Anyone else’s bed cracking here?

have you looked behind your bedsides? There is nothing supporting the bedside. If that curvature is there to support the bed, then that is a whole other problem with the bed.....

 

If you set weigh on the rails of the skins then will move until they meet the inner wall of the composite, where the strength of the box actually is. When you cut the rear skirt you lose that bracket behind the tire, right? What's left supporting the bed fender then?

Then figure there's not as much of a connection between the inner box and fenders with 2nd and 3rd gen Tacomas like in old double wall boxes that were welded so they aren't going to act in the same way.

When I mounted my camp shell I removed the top plates and set a thick strip of rubber over the surface so the inner and outer surfaces shared the load. The shell isn't totally floating but the bed sides aren't carrying all the weigh either.

It's totally just my opinion, but high clearance bumpers that cut the lower half lose significant support for the fenders if you use a topper or have weight on the rails.

 

There are two brackets at the bottom of the fender, below the belt line where most HC bumpers seem to cut, that tie the inner and outer together that I felt shouldn't be taken out of the equation.

So along with leaving them in place I hope (hope being operative) removing the top cap and making the outer and inner surfaces flat (so the inner wall actually provides support) will help keep my outers from bowing.





FWIW, I'm also running ATH braces.



But I'm concerned with spreading with my topper, which it caused my previous truck bed sides to do. This was a double wall bed, too. So I guess time will tell.

 

Looking on the bed box parts diagram there only two main parts, the composite bed itself and this , one piece , steel upright assembly called "sill rear cross" p/n 6524004161. That is the only steel there, above the frame, other than the thin sheet metal bed top sides shown above. Once this "sill rear cross" is jacked apart, it cracks, strength gone, floppy bed sides result to vary degrees.

 

I inverted my bracket and reinstalled it. I also dont have this issue. Coincidence? I think so.

 

I'm clueless with a lot, so if that's typical then it's a non-issue. HC was a non-starter with me anyway since I have a Tuffy lock box where the left side cubby used to be and that extends into space where I think they will want to put a bracket to the frame.

 

Yeah like Matt said, you kinda contradicted yourself there. If they’re just cosmetic like you say (and I agree) then cutting them wouldn’t matter. You lose one little bracket but that just keeps the bedside from flapping around. It doesn’t provide any structural support.

 

I'm saying by being mostly cosmetic that when there is weight on them they are not designed to support they will sag. They are not totally cosmetic, at least to the extent that Toyota made them partially supported and tied with the top cap (#9) and supports #2 and at the rear. But they are not nearly as well connected as a 1st gen Tacoma or other more traditionally built beds where the inner and outer walls are welded in several spots or continuously.

If you cut or remove the lower brackets #3, #4 and #5 (assuming you do with a HC, which I admit I don't know) then the fenders are just hung like a window curtain by a few top bolts so seems to me you need to make sure all the weight does go through the inner wall otherwise the fenders have no chance.



That's why I took the caps off, just so I know the weight is sitting on the inner wall and I clamped through the topper sills to the track rails so they rotate in slightly to sit more on the inside than outside edge.



The cutting doesn't matter as long as you don't have weight on the fenders, which it looked to me that you you do have some with a topper in the normal way it's all put together so you'd need the supports. But, yeah, I admit I don't know, and won't for a while, if my theory is wack or not. As it is now I can move my outer fenders slightly under the topper so almost no weight seems to be borne by them.

 

Decided to make my own! 10ga 316 SS!
Bed mat fits perfect in between!

 

Looking good. Personally, I would have went a bit wider with the flange and just cut the mat, but SS is nice and strong. Good, meaty corner.

You missed one warning sticker!

Also, you might want to consider a tailgate lock:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/tailgate-hose-clamps-installed-two-of-them.553242/

There's a big thread somewhere that I can't find. But, you get the idea.

 

Yeah, that flange is 1-3/4" tall x 5" to the bed mat. Really solid tho for what I use the truck for... & that sticker has been bugging me, lol. Thanks... My tailgate auto locks with the doors. Do you think I'd need the extra protection? I don't ever really leave the doors unlocked.

 

You're welcome.

I didn't do the power lock mod. Still kicking around the idea. If you got it, you don't really have to worry about the clamp. I don't always lock my doors either, so kind of necessary for me.

 

Ok, cool. I appreciate it.

 

Did anybody see todays' episode of "Chasing Classic Cars"? They re-did a sixty something Chevy pickup as it was back then as a mobile welding truck. The thing was the guy had, among other welding equipment, a huge vise welded to a piece of square tubing that fit in the left rear stake pocket of the bed. ........... kind of envious of that capability and durability given this thread right?

 

Well sure. They also had light duty cranes in the stake holes also. Still, some folks said that they would get cracks. Sort of inevitable with corners and high loads over time.

I still give Toyota credit for the lightweight setup. They just need to improve a bit.

 

My bed is not on crack...no cracking.

 

After read through this whole thread my question is. What truly supports the wight when you install a shell or rack?

 

^^^ 100% wrong (no offence). The Toyota composite bed has been around in Tacos for over a decade and has been proven, field tested, abused, overloaded, neglected, and thumped on. I haven’t heard of a broken one yet. Personally, I’ve brought home loads of blast rock that had me running on the bumpstops. No issues.

Not sure what you want a bed to be made of that would not scratch? Glass?

You understand the whole bed is the same material? There is no coating.

Fellas were complaining about the metal posts that hold up the bedsides cracking on the older models, but the plastic/composite bed is rock solid.

 

So what happens when it cracks? Does anything happen? Or is it like, oh no, it cracked. . .

 

You have got structural fiberglas repair methods.

I would like to see pics of composite bed cracks and knowing what caused them.