1. What types of racks does System One® make?

We make heavy, aluminum commercial racks for contractors and utility companies. They are all our own, proprietary designs and incorporate many truly new concepts that solve many old long-standing problems. Ladder racks are available for pick up trucks, vans, service bodies, enclosed bodies and trailers, -- basically all commercial types of trucks. We don't make a "one size fits all" in any of our racks - we make the right rack for your truck. We don't skimp on materials and we provide more value in materials than any other rack system out there.

2. How are your racks sized?

We don't make a "one size fits all". A "one size fits all" rack is great for the manufacturer and it's great for the distributor and the retailer but it's definitely not great for you. Trucks vary in bed length, in overall length, in cab/bed combinations, in height, in width; many beds taper, others do not. The fact that our racks are modular means that we can, by supplying the right combination of components, outfit just about every truck manufactured with our in-stock components and it will fit and look right.

We can make what we call "semi custom" racks. We can't vary the profile of our extrusions, but we can certainly vary the length. We have the ability to alter our racks in a variety of ways and we have come up with some great solutions to a number of different cargo carrying challenges. With a few calculations we can determine how to make the rack you need, and we usually have it cut and shipped the same day. Custom cuts are no problem in our shop and we do them every day, usually for no extra charge. You will definitely like our flexibility in helping you with your custom applications.

3. How did you come up with your design?

System One racks did not just "pop up", nor were they just "invented". All of our designs have been driven by function - not economy. Hundreds of hours of careful consideration have gone into the development, engineering and the tooling to make these racks - and we hope it shows.

During design and development we never accepted anything as "good enough". Instead we thought about things, puzzled over them, whittling design problems down to their most basic elements and then starting from there. You will find no "after thought" in our designs - they are fluid, and if problems arose, we went back to the beginning and fixed them there. We are proud of our product and we enjoy building it.

For the longer, more complete story, click on "about us".

4. What about tool box compatibility with System One? How are tool boxes installed on System One equipment?

System One equipment is made to mount toolboxes. Any kind of truck tool box can be mounted to our equipment. Crossover boxes, both full lid and gull wing style, top side and low side boxes are all compatible. Combinations of crossover and low side or top side boxes are also common.

Basically once a System One rack is mounted to the truck, no other holes ever need to be drilled into the truck or the rack. All equipment mounts directly to various T-slots in the System One rack.

Crossover boxes are the easiest to mount as they require no hangers or legs. You simply slide 2 5/16" carriage bolts into the recessed T-slot in the top surface of each trak so the threads are sticking up like studs. Then drill corresponding mounting holes in the box, set it down over the "studs" and secure it with nuts. Small packages of stainless steel carriage bolts are available for this purpose. Many contractors want their crossover boxes a little higher to provide more space in the bed below the box, so we supply a 3" crossover box lift kit. It is simply 2 pieces of 3" x 3" x 1/8" wall square aluminum tubing with pre punched holes to be used as spacers. 4" carriage bolts are supplied to be used in place of 1" carriage bolts.

Low-side and top-side/high-side boxes are also easy to mount and require no drilling into the truck bed rail or into the truck bed floor. Using our tool box hanger system you don't have to use the typical legs drilled into the floor of the truck bed. The advantages of this are tremendous. First, and most importantly, there are no legs to obstruct cargo in the bed area. Aside from simply losing cargo space, legs supporting tool boxes create a sheet goods problem. When mounting boxes, it is difficult to keep the legs more than 48" apart. Even if you can, sheet goods, especially sheet rock, are easily damaged while loading and unloading. Second, why penetrate the bed of the truck, especially if you have a liner? This just creates another place for rust to start - and it will rust. And, finally, it just plain takes longer to mount a box this way. Mounting boxes on a System One rack is simple, the front edge of the box mounts to the truck using 5/16 x 1" carriage bolts in the T-slot, and the rear of the box is suspended from above with our tool box hangers. Heavy ITS Gussets are needed when mounting top-side and low-side boxes as they have the proper T-slot to accept tool box hangers.

The most common length box used on 8' bed trucks with System One racks is 87". These boxes fit right in between the front and rear trusses of the rack. On trucks with 8' beds the space available in between front and rear trusses is 88 3/8" which works very nicely in most cases. 90" boxes can be accommodated by purchasing our extra-length traks. These traks provide 90 3/8" of space between trusses by extending an extra inch to the front and an extra inch to the rear. This extra length still keeps the rack within the confines of the truck bed itself so it doesn't hang out past the tailgate. For available space dimensions for various trucks, please consult our dimensions charts. Crossover and low-side box combinations work well with each other (check our dimensions chart for available space on the rack). The rear end of the low-side box is held by a tool box hanger and the front end of the box is bolted to the rear panel of the crossover box using an appropriate spacer between them.

A quick word about aluminum diamond plate tool boxes: Be advised that although they're all shiny, sheet metal thickness varies from .063" (1/16") to .080", to .100" to .125" (1/8") and many manufacturers use combinations of different thicknesses. They are all trying to make good boxes but they are also, to different degrees, driven by economy. Latches and the size of continuous hinges vary also.

Visit our Full Access Tool Box website at www.FullAccessToolBoxes.com.

5. Is System One Equipment expandable?

Pick up and service (utility) body racks are completely modular and so can be expanded step by step from the most basic components, (the Pick-up Trak or Utility Trak) all the way to Heavy Work Contractor Package. What's even better is that you can buy these as separate components, at different times, gradually building one on another, and when completed you will have spent the same amount of money that you would have if you had bought all the components at the same time. The same can be done with van and enclosed body racks, except to expand from a van utility rig to a van contractor rig would cost just a little more than if you had bought the contractor rig complete in the first place.

6. How are capacities rated? How can I compare capacities from one manufacturer to another?

Unfortunately you can't. There are no set standards for rating capacities. It would be nice to compare "apples to apples" but it can't be done because manufacturers utilize different methods. Some capacities listed are actually breaking or yield capacities, but most are simply a number determined by taking the breaking or yield capacity and dividing it by a certain safety factor. To be fair it's really quite impossible to quote a true capacity because it is a function of driving habits, road conditions and vehicle suspension.

7. Can I use your new Work Winch® Tie-down system on my older System One rack? What if I have a recently manufactured Standard Series rack?

It depends on how old the rack is. If it was purchased prior to April 1, 2000 it is difficult, although not impossible. You would have to buy the Heavy I.T.S. Gusset Package and the Work Winches, and then create new mounting holes in both the legs and the crossmembers. If your rack was purchased after April 1, 2000 and is currently a Standard Series (concealed gussets) then it's easy to convert to the Heavy I.T.S. gussets. The mounting holes are the same and all you need to do is switch the 4 gussets and the 4 braces.

8. How can I get a brochure?

We currently have a 18 page brochure and a 6 page price list. You can download to see or print our 18 page color brochure (click here) and you can download our price list here (click here). If you need Adobe PDF, it's easily downloaded and free (click here). You can fill out the information on our "request a brochure" page (click here). You can also just email us providing your name and address (click here). Finally, you can always call us directly at 1-800-627-9783 and request that a brochure and price list be sent to you.

9. How do I purchase factory direct?

You can buy from us directly, however if there is a dealer within a reasonable distance to you, we must send you there. We won't ship into our dealer's territories as we are not in competition with them.

If you're not near a dealer then we will ship directly to you. Most orders are shipped same day if you pay by credit card. We do not ship COD. If you call and place an order and wish to pay by money order, your order will ship the same day we receive it. You may pay using personal or business check but we must deposit it and wait until it clears before we can ship the order. Our prices are listed and downloadable under "Price List" and all prices are F.O.B. Pennington, New Jersey, in other words, shipping cost is additional. New Jersey residents must pay 7% sales tax.

10. What about shipping?

The vast majority of orders ship same day via UPS Ground. Large orders ship within a few days via motor freight. Freight is not included in our prices as all of our racks are shipping F.O.B. Pennington NJ.