theres alot of talk about our plastic tie downs

how strong are they? im kind of a F*ck it if it breaks kinda guy unfortunetly...but so far theyve worked fine...i doubt toyota would put em on our trucks if they were useless or broke easily right?

 

they have a pull capacity of 220 lbs i think.... i think they are very good....

 

They slide to much for me to depend on.

 

^^^yea but i think the rails have some points where they wont slide....

 

true i put in extra d-rings so that i dont depend on those makes it alot easier.

 

yea good idea, i think the bed is designed so you have a lot of anchor points, which is very good

 

as long as you tighten the screw they wont slide. and if you wanna be even more secure about the sliding they do have locking points in the rails. and i believe the capacity is 200lbs. it actually says it right on the cleat itself.

 

word nice...i want to put d rings on the front ones... its hard to strap stuff that are under the plastic things

 

As for me, I have had no issues.
Last year during hunting season I used the one ring (centered on the rail) to help pull a large buck up from a large grade. It held fine, towards the end of the pull I pulled the rope itself, the only damage was rope burn on the cleat.
That was probably pushing the limit, so afterwards I checked everything. I wont do it again but in a pinch worked great.
I now have a system using the hitch, but back to hauling items. I really can't say to the strenght of them.

 

They held my honda cbr in there really well even though it is only 500lbs or so. But rippin on some of these alberta hwy's and almost catching air is what impressed me the most about how well they held the load.

 

I like 'em. They've served me well so far, no complaints. I also got a couple of the bike skewers that Toyota sells, and hauled two bikes on a 3000 mile trip with no difficulty. I know that some on here have complained about the bike mounts, but they worked fine for me. I only mention that because they connect directly to the plastic tie-downs.

 

I would not use the track mounted tiedowns for a large street bike, but I would bet if overloaded/overstressed that the rails would rip out of the bedsides before the actual plastic sliding loops broke.

 

I saw reports of a guy tieing his street bike down with the cleats and one broke. Bike fell, punched through the bed, and damaged the handlebars. Not worth the risk, IMO. Not with the cost of a bike and the cost of repairing the truck. Not when extra d-rings can be added for less than $20.

I strapped some furniture down with the cleats and ratchet straps.....ONCE. After I saw the whole rail twisting under the tension of the straps I decided they were worthless. They sat under the rear seat for almost a year until I got my canopy, and now they are just there to keep things from sliding around. Or hook my dog's leash to so she doesn't jump out the back.

 

The rails screw into the metal at the edge of the bedrail- I'd be surprised if those failed before the cleats did.
I used mine to tie down my sportbike (400lbs or so) and they worked like a charm.

Understanding how much you can tension the straps versus how much you NEED to tension the straps to hold something down is important.

 

The Tacoma homepage/brochure has 2 lightweight dirt bikes in the bed. They are not using the moveable rail D-rings for a reason....

Hook on a tie down on one D ring, now pull up at a 45 degree angle (like when its holding your bike). watch it flex. Install steel D rings in the front of your bed for a few bucks and haul your bike safely.

 

No, actually they DON'T. There is NO metal in the bed. Other than threaded holes for the bolts for the side rails. The side tie down rails are the ONLY metal bracing at the top of the bed sides. Want proof? Take the rail against the cab off and see if that part of the bed flexes like cardboard.

 

does anyone have the Nissan Frontier Tie down cleats on their tacoma rail?
does it fit? Frontier one is made of Aluminum, much more stonger than the tacoma ones

 

I also seldom use the cleats. Why take the chance with cleats when you can have D-Rings bolted right into the frame at all 4 corners for $20 and less than an hour of your time. Everything I haul gets tied to the D-Rings...

 

pics of where to add new d-rings to? I have a leased taco and don't want to drill the bed or anything but don't want to use the plastic d-rings either.

pics/suggestions would definitely help.

 

i think the cleat and rail system SUCKS !! even when i haul my little aprilia sr 50 scooter it moves around unless i use tiedowns on the back of the scooter. if i dont i can see it wiggle in my mirror. theres no way in hell im gonna load my GSXR 750 in the back. and not to mention the WEAK tailgate..they just dont make toyotas like they used to.!!!!