Hauling long trim boards

Anyone ever haul 16 foot boards in their Tacoma? Trying to avoid the delivery fee if I can but not sure I can make it work.... 26 1x4's and 4 1x6's. I have an AC so I at least have the longer bed.

 

I haul 20's but I have a rack

In your case put them through the back window and back onto the tailgate

Be careful to put a towel on the dash and wrap the fromt of the boards in case you need to cinch the clinchers , put a flag out back

 

This. Ratchet strap them together near the tailgate as well so it doesn't "unpile" when your driving. I dumped 20 pieces of vinyl siding because I didn't secure it together. Doh!

 

I doubt you're going to fit 30 1x boards through the sliding rear window. This is why I have d-rings on the front bed bolts. Put the tailgate down, stack them on edge side by side, strap them to the bed up front and on the back d-rings, then run a strap around the whole stack to keep them tight together.

 

I have put a fair number of 12 ft boards in the back of my DC SB. I leave the tailgate up, use a ratchet strap to hold them down and tie a red flag on the end. No problems at all and the flag makes the load overhang "legal".

 

16 foot boards will hang 10 feet out the back of the truck. I wouldn't do it. The end of the boards might even drag the ground! Through the window is the only reasonable way I can see doing this, even if it requires a few trips.

 

Wut

 

26 1x4s and 4 1x6s aren't going to all fit through the sliding rear window. a 6ft bed with the tailgate down will have about 7.5ft under the boards. If you set them on edge they will not sag. Strap them down at the front and back of the bed bottom, and they'll stick straight out the back. Strap them together in a bundle so they don't shift. It isn't rocket surgery. I regularly carry lumber with my 5ft bed, and my 14ft kayak with no problems.

 

Make a couple trips , 10' of lumber hanging past the rear bumper is dumb

 

Or buy 8ft boards and scarf them together. Or have it delivered. Or rent a trailer. Or get a rack. Or hire a contractor and let him deal with it. Putting a bunch of lumber through the sliding rear window and into the cab is dumb.

 

It's not the best way to go I agree , just safer than 10' out the back

 

I can't find it at the moment, but at any big hardware store (Lowes, HD) they sell what is basically a high density foam log about 24" long with suction cups on the bottom. You attach that to the roof of the truck by the third brake light and place your long boards in the bed (tailgate up) and rest them on the foam so your paint and sheet metal doesn't get damaged. They're pretty sturdy. I once moved about 20 pieces of 20' molding this way. I had the moulding all bound together and the single bundle strapped the to truck in three locations. I wish I knew what they were called. I used mine a ton before it showed some wear. Sturdy little shit. Best part is that they come right off when you're done and you can stow it away. Sadly, I let a neighbor borrow it and it never made it back.

 

Here you go! Found it:

$38 Progrip 900700 Truck Cab Pad Roof Protector with All Natural Rubber and Suction Cups for Cargo Tie Down and Transport, 23 1/2" Wide

http://amzn.com/B000OYZDUE
Just ordered another one since you reminded me.

 

That beats the old towel or blanket routine on the roof

 

I usually carry a sweater or jacket in the truck just in case. Used the sweater one time in a pinch and after a left turn, the zipper damaged some paint. This is one of those "Why didn't I think of it?" ideas.

 

Thanks guys. I ended up making a couple of trips with the boards through the back window, tailgate up, with a towel to protect the dash and ratchet strapped them down. It worked but I wad only about a mile away from the lumber yard.

Does this pad fold up to fit in any of the storage compartments? My trusty old towel fits anywhere but this would be a worthy upgrade.

This would work. Makes a huge difference to stack them vertically. But I didn't have d-rings on the front of the bed, only the back. I need to add that to the to-do list right behind the shed im building.

 

It doesn't fold. It's kind of a heavy compound and while it is flexible, it won't fold in half. It is, however, only about 24" long so I'm sure you can find a place to store it when not in use. Unless you plan on randomly hauling long boards at a moment's notice, there really isn't a need to keep it in the truck at all times. I kept mine with my scrap wood pile in the garage. That way if I couldn't find what I needed in the pile, I took the pad with me down to the lumber yard. Using a towel is great to protect your paint from scratches, but in my experience this distributes the weight across a wider plane and helps prevent denting the notoriously weak Toyota sheet metal. Plus it has little uprights on the ends to prevent things from sliding off the side of the pad.

 

Maybe something like this. Seems like you could also make something similar out of pipe and fittings covered with foam insulation to protect the paint.

http://www.turtlecreekproducts.com/automotive_accessories.htm

 

Wonder if those foam noodles my kids use in the pool will work. Seems kinda ghetto, but may do the trick as well.