How to Properly Load a Bed Rack: Weight Distribution Guide

Carrying or towing gear on a truck requires a certain level of maturity and attention to detail. Why? Because if the load is not properly distributed, you could run into some issues.

There is an element of determining the difference between your trucks payload (what your truck can hold in total, from cabin, to bed) and your bed racks capacity.  Understanding your truck's capability is imperative to keep your rig rolling. 

This concept becomes particularly important when off-roading, due to the often intense environments that you will encounter, or more likely, subject your rig to. Those factors are speed, pitch (incline), roll (tilt), and the added weight of the supplies you're carrying. 

In this article, we'll offer our recommendations for weight distribution. 

Step 1 - Understand your trucks payload and towing capacity 

There are a few different ways to accomplish this. The fastest way would be to identify your payload limit, check the sticker on the driver side door - known as the tire and loading information sticker. 

It will say something like "the combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed xxxx LB's" - this is a great starting point. 

Payload is essentially everything that your truck can carry - including you. 

The towing capacity is a different story - this is how much your truck can pull. Since the trailer is supporting the weight of the contents, you can tow a lot more than you can carry. 

The important thing if you're hauling a trailer is to understand your trucks towing capacity as it relates to it's payload. 

An important metric to be aware of is often defined as tongue weight and it's the driving force behind trailer stability. 

If you have too little tongue weight, that means that too much weight is in the rear of the trailer, causing the tongue of the trailer (the forward most "neck" of the trailer) to pull up on the hitch. This is particularly dangerous as it will cause the trailer to sway while you're underway. 

If you have too much tongue weight, that means that the trailer is frontloaded, causing your front wheels to lift up, reducing your braking and steering capabilities.

To solve this problem, either consult a professional, or buy a tongue weight scale, which would sit under the trailer jack. If you have a newer Ford or Chevy, there is a chance that this technology is already built into the hitch and can be accessed on your infotainment screen. 

Step 2 - Know the Difference between Static and Dynamic Weights 

First, lets start with a working definition of each. Static load is defined as your trucks ability to hold weight sitting still, or in a static position. 

Dynamic load relates to your truck when you're driving. Your truck, or truck's bed rack static load capability will always be higher than it's dynamic load capability.

These could also be called parked (static) or driving (dynamic) loads. 

These numbers are especially important if you're going to be doing any sort of off-roading, as the load considerations should be taken more and more seriously, due to the extra forces imparted on your truck when you're off-roading. 

If you're going to be carrying a Roof Top Tent on a bed rack, the general rule of thumb is that the lower the center of gravity, the less dynamic force you'll be imparting on the bedside. A cab height RTT will be top heavy, which in part will cause more stress on the bed rack and consequently the bed sides.

The size and weight of the RTT will also increase the dynamic forces on the bed side, so only splurge on that King size if you truly need the extra space.

All of this leads us to our next point.....

Step 3 - Keep Heavy Gear Low and Centered 

If you're going to be hauling heavy gear, the first consideration would be where to store said heavy gear. The most ideal space would be in a trailer that you're pulling, to reduce stress on the truck's payload capability. If that's not an option the next best option would be in the bed itself. 

If you absolutely need to haul the heavy gear on a bed rack, a bed rack that is lower to the bed is always going to preferred.

BillieBars Low Profile Bed Rack is rated to 400 lbs dynamic and 800 lbs static loads and only sits 5" or 8" above the bed rail, making it ideal for hauling heavy RTT's or heavy cargo. 

If you're going to be hauling a spare tire, the most ideal place again would be in the bed itself. That can tend to eat up quite a bit of bed space, leaving less room for life's essentials - coolers for food and drinks, etc. 

We don't personally sell a spare tire mount kit, but we do have quite a few customers running spare tires on our low profile bed rack, due to the variable spacing that we offer (no fixed spacing required, like almost every other bed rack on the market).

Below is a photo of just that - shoutout to @hdnstrd for the awesome photo. 

Some other best practices include: 

• keep the heaviest gear near the cab, where there is more structural integrity
• keep the weight between the bed rails and avoid overhanging loads
• balance your load, left to right - having too much weight in one direction or another

Step 4 - Secure Everything Properly 

This may seem like an obvious one, but making sure all your belongings are properly secured and tied down is a very important step. Otherwise, you're going to have a stressful drive worrying about something flying off or heaven forbid - something actually does fly off. 

From a BillieBars standpoint, we offer a few products that help with a couple of scenarios, outlined below.

• Mounting a Roof Top Tent - we have a HD RTT clamps that are form fitted for our crossbars, creating a sturdy method for securing your RTT
• Tie Down points - if you're running a tonneau cover, you'll loose the tie down points in the bed of your truck - our tie down kits allow to you to create a tie down point anywhere on our crossbars 
  • ideal for kayaks, or cargo 
• Mounting on molle panels - if you need more room for cargo, outside of the bed rack and the bed itself, our molle panels offer an extra dimension of storage 

Outside products that would be helpful include: 

• heavy duty rachet straps - if you're going to haul kayaks, this is a must 
  • be careful to avoid strap fatigue over time 
• quick fists - they're great for shovels, axes and other smaller items that you may need to access quickly
• decked system - this system allows for secure storage in your bed 

Our bed racks offer a high safety factor, outlined here. 

Common Weight Distribution Mistakes 

• overloading one crossbar or section of your bed rack
  • make sure that your weight load is equally distributed across all crossbars or sections of your bed rack 
• mounting all accessories to one side of your truck
  • if you have one side of your truck loaded up, try to add something of equal weight to the other side to balance things out 
• don't forget about wind resistance affecting weight distribution 
  • most of our racks are below cab height but if you're running a cab height rack, be aware that there will be wind resistance if you're running a RTT up top
• ignoring suspension limits 
  • going back to step one, above, make sure your truck can handle what you are about to ask it to do

Frequently Asked Questions 

How much can a midsize truck handle? 

Your typical mid size truck (your Toyota Tacoma's, Nissan Frontiers, Chevy Colorado's etc) are going to be capable of a payload between 1400 and 1700 lbs. Remember, as the driver you'll be part of that payload - so factor in your weight into the equation. If you're running an overland setup, below is a rough weight outline 

• 2 passengers - 400 lbs 
  
• BillieBars Low Profile Bed Rack - 50 lbs 
• 2 BillieBars Molle panels - 20 lbs 
• 1 Roam RTT - 150 lbs 
• 2 Bike mounts and full bikes - 50 lbs 
• misc cargo and supplies in the bed and cab - 500 lbs 
• TOTAL - 1170 LBS 

Can overloading damage my truck bed?

The short answer, is yes. The construction of a bed side is strong to a point. You can crack the bed side, which would be the connection between the vertical side wall and the bottom of the truck. If you're going to be doing some heavy off-roading, we'd strongly recommend adding bed stiffeners, to strengthen this connection. 

Is it safe to sleep on a Roof Top Tent on a bed rack? 

Absolutely. Almost any bed rack should allow you to comfortably add an RTT, a few people and or dogs. It's safe and being off the ground and away from ground water and critters is always an added benefit! 

How do I calculate total added weight? 

You can do it manually by looking at the manufacturer's specs on everything you added (like in the example above).

If you're going hardcore and every pound matters, we'd recommend going on a CAT scale before adding anything to your truck, and after and subtracting the difference.

We hope this helps - if you have any questions, please give us a call! 

Most importantly, Get out there and Go!