck Bed Ladder Rack
Ryan: Hey everybody, Ryan here at etrailer. Today, we're going to be taking a look at the line of Thule TracRac SR sliding ladder racks. So when it comes to ladder racks, there's a ton of different options available, and you're going to want to choose the one that's best going to suit your needs. I will say I'm pretty impressed with this one for one big reason. And that reason really separates this rack from many of the others available. And that's the fact that our cross rails here are actually adjustable.So say if you have a small ladder or some pieces of lumber or something like that, can actually push these two closer together and accommodate for that load.
Or if we have larger items, we're able to pull it all the way back and again, accommodate for it. But not only that, you're not always using your ladder rack and sometimes you need to put something tall in the bed of your truck. Well, a lot of times you're going to have to kind of work around these ladder racks and it can kind of be a headache, but these we're actually able to push them both all the way to the front of our truck on the uprights are going to have some knobs. And when you loosen those up, you're able to make those adjustments.So like I said, what's pretty neat about this one is we can pretty much put these right on top of each other. And so by doing that, we freed up all this space in the bed of our truck here, and now we can put tall items in here whenever we need to.
So if I needed a ladder rack for my truck, one of my first questions would be how much can it hold How much can it support, because you're going to want to load this down over time, I am sure. Well, this one's actually at the higher end of what many ladder racks are rated for. This one is good for 1,250 pounds, and that's a pretty high number. It would really take a lot to max this out. What's even more impressive is this is actually made from aluminum, so it's lightweight, easy to handle and you know, it's not going to rust, so it's going to last a long time and we're going to be able to use it, put it to work for whatever we may need to do.What's pretty cool too on top of our crossbars, we're going to have these adjustable load locks.
So these can really come in handy. Say if you have some lumber up here and want to keep it secure, other than your traditional straps, it's going to kind of go the extra mile. We're able to loosen up those knobs, put some pressure against it and tighten on that load lock. So for me, that just gave me a little more peace of mind, knowing all my cargo is secure up here. And since the crossbars have these T-tracks here, what you're able to do is use other different types of accessories in this T-track, so it kind of opens up your options.And let's just say, for example, you don't want to use these load locks.
Say if they're in the way, you can actually loosen it up and pop them out, so really does give you a ton of different options on how you're able to use your roof rack and other accessories. So it's pretty nice to a lot of times, whenever you put these ladder racks on your truck, you lose some of your tie-down points or your anchors. And what's pretty cool is Thule actually decided to put a cleat here on her upright, so it's really solid and gives us that additional tie-down point that really does come in handy. And let's say, for example, you really only plan on hauling or using your ladder rack for very long loads. Like our customer today, they actually on a lumberyard, and so that's really what they plan on doing. Well, if that is the case, you can make life a little bit easier by picking up the cantilever, which is an additional part that'll bolt right up to this, and what that does is actually extend your rack up over the cab of your truck, so definitely gives you a little more room and space to haul more stuff.And you're not going to have to worry about pushing these too far towards the front of the truck and hitting your cab because there are a little bump stops here, so that'll stop you from having an accident. What's really cool about this setup too, is that it's made from aluminum, so it's going to be really lightweight and manageable, and better yet, we're not going to have to worry about it rusting out, so it's really going to last a long time, so you get a lot of use out of it. It's going to have a dual stage powder coat finish, so it's really going to do a great job of keeping everything protected and looking good.And honestly, I think it would take a lot to beat this thing up, so should stay looking good and lasting for a very long time. So one of the big questions we get asked all the time in regards to this ladder rack system is if you're going to be able to use a tonneau over with it. Well, sometime tonneau covers will work and others won't, and the way you can kind of find that out is if the tonneau cover actually gets secured to the inside of your bed, I would say, chances are pretty good. It'll probably work out. Now, I can't be certain for every single one of them, but there is a couple that I do know work for sure. We've had them in the shop with this tonneau cover and this ladder rack combination. And the two that we do know work is the BAK revolver X2 and X4.So if you're looking to keep your stuff inside of your bed protected and still have a ladder rack, that's a great choice to go to. So our base rails here are going to get installed on top of our bed rails, and they're going to utilize the stake pockets to secure them. So what's nice about that is there's no drilling or anything required, but we have had some customers wonder how strong that really is because it's just a rubber block that is attached to a bolt that goes down into that stake pocket. So I can understand that concern, you might think it doesn't do a good job of keeping everything tight, but it actually works out really well. And just to show you I'll grab the end here, right where it is secured. And if I pull up on it, as hard as I can, it doesn't even budge.So with that in mind, I don't see giving me any issues as far as getting loose or having any problems down the road. So at the end of the day, a really nice ladder rack, that's going to get the job done. And because of its design, what's really cool about it is you can kind of grow into it if you need to. You can use it for other accessories. Say, if you want to go on a trip on the weekend, maybe throw some kayaks up here, something like that. And if you have to get that extra cantilever that extends this all the way to the cab of your truck. So it's one you really can't go wrong with. Now, as far as the installation goes, it's really not too bad. There's no crazy modifications or anything like that, so you shouldn't have any trouble getting it done at home and your garage, or maybe even in the driveway. And that'll finish up our look at of the line of Thule TracRac SR sliding ladder racks.
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Dustin K
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Chris R
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Ryan G
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