So after several years of nervously living with what I feel was a substandard method of attaching my TracRac to the Tundra, I finally got around to fabricating a failsafe method of attachment.
However, before I reveal the method I’d like to explain the problem and that it does not lie with TracRac but with Toyota’s stake pocket design. Normally when using rubber expansion blocks for securing items to your stake pockets the rubber expansion block mushrooms like a well nut in order to provide a “lip” to catch underneath the stake pocket lip ( a sort of rubber washer). However, you can see in the picture below that Toyota’s wonderful engineers poorly designed their stake pockets in that only one of the 4 sides of the stake pocket has an available lip. Clearly visible is the outermost side of the stake pocket and how the wall of the stake pocket is well inside the truck bed rail preventing anything from being able to catch underneath its lip.

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/2/4/1/1/0/p6210007.jpg

So the only thing holding in the rubber expansion blocks was the “friction fit” on the sides of the rubber block and LUCKILY the RETRAX bed rail which was bolted down over the top of it. IMPORTANT NOTE- IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A RETRAX OR SIMILAR BEDCOVER WITH RAILS OVER THE STAKE POCKETS THERE IS REALLY NOTHING HOLDING YOUR LADDER RACK UNIT IN!!!!!!!!

So the idea was to provide a method of securing the TracRac rails by bolting them into a permanent fixture inside the stake pocket. So out came the digital calipers and detailed measurements of Toyota’s stake pocket. I thought it would be an easy measurement of height, width and depth. However, you will see that Toyota designed their stake pockets to flare out at the top. The measurements I came up with were 1.46” X 1.96” and height will vary depending on your set up but mine were 6.35”. Although as you will see the height does not need to be exact as you can have a shorter block placed in at the proper height and mark the horizontal side bolt at the proper level to hold it. There is no need to have the block resting on the bottom of the stake pocket as there is no weight on the block as all the weight is on the bed rail..

So here are the pics of the finished product and the install

Aluminum blocks used to provide definitive attachment to the truck

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/2/4/1/1/0/al_block_close.jpg

Picture of intermediate dry fit install

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/2/4/1/1/0/partial_rail_install.jpg

This is why expansion blocks are a bad idea with Toyota Stake pockets (in 2004 DC's at least)

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/2/4/1/1/0/p7040014.jpg

A complete line of pictures detailing the install with explanations can be found in my photo gallery here (http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/browseimages.php?c=2095)

I do not have a TracRac, but, do appreciate the nice writeup and detail. Should be helpful to people to know.

I haven't had my Trac Rac long on my truck but it seems very stable and attached on mine. Don't have all the details that you do in yours, but I've loaded mine down alot here lately as business has been picking up and I don't notice any flex or movement in the rails.

I do like the right up though. May have to pop it off and do something similar to what you did.

I haven't had my Trac Rac long on my truck but it seems very stable and attached on mine. Don't have all the details that you do in yours, but I've loaded mine down alot here lately as business has been picking up and I don't notice any flex or movement in the rails.

I do like the right up though. May have to pop it off and do something similar to what you did.

Yes initially mine was rock solid too!!! I could hang off the rack if I wanted and no movement....but remember it is rubber and rubber oxidizes and looses its elasticity and eventually fails...and you need to keep tightening those screws to assure it maintins its pressure against the stake pocket walls....I never had huge loads on the rack...maybe 100lbs of kayaks....But the fact remains if you have say sheets of ply strapped down it now become a sail and the force at highway speeds can likely cause it to pull out if you don't keep up on pressure.....NOW THE WORRIESOME PART

after a few years (going on 5 yrs with mine)...the rubber had deformed asymmetrically to fill the side without and stake pocket wall and towards the outside of the truck AND the bottom cracked 1/2 way thru...once it cracks all the way thru you now will loose any pressure provided by the brass washer (which would be on the bottom of this rubber block) and thus an UNSECURED TracRac!!!....to me thats a scary proposition because if it flys off YOU are responsible for the damage, death or destruction you cause behind you....thus the reason I wanted a PERMANENT mounting option......

http://www.tundrasolutions.com/gallery/files/2/4/1/1/0/cracked_tracrac-block.jpg

It may be all fine and well for a year or two but I HIGHLY recommend an alternate method of permanent attachment for Toyota owners....this is not a problem for other trucks whose stake pockets provide a stake pocket lip underneath the rail...then there is no need to apply so great of pressure to the block to maintain the subpar friction fit.

If you are using it for work and large loads I suggest you seriously consider this if you don't have a bedcover rail to assist as a lip to hold the rubber block in!!!!!

I am an outside salesman for a lumber company, so my racks are heavily loaded one day(500+ lbs), and not loaded the next. Depends on who is screaming the worst at that point in time.

I'm not much of a custom fab guy with bigger things like that but your warnings do make sense. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on mine now. (Installed less than two months currently)