I have a 2016 Z71 Colorado. It's impossible to find a quality rack that isn't several thousands of dollars.
I constructed a rack for the bed of my truck using 1 1/2" tubular steel (.08g) for the vertical and side to side posts. I then used the same gage, but 1" steel for the 4 cross bars (front to back). I welded deep to ensure lots of structural strength, but also to allow me to grind the exterior joints flush and to rhino line them as well. I made the vertical posts with a 20 degree angle to allow them to taper to match the cab of the truck and then I made them stick 6" into the post holes on each of the 4 corners of the truck. I welded Angle iron on the part of the post that it even with the bed rail (only a 4" section of angle iron) to allow it to fit snugly against the bed rail. I then drilled 1x holes in each of the posts and bed posts using a 3/8 bit and secured with a 3/8 sleeve anchor. The sleeve anchors don't come back out easily and they're $1 at lowes, so if I remove it I'll just cut them.. with this said, I ground the ends of the anchors flush to the nut used to tighten them and placed a small bead of weld to eliminate their ability to slip and then Rhino Lined them to match the bed of my truck.
I have stress tested this rack off of the truck (in case it broke I'd rather it hit ground than a $40k truck). It held 950 lbs without strain. Once anchored in the truck I attached a ceiling hoist to the rear of the rack and managed to gain 4" of vertical height in the suspension before calling it a success.
Needless to say, it was a fun day-long project and it saved me $1,000+. Total cost of materials to include steel and rhino line was under $150. Thank you Amazon for free shipping on tubular steel!
Hope this helps! (And yes, the color of my truck did change. GM did a new vehicle replacement due to a warranty issue with my silver one.)
