Adding L-Track in Cargo Van

[jeff_beast]

I plan to add L-Track to my cargo bed (2022, XLT, LWB) from left to right near the back (probably just a few inches in from the plastic trim piece at the end).  The purpose is to carry mountain bikes that attach to Fork mounts that attach to L-Track.  I'd like to use the flanged L-Track which sits ~0.5" deep.  I'd cut the vinyl/rubber floor mat making a ~1.5" channel that the flanged L-Track would sit in.  I'm a bit nervous about cutting the mat as there's no going back.  Some questions I'm hoping someone knows the answers too:

  

  1. Has anyone done something like this before?

  2. How thick is the mat (will I have the 0.5" I need for the L-Track to sit in?)?  A bit deeper is fine as I can shim it, but less than 0.5" would be a problem.

  3. What would be the best method to screw the L-Track down to the metal bed?

  4. Does the mat cut cleanly with a utility knife?

[windguy]

@jeff_beast - Good that you are asking these questions.

 

Plenty of forumites over the years have added different bike mounting solutions. Best to search (upper right corner of page) for what they have done and PM them for more info rather than taking advice from someone that hasn't even come close to doing so but pretends to be an expert on all subject matter. 

 

The three pictures posted above are not this posters. The first two are from my van modifications. The third I'm sure if from another forumite.

 

I don't know for sure, but I'm assuming the cargo area in my 2015 and your 2022 are the same, even though there were some body style changes made to the Gen 2 around 2019. Kind of like a Gen2-2.0.

 

I removed the entire cargo mat. The surface on mine was tacky, which drove me crazy. I replaced it with a sheet of 5/8-3/4" plywood and then carpeted that surface. It's worked out nicely for my use but I do put a tarp on top to capture salt water and sand from beach use. It's easy to remove the tarp and shake off the sand. I can see how having a waterproof liner for bikes would be useful. The mat has a foam liner glued to the bottom that fills the voids in the deck of the cargo area. I separated the foam sheet from the vinyl mat and put the foam sheet back. Provides insulation and noise abatement. I also added two layers of sound proofing to the entire deck (kilmat type stuff). Walls, door and ceiling areas too.

 

As I recall, the mat does cut easily with a regular utility knife with a new blade, obviously.

 

Below are pics of what the bare deck looks like. There are existing threaded holes but those are up front for the 2nd row seats that Ford had installed for import purposes only.

 

Lastly, I would highly recommend creating a storage space in the passenger foot well area behind the front seats. Very useful for cargo vans. to make use of this space.

 

 

Edited October 26, 2022 by windguy
added content

[Chip]

OP wants to mount L track at the “back” of the van, right? Seems like that would be right inside the rear doors or liftgate, so the passenger footwell doesn’t come into play. 
 

I do think between the vinyl mat and foam insulation beneath the mat, there is a half inch thickness he can cut out, and a utility knife will cut the material. I suggest lifting the mat up and putting something under the mat so as not to drag the knife on the metal floor. I’ve also used a red-hot putty knife to cut through thicker areas, but the utility knife can do it.
 

What’s under the floor, I don’t know. I’m reluctant to make new holes that penetrate to the exterior of the van due to concerns about rust- and weather-proofing. Suggest discovering what’s under there prior to screwing down the L track. An alternative to screwing could be using epoxy to secure the L channel.

[jeff_beast]

@windguy Thank you very much for the reply.  The picture of the bare deck is very helpful.  Do you recall what the total thickness was (mat + foam liner) to the high points in the deck?   I need ~0.5" (more is fine) for the flanged L-Track to sit flush with the mat.  Is there anything between the bare deck and the underside of the van?  Just curious if it would be better to secure the L-Track with stainless bolts and nuts/washers on the underside of the van or use some sort of pop rivet. 

[jeff_beast]

@Chip Yes, the L-Track would go near the back by the rear doors.  Is there anything holding down the mat other than just it's own weight?  It seems like the back plastic trim piece goes over it and it's not clear to me how that comes off (I don't see any screws).  Epoxying it on may be tough since there's only a few ribs that would be high points.  If I was screwing it down I could shim the low points.

[windguy]

13 hours ago, jeff_beast said:

@windguy Thank you very much for the reply.  The picture of the bare deck is very helpful.  Do you recall what the total thickness was (mat + foam liner) to the high points in the deck?   I need ~0.5" (more is fine) for the flanged L-Track to sit flush with the mat.  Is there anything between the bare deck and the underside of the van?  Just curious if it would be better to secure the L-Track with stainless bolts and nuts/washers on the underside of the van or use some sort of pop rivet. 

 

Sorry, it's been something like five years since I removed the mat. Don't recall much about it at this point.

As I said before, it would be best to search this forum to find other bikers that have installed racking inside the cargo area. There has been a few as I recall.

 

I did a quick web search on L-Track and found the link below. In my mind, I can see installing the L-Track on some type of bracket or wood surface rather than directly to the deck. This is what these folks did with their install so it has some merit to scope out. Good luck!

https://radvanadventures.com/2017/01/28/diy-campervan-project-interior-bike-storage-using-l-track/

 

 

[jeff_beast]

Attached is what I came up with.

[Chip]

Looks like it works! Are the fork mounts attached to L track? Not what I expected L track to look like. Do you have the mounting board attached to the van?

[jeff_beast]

Yes, the Fork mounts are attached to the L-Track.  They can be moved/removed without any tools.  These particular ones can be tilted forward or back so bikes can be put side by side very close together without the handle bars hitting each other.  This is flanged L-Track that sits in a dado in the wood (which is a heavy piece of solid core door).  I haven't mounted it to the van yet (it doesn't slide around just with regular driving and there's really nowhere for it to go with a bike on it), but I will attach it to the side using a bolt in a rivnut.

[Chip]

Glad to know about the L channel.

 

I originally tried a quick and dirty fork mount for carrying a bike. It didn’t work well at all and the bike would crash over during left turns. The bike clamp mounted to the side wall is way better, and your slab-mounted fork clamps look pretty solid, too.

 

photo shows my first try

[Don Ridley]

I love the industrial look and function of the L-track. But I hate removing the front wheel to transport my bikes. This is even worse now that all MTB and road bikes have disc brakes and thru axles. I have a more traditional, and expensive, solution that uses a Thule roof mount sytem with some modification. I bolted the parts to a plate and secured it with rivnuts and thumbwheel bolts. This works well since I mainly use my bikes on local rides and not as part of a camper build. This sytem barely works with my MTB in my SWB Transit Connect. I had to use a foam block to secure the bike via the top tube. Plus the MTB (with wheel attached) barely fits in the shorter wheelbase van.

 

There is probably a better quick-release solution for securing the plate other than the thumbwheel bolts.

 

 

 

Edited December 3, 2022 by Don Ridley