bed tie downs

Heres what I did. The tie downs are simple D rings with 2 bolt holder. For the rear which is steel I drilled and bolted the rings through with washers and lock nuts. The back is easily accessed by taking out the taillight (2 or 3 screws where tailgate meets the bed and it pops out) For the fronts I took 1ft of 3" 1/8" thick flat stock steel (available at most welding supply stores), bent it 3" from end in vise using a small sledge hammer to almost 90 degrees. I lined up the tiedowns on the bottom inline with the drain hole and drilled the bed hole. I lined up the steel underneath and had an assistant mark the holes on the steel. I took the steel back out and drilled one hole. Then bolted it in place with the one bolt and then lined up and drilled the other holes. Used cutting oil to reduce heat transferred to bed. Side holes were easy to drill after the bottom was bolted in. I just made sure the steel fit well to the bed shape before any drilling. I also drilled the steel blocking the drain holes next to the tie downs.
I hooked my ratchet ties downs and cranked them tight and did not see any signs of stress so they should hold any reasonable loads. The only issue have is the tie downs are not spring loaded and they rattle. I use a couple of bungee cords to keep tension to prevent rattling and the bed mat covers the floor tie downs.
Tie Downs $3 ea x6= $18
steel $2.50/ft x2'=$5
Grade 8 bolts, lock nuts, washers $5
Total $28+tax and 1 hour to install

 

I just installed the Toyota tie downs and located them on the sides of the truck bed...up front like Toyota suggests. 70mm up and 71mm back (or something like that)

HOWEVER.....I DID NOT.....remove the black plastic fender liner as per Toyota instructions. After reading this chat.....one of the guys said you don't need to go to the trouble. And he is clearly right. All you have to do is lay down and reach up inside and fasten the plate nut behind the hole you drilled. No need to remove the fender liner.

Makes the entire job about 10 minutes or 20 minutes if you're a tweakster. Nothing to it.

I'm happy with the holding power of the tie downs after attaching them to the sides of the bed. I would guess.....if the sliding tie downs are rated at around 400-450 lbs....then the ones drilled and attached to the bed sides would likely be around 3 or 4 times that holding power....perhaps more.

Super good.

BUDDY

 

Noticed you have a DC long bed. I have the Access with long bed. I installed mine on sides as you did and did not have to remove the liner.

I'm wondering if the DC shortbed trucks might indeed have to remove the liner to do the install?

 

The sliding tie downs (cleats) are only rated for around 200lbs.

 

Good catch.

 

Bed rail tie downs only hold 200 lbs.....almost seems like a joke. I guess it will hold you grocery bags in place !! haa

I'd be half tempted to take the rails off. I think they are somewhat hokey and half fast when it comes to using them for heavy work.

Thanks for the heads up on the 200 lb rating. I know I gave one a yank a few days ago and I saw it bending the rail and heard it creaking.

 

I wouldn't take the rails off. On the front side behind the cab, that rail is the only support for the top of the bed. Take the rail off and the composite material flexes like cardboard. Just don't use the rail system and cleats to tie down anything heavy/valuable.

 

I just got back from hauling my bike, the bed rings worked perfectly. I ended up mounting them where the kit suggested. I didn't have to remove the wheel well liner either, it only took about 20 minutes to do both sides.

My bike is a 919 cc sport bike so the weight is more than I will ever put on the rings again. I was worried the whole trip, every time I took a turn, but after all was said and done, the rings came out unscathed, there was no warping of the bed wall, and no bending of the rings or their back support.

This seems to be a decent solution for the short beds. I didn't use the bed support bolts because 1. I didn't have the tools, and 2. I wanted the rings as far forward as humanly possible. The rings are almost touching the front, and hanging down almost to the bed, so I think it is almost as good as mounting in the bottom corner.

 

Lay backing plate of kit in the front corner of the bed long way. Drain hole should be unobstructed. Mark the hole and drill. Insert D-ring/bolt assembly and clamp vice grips on torx bolt to keep it from turning. Lay down under truck and hand thread backing plate onto exposed bolt. tighten with ratchet. Easy to line up square to bed sides this way. I also enlarged the drain hole while I was at it.

 

That's correct, however the D-rings are rated for 400 pounds. A 2-stroke dirt bike typically weighs a little over 200 pounds. I always crank my ratcheting straps down to preload the front shocks so that the bike will not move. Doing this already preloads the straps, with possibly a 100 pounds or more. The straps will be under the tension of the preload, plus any forces exerted by the motorcyle as it bounces around. The combined loads may be over 200 pounds.

I did not have to remove a fender liner to get to drill the D-ring holes on my DC short bed because the holes are within the wheel wheel. I think the liner must be removed only if you have have a long bed.

 

What is this "line" you speak of? We don't have bed liners. Just stock composite bed and optional factory rubber mat which should be cut if you put D-rings under the bed bolts. Other than the bed mat, nothing needs to be cut or removed to add D-rings.

 

Sorry, I meant the inner fender.

 

ah. Gotcha! That's why I liked using the bed bolts. No crawling under the truck!

 

That's why you bought a tacoma, 'cause they are easy to crawl under!

 

The Driver Side is a pain to get the nut on. You must drill the drain hole out. us extreme caution, the gas tank is 3inch from the hole.

 

I went to ToyotaPartsPeople and they don't list tie down D rings anymore. Any Idea where I can find a set?

TeaMan

 

I got my OEM D-rings from www.trdparts4u.com.

 

Hey, thanks for the quick replies. Just what I wanted. I have a trailer I want to convert to the D-rings to make it more versatile. I haul my tourning bike on it, but also other things that the large tie down's I now have get in the way. The Army Surplus ones will be excellent here.

Thanks again.
TeaMan

 

I've done the army surplus rings into the bed-on-frame bolts. Strong as shit. Just torque them back down gud'n'tite and you'll probably lift the rear wheels off the ground before breaking/pulling them.

 

I installed 4 d-rings in the back of my truck to haul my dirtbike. I bought the d-rings from a heavy equipment trailer store in my area, about $4.00 each. I used the four bed to frame bolts and spread the load by cutting plates out of 1/8" aluminum plate. Between the aluminum plates and the factory bolts going into the frame, the d-rings are a very solid mount.