A buddy of mine sold his 2011 4-door f150 and gave me the headache rack, and I got the Line-X put on at Ranch Hand in San Antonio. The bed liner is way better than expected and the headache rack looks pretty damn good! Got to find a tool box to go with it!

 

dumb question but what the hell is a headache rack?

 

its the rack thats behind the rear window.

 

Not a fan of the looks, but I'm sure it's functional and if you use it then it's great.

 

I get that but what does this rack do? Is there a funtion to it or is it just for looks?

 

Both......looks and hauling........most of the trucks I see use it for looks.......

Its main purpose is for rear window protection and having additional tie down places also depending on its configured the bed lips are protected.....

 

thats what i thought but wasnt sure. looks like a good place to put some forward facing spotlights or reverse lights. also looks like it wouldnt take up nearly the space a roll bar would.

 

The name "Headache Rack" means when you haul stuff, nothing will break the back window and give you a "Headache" when it hits you in the back of the head.

Here's an example...



Me and my buddies make a trip 1-2 times a month to the Padre Island National Seashore for surf fishing. We take kayaks out there to deploy shark baits. If you've ever been there, you know that the high banks can make for an extremely bumpy ride. My friend had his kayak in the back of his truck tied down securely, but sure enough it slammed into the back window and the rest is history.

I have a ranch in South Texas and the convenience of this thing is amazing when tying down whatever it is that you need. As far as the way it looks right now, I would say it just looks incomplete. Once I get that tool box and front and rear bumpers to complement it, it will look a lot better. Either way, I dont use my truck to cruise the malls so I could care less whether it looks "Pretty" or not.

 

mine started as a headache rack since my bed is 5.5 and kayak is 11.5 but then added to it jus so i can have my bed and throw the kayaks up top

 

Man that is awesome! I have wanted to make something similar to that for my kayak. If you attach some rod holders to that rack then it will make for a perfect shark tower. I am still toying with some ideas but the lack of proper tools makes it hard. Looks great though!

 

if you want ill see if i still have the plans for it on my computer...its strong enough for me and 3 buddies and light enough i can take it off and on by myself...since those pics ive added a basket up top and lookin for some expanded metal for a floor

 

That would be great if you could. how does it come on and off? is it bolted to the sides?

 

yea bolted to the bed rails with angle iron for the feet at the ends of the legs

 

X2, even though i have heard alot of people say they protect the cab in a roll over accident...

 

There's a pic of my '02 in another thread that shows a different, (SS), headache rack. I think it's in MikeF150's "10 yr anniversary" thread?