Reviews: Smittybilt Contractors Truck Bed Racks

Just wanted to let you folks know how happy we are with our contractors rack I purchased as a chirstmas present this year. The workmanship that went into this rack surpassed any of our expectations. Installation instructions were clear, mounting instructions were clear and BOY!!! does it ever look great. I will highly recommend this rack for anybody who maybe lookig for one. Also.. the price was absoutly astounding!! For the quality, i couldn't find it better anywhere!!..once again....Thanks very much

Needs to welded to cut down on the squeaking from the nuts a bolts

I bought this rack primarily to haul a canoe for camping trips with my young sons. I drive a 2005 Ford F-150 with a 6ft. bed. The assembly was pretty easy, ~1hr. with a little help from my wife to hold parts in place as I worked the wrenches. Loading the rack onto the truck was a bit tedious. It'll take 2 or 3 adults to hoist the rack onto your truck bed. I like the "J-hook" feature since I won't use this rack every day. I have a drop-in plastic bed liner and that did make the J-hook latching area too tight in some areas. I did bend the lip of the bed rail a little but it's hard to notice with the pastic rail cap. Due to the added height with the rack, I found that I can no longer get into parking garages so I had to remove the rack until we use it again. I do wish the rack had a mid-section disconnect so one person could handle the removal. It doesn't but my wife & I managed okay. But, it's heavy & bulky in whole. I finally weight tested the rack on the highway Thanksgiving weekend. Hauled a 16ft. canoe plus other long gear (~200lbs.) on a 5 hour drive on the interstate with top speeds at 75-80mph. Everything stayed secure and stable. All in all, a good buy so far.

My biggest complaint is the instructions. They seemed a bit dated, pictures hard to view, parts list not matching actual parts. It would have helped if the exact wrench sizes would have been listed. This is definitly a 2 person job. It really increases the height of a mid-size truck (2005 dodge dakota quad cab). Friends have complemeted the beefyness and it looks cool. Its definitly not your ordinary contractors rack. My only wish is that it set closer to the top of my trucks cab. Thanks for a well built rack for the cost.

The instructions were not updated with the bolt kit that comes with the rack. That said, Smitttybilt (Ray, specifically) was very helpful and straightened the situation out immediately. This rack is a steal at [$], noone believes that it didn't cost 3X that!! buy one before they figure out they can double the price.