05+ Tacoma bed rail reinforcement

Scroll down here and you will see a couple pics

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/relentless-fabrication/96238-other-relentless-fab-products.html

I'm bored too

 

Solid idea. Does it take much to remove the bed rails?

 

There is a screw in the front and a body clip in the rear or I have that mixed up. Remove both. Then pull strait up. It's so simple a drunken monkey could do it.

 

Be careful putting a lot of weight on the bed rails. They're not strong at all. The composite bed comes up vertical and the steel bed wraps around inside. There isn't any reinforcing between the steel and the composite. This is the result of using a tire carrier on the bedside.

Thread

 

So are you filling the bedsides with the caulking, or just putting a layer to prevent rust due to the plastic caps?

 

Bed rail reinforcement by taking hollow plastic and turning it into a solid so it disperses weigh better.

 

Okay, so the plastic bed rail was filled with caulking, making it solid? Not actually caulkimg the metal of the bedsides.

sorry, interested in reinforcing and want to understand what to do.

edit: im stupid just read the directions over....thanks again

 

Has anyone tried putting some kind of material (pond liner?) to soak up some dead space requiring less chalk? Or perhaps another idea? I'm getting a bed cap next week and this has me worries!!

 

No idea how you would cut pond liner to work, but I'd love to see a different approach.


You should be worried - that's a good deal of weight. Good luck.

 

How long did your method it take to cure? Have you noticed any discolored run off from when it gets wet? Black drips?

 

Idk..about cure time. I never kept track.

Dow 795 won't discolor or cause color drips. I've had black on my white fender in the sun and weather for years around my snorkel.

 

I don't mean to revive an old informative thread, but the pictures are not loading on the first page. Anyone know why? I am trying to do this and would like to see pics.

 

Link rot. And thread op is gone. There is nothing you can do but try and search out new pics. Or just pull off the caps and improvise.

 

Link Rot... will TW warranty that or am I stuck with it like a GM or Ford?

 

Crom... did you do anything to protect your rails since you have the cap on?

 

I'm planning to get a cap at some point as well, was not aware of these bed rail issues with weight. Instead of caulking what about using some VHB tape or something similar? Maybe apply several layers?

$19 3M 4941 Very High Bond Conformable Acrylic Foam Tape, Double-Sided VHB Acrylic Adhesive, Liner, 45 mil Thick, Dark Grey, 1" Width, 5 Yard Roll

http://www.amazon.com/Conformable-A...d=1463011472&sr=1-2&keywords=3m+4941+vhb+tape

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Unabashed thread rivivalist? Filling the voids seems a good idea but it might do a better job of rust prevention if you go ahead and bond them to the metal and eliminate the movement that rubs the paint off. Do a prefill w/resin to create a uniform thickness and reduce shrinkage volume then squirt it with silicone or vhb and stick it on. Mask the bed wall before removing them(need to do that anyway if you repaint) and any squeeze out is easily removed.

 

I'm getting ready to put a cap on and plan to use butal tape. That's what they use in RVs to seal and protect parts, and it won't ever get hard. It may not be the best for smaller point loads like a rack system, but for a cap, I'm thinking it will work well and keep water from splashing up and into the bed at those holes.