bed tie downs

Has anyone added additional bed tie downs in the bed of the truck up next to cab or even on the sides of the bed? How did you mount them?

How strong are the tie down cleats in the bed rails? Anyone securing a motorcycle down to them?

 

Several have added them at the drain holes, I put a set at the Toyota preferred location. I don't know if I would trust a m/cycle or not. DO NOT buy the parts as replacement partsas they are expensive, buy the kit which contains 2 hooks, 2 nutted lock plates, instructions, tools required list, and template. Less than $20.00. Will post part number this evening, got an apointment to get to now.

 

Southeast Michigan, eh? Where at? I live in Jackson, and work in Ann Arbor...

 

I think that the cleats on the bed rails say that they are rated to a pulling load of 120 pounds. I'll look in the morning to confirm that.

I did install the extra D-rings in the bed. If you put them in the toyota specified location on the side of the bed it is a pain in the ass as it requires pulling the inner fender well according to their instructions (so you can reach the backing plate to hold it square while you are in the bed). If you put them in the drain holes as some people have done, you will run into a strengthening spine on the under side of the bed. Some people have advocated just cutting away the spine to use the factory backing plate, others said just use a medium size fender washer and forget the factory backing plate. Either of those solutions is half-assing it, IMHO, and removing or bypassing something that was put there for a reason, and there-by weakening the whole assembly.

However, if you drill between the outermost drain holes and the side of the bed on each side there is enough space to mount the D-rings without cutting any parts of the bed reinforcment away, and still have enough room to use the backing plate that Toyota supplies with the D-rings.

I'll take measurements and pictures of my install tomorrow if you'd like.

As far as supporting a motorcycle... I would say that it depends on the motorcycle. A 900 pound Harley Ultra Classic, I would definately say no. A 200-300 pound dirt bike or light sport bike should be fine I would think (though I accept no responsibility for the safety of your motorcycle should you follow my install and it doesn't hold) A typical 500-600 pound motorcycle, I should think that if you go with my install on the D-rings, use them in conjunction with the bed rail cleats, and secure it to the D-rings by the tail gate as well, then you should be fine, provided that you strap the bike correctly.

I'll get the pictures up of the D-rings tomorrow,

 

OK, I had meant to get this up earlier today, but it was raining this morning, and I chose to not go and crawl under my truck in the rain to take pictures.

OK I purchased the extra set of D-rings from toyotapartspeople.com, they had the best price I found @ $18.40 http://toyotapartspeople.com/SearchProduct.asp?Model=Tacoma&catid=3374291816783093&year=07&productdesc=D%2DRings+%2D+Tie+Downs

I then crawled under the truck with the backing plate that comes with the kit. After looking at my options, and realizing that the Toyota recomended "in the sidewall" install was not suited to my purpose, and that the "use the drain hole" method that I read about in a thread a while back would require cutting a piece of the bed structure away, I opted for my own option.

If you hold the backing plate up so that the center of the bolt is an inch and a quarter (1.25") to the outside of your drain hole and a quarter of an inch (.25") to the rear (toward the tailgate) it will fit perfectly flat on the underside of the bed, be in contact with the bed and provide the maximum strength possible from this kit and you'll still have your drain holes for when it rains. See photo.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=757&cat=500

(Note regarding the photo, the front of the bed and drain hole have been marked, also note that my backing plate is not square as I have described above. That is because I did the install alone, and used a screwdriver through the drain hole to keep the backing plate from spinning as I tightened it from above. You will need someone under the truck to hold the plate square while you tighten it down. I will fix that at some point when I have a set of helping hands, but right now all they do in my truck is keep my toolbox from sliding around so there is no load on mine to speak of.)

I then marked the hole with a pencil, struck the center of the mark with a cerntering punch, and then drilledthrough from the bottom up. (wear safety goggles.) Go back up top insert the D-ring and bolt assembly through the hole you just drilled, and then go back under and spin on the backing plate/nut untill it is lined up and hand tight. Repeat this procedure for the other side. Then go into the house find your wife/girlfriend/kid to come out and hold the wrench on the backing plate while you tighten the bolt from above so that it remains square.

Finished install picture. Again note the arrow showing the location of the factory drain hole in relation to the D-ring.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=758&cat=500

Hope this helps.

 

I put mine in the specified location, and I wondered why the instructions state to femove inner fender, as there is nothing in the way. Mark and drill holes, put hook with captured bolt/washer through hole, lay on back and spin plate a few times to get started on bolt threads. If you do it alone like I did you will need to hold plate somehow; I used a ratchet under bed side to hold plate while I was in bed turning the torx bit, once plate makes contact with bed it will no longer try to spin. By myself it took 45 min due to repeated climbing in and out of bed & under truck, with 2 people it can be done in 15-20 min with half the time alloted to double and tripple checking drilling location.
The kit contains 2 nutted backing plates, 2 hook assys with captured bolt w/shoulder, and steel and nylon washers to pre-load hook so it swivels but does not rattle. Also contains tool required list, template and instructions. Part number PT785-35054, List price $25.00, resale $18.75 +/- per discount given if any.

 

maverick491, That is a good location as it keeps the drain hole clear, I thought of mounting mine in that general area, but did not want to cut the corners off the bed mat. Another thing I forgot to mention was that I put a very thin mist of 3M spray adhesive to create enough friction to keep plate from spinning as I was alone that day. Everyone else in the household was already up in the mountains at the lake, skiing, sleeping, eating steaks off the grill, and making other similar difficult decisions. I used the hooks for the first time on my trip up and I have wondered why Toyota did not have some kind of hooks at a low position in the front of the bed as no matter how many high mounted hooks there are, there are just some things that need a lower mounted hook.

 

Agreed, some things do just need a lower hook. The 3M spray is a great idea. I wish I had though of that when I installed mine. I know what you mean about everyone else making difficult decisions. I think my better half was napping at the time I installed these LOL.

 

Maverick,

Thanks for the insight and pictures. They helped a ton. I will order mine and get them in the truck.

BTW.. A2Mich...I am in South Lyon, MI, just outside of Brighton.

 

You're welcome, glad to be of help.

 

cant you just remove the star bolt and washer holding the bed down. and add a d ring under that. atleast that is attached to the frame.

 

The star bolt is a different diamater than the D-ring mounting tab pivot point. Short answer yes, you could use that bolt, but the D-ring would no longer pivot, and also the star bolt and washer are further aft, and my point to doing this mod was to have a low attachment point right at the front of the bed. I also decided not to mess with the bolt that holds my bed to the truck. Probably nothing wrong structurally with using that bolt if you don't care if the D-ring can no longer pivot, and if that attachment point works for you. It just did not work for me there.

 

i installed the toyota d-rings in the same place you did, maverick, and i've had no troubles hauling my bikes to and fro. nice pics! those are bound to help someone else down the road

 

Adam,

Those tie downs look great. I think that mounting is perfect for what I need (something lower than the track tie-downs). I think that I will be doing this next pay check. It seems easy enough to do.

Thanks for sharing!

 

I took a different approach because I used to haul around $5000 dirt bike and didn't what to have it fall off the back. I took the two back D-Rings and moved them to the front bed bolts. Below is a picture of my setup however its not my truck.

 

Whose truck is that? My bed is not configured like that, my wheel wells don't go all the way to the front. That must be a short bed. Weird.

 

Its D-cab with a 5 foot bed man.

 

Ok, I thought I was loosing my mind. I was about to go down stairs and stand in the bed of my truck just to make sure that I wasn't crazy...

...I'm still not sure that I'm not crazy.

 

I would think even the larger bike would be fine. Though a bike may weigh 800 lbs, it doesn't take 120lbs of force to hold a bike upright. If it did only the largest of folks could ever hope to successfully ride one, let alone lift a tiped over bike. I've lifted my 700 lbs bike after a tip over by myself using just the handlebars. It might be a 100lbs lift from the ground but once it's up, very little force is needed to keep it upright. As long as you tie down both sides to the truck, it should be fine. Just to be safe though, I'd recommend a bike chock for the front wheel.

 

DEFINITELY!