Best Bed Racks for 2016–2023 Toyota Tacoma: 5 Fit-Checked Picks for Rooftop Tents and Gear

The GoRack is RealTruck's own overland rack, and on paper it covers more of what a Tacoma owner needs than anything else here. It is a mid-height design, which puts a rooftop tent close to the cab roofline and keeps the truck easier to park. The side rails are aluminum extrusions with T-slots on all four sides, so awnings, lights and recovery boards bolt on without drilling. MOLLE panels on the sides take smaller gear, and the crossbars are adjustable heavy-duty steel. RealTruck rates it at 1,000 lb static and 600 lb dynamic, the highest pair on this page.

The mounting is the other reason to pick it. RealTruck says it mounts to the bed's stake pockets or utility rail, or to any bed cover with a T-slot style rail system. That means you can run it over a railed cover such as the RetraxPRO XR and keep the bed closed and locked under the tent. RealTruck lists it from $1,089.99 with a limited lifetime warranty. The Amazon listing names the 2016–2024 Tacoma, but the product page doesn't publish the rack's height or which hardware ships for the Tacoma, so confirm those details and your bed length before ordering.

The Rough Country is the cheapest rack here with a published static and dynamic rating, and the numbers are respectable for a midsize truck: 750 lb static and 400 lb dynamic. It is powder-coated aluminum with molded end caps and T-slot covers, and Rough Country offers it in more than one rack height through a configurable listing. This Amazon listing is the half-height version for the 2005–2023 Tacoma, which sits lower than a mid-height tent rack and keeps rear visibility. Rough Country's page lists the rack from $479.95.

Read the fitment notes closely. Rough Country says the rack only fits the 5 ft bed, so 6 ft Access Cab and long-bed Double Cab owners should skip it. It also says the rack does not fit trucks with tri-fold or retractable bed covers. The install uses nutserts, and Rough Country recommends its 10583 nutsert tool. Nutserts sit in holes, so check the install instructions to see where they go before you order if you want an untouched bed. For a short-bed Tacoma without a cover, it is the best value on this page.

Thule's Xsporter Pro is a ladder-style rack, and the XK4 kit is what makes it fit the 3rd-gen Tacoma's bed properly. Etrailer lists the XK4 for the 2016–2023 Tacoma and describes it as 8 clamps and 8 screws that replace the Xsporter Pro's standard clamps and slide into the Tacoma's factory bed-rail tracks. Nothing is cut or drilled, and the kit works with the SecureLock clamp covers that come with the Xsporter Pro. Etrailer lists the kit at $119.95, with a 4.9 out of 5 rating from 49 reviews.

The kit fits the original Xsporter Pro (TH500XT) and the TracONE, so buy it alongside that rack, which is listed separately on Amazon. We couldn't read Thule's current capacity and height figures for that rack, so check the rack listing for both before you plan a tent on it. Thule's newer Xsporter Pro Shift, which RealTruck lists at 18 in tall with a 600 lb capacity and a limited lifetime warranty, is a different product, and the pages we read don't say whether the XK4 fits it. For bikes, kayaks, lumber and ladders on a Tacoma, this is the tidiest no-drill mount.

Most Tacoma racks are built around the 5 ft bed, which leaves 6 ft owners with fewer choices. This Hooke Road rack is listed for the 2005–2025 Tacoma with the 6 ft bed and the 2007–2023 Tundra. At 18.8 in tall it is a full-height design that puts a rooftop tent at or above the cab roof and leaves the most room underneath for a fridge, bins or a spare. Hooke Road's own site describes it as an 18.8 in high truck bed rack for 05–23 Tacoma 6 ft beds, and it features a customer review from an owner who carried a rooftop tent on it for a road trip.

The trade-offs come with the height and with the thinner spec sheet. A full-height rack catches more wind, so expect more noise and a taller truck for parking garages. Hooke Road's pages don't give a static and dynamic rating the way RealTruck and Rough Country do, so read the listing for the rated capacity before loading a tent with people in it. Confirm the price and whether the clamps work with your bed-rail track on the listing.

A low rack is the right tool if the load is bikes, kayaks, boards or a basket rather than a tent. This Hooke Road rack is listed at 11.5 in for the 2005–2023 Tacoma, low enough to stay well below the cab roof, which keeps wind noise and overall height down. That also leaves the cab roof free if you plan to add a roof rack later for a second set of crossbars.

The limits are the same as with most budget racks. The listing is the main source of specs, and we didn't find a published static and dynamic rating on Hooke Road's site, so read the rated capacity on the listing and treat it as a cargo rack unless the numbers support a tent. At 11.5 in, a rooftop tent would sit only just above the bed rails, which leaves little room to reach into the bed under it. Check which bed length the listing covers before you order, because the 3rd-gen Tacoma's 5 ft and 6 ft beds differ by more than a foot.