Out with the plastic, in with something better

i want to get rid of those plastic flimsy bed rail mounts that the truck comes with. Any ideas where i can find something sturdier that will not flex while using a tie down/strap?

I already have the corner mounts, which are AMAZING.

EDIT: I'm looking for ideas and products to potentially purchase. I am not selling anything here.

 

Not sure what you are selling, considering this thread is placed in the Marketplace.

You might want to consider the Tundra metal cleats:

 

Sorry, let me clarify.. i was posting here in the marketplace in search of a product to purchase.

 

From "Brad" on Amazon who posted a review on that device.

I'm sure that these are great, but they are way overpriced. Here's option #2: Buy 1/2 inch eyebolts w/nuts from Home Depot for $2.50. it turns out that the 1/1" nut fits perfectly in the rails on the bed of the truck, and the eyebolt fits in the slot. Now, cut to desired length. I dipped the eyes of my eyebolts in liquid rubber for a more quality look as well. The rail / nut fit is so close that the nut is not able to rotate. This means that you can loosen the tiedown by turning the eyebolt and slide to any position on the rail. Once it is in place, simply tighten the eyebolt and it cannot move. Now pat yourself on the back for the money you saved.
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Curious OP, did you break yours? I tied down two couches last week pretty hard, and the glass reinforced nylon of those anchors held up like a champ.

 

I thought the rail system was limited to like 200lbs... anytime I use straps (and I have both plastic tacoma anchors as well as metal tundra anchors) I notice the rail flexing... not either of the anchors. Just my .02 do the corner braces allow for more weight?

Although that eyelet idea posted above me seems op. I'm going to look into it myself now!

 

You could always go my route and ditch the priprietary rail system for some beefy industry standard strut, then you can add and moddify till your hearts content with literally millions of options on the market and more weight capacity than the truck can carry.

Stainless Unistrut 12Ga bed rail with corner braces.

 

But then the handy tie downs don't work...

 

I actually did this on my tundra, but used 3/4" exterra boards for a modular tonneau cover, and also was able to use it for tie downs.. glad someone else saw the potential in unistrut. Oir plumbing supplier at the time had anodized black strut, little more $ but looked clean. Kudos to you!

 

Chevy Silverado Bed rail tie down work in ours too. Got two from a buddy when he wrecked his duramax, slid right in.

 

the rails will break before the stock cleats will.

 

Do the stock rail mounts still work with the new setup?

 

I reused the stock hardware to bolt in my stainless strut, so yes the stock mounts do work, I just had to over lay the old strut to get the holes drilled in the strut in the right places.

I also extended the rails as long as I could so I have more rail space for accessories. My rails go from the corner of the cab to the last 1/16 of an inch where the bed begins to curve inward for the tailgate frame and lights. My front strut goes completely from side to side, and with the 1/4" L brackets in the corners my bed is much more rigid too. Hopefully preventing it from flexing and cracking as some people have had issues with.

As for the stock tie down cleats, negatory. The strut I used is twice as wide deep and thick. You could easily make a threaded plate insert to slide in the rail to accept the factory cleats but I didn't have any cleats when I bought my truck so I didn't bother.

Instead for tiedowns I use 3/8's stainless spring nuts, 3/16thc stainless washers and 3/8 shouldered lifting eyes. (Not pictured) You could pick my truck up with a crane from the structure I built, that is, assuming the bed bolts held it to the frame. Those are probably my weakest link now.

 

This has been on my mod list for 4 years, but I figured I'd wait until I broke or flexed the factory stuff first.
Thus far, they flex but bounce back, even with a high lift bolted to one of 'em.

 

Appears true. Those rail mounting points appear to be weak, along with the cleats, allowing lots of flex:

 

L track, used by airplanes to hold down cargo. A member on here uses it for his overland

 

great time to look into some new stuff for the truck thanks all