Bolting on the side of bed.

As most of you know, there's no stake pockets on the new Tacos but nonetheless, I need to install something there so I'm thinking of drilling through the plastic and metal and bolt my stuff right there.

But how do I get the washer and nut inside ? Is there anyway I can reach there without removing the bed liner ?

 

What about bolting to the rail? http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...olts-bedrail-would-you-buy-feeler-thread.html

 

I have a Access LiteRider tonneau cover on my Taco. It comes with spacers that moves the rails toward the inside.

I thought about using the rails but now that they're no longer resting against the bed I don't know if they'll be strong enough to hold my stuff.

I want to build a custom rack for a roof-top-tent. I'm guessing the rack will be at least 75 lbs, and the tent weighs a 125lbs. It needs to be strong enough to support this weight while driving fast on washboard and also support around 500 lbs when we sleep in it.

I wonder if a bracket resting on top of the bed sides but bolted in the rails to hold it in place would be enough. I suppose most of the weight would still be on the bed, not the rails.

Edit: Thanks for the link to the other topic. I'm for 2 sets, even if they don't work for my rack I can still use this stuff to install a high-lift, axe, shovel, extinguisher...............just about anything actually.

 

Somebody on here built a lumber rack on his 2nd gen. I'm pretty sure it sat on the rails. It's been a few months at least, maybe you could contact him and see how it's held up.

If it were me, I'd go all the way down to the bed floor and pick up the bed mounting bolts.

 

Guy on expedition portal has tall rack on truck rails attached to trac system. 90 degree pieces rest on top and attach to rail with t-bolts. It has 6 legs and attachment points (strong enough??). He puts an RTT and some rugged overlanding fully loaded. I cant find it right now. But if you search in the forum section of toyota builds u can find it. Here is a link to some other ideas at expedition portal (some very cool overland rigs). good luck


http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47130&page=2

 

That was my first idea but a friend of mine who designs steel structures for a living told me it's a bad idea because the stress on the mounting points increases with the height of the rack. The higher (longer legs) I make it, the higher will be the stress on the bed floor and the mounting bolts. He says it's just like a wrench, a longer handle gives it more force.

Another disadvantage is that I'd have to keep my tonneau cover rolled up when my rack is installed.

That sounds similar to the DeWalt rack design http://www.dewalt.com/tools/vehicle-racks--toolboxes-aluminum-truck-rack-dcaar422xt.aspx

 

Been thinking a bit and trying to make some drawing. Here's what I have in mind, I don't know if it would be strong enough. I can add a strip of velcro on the outer rack mount for my cover to close tight the same way it does with its own rail.

 

You can pull out the cubby holes in the bed sides and gain access the backside of the bed.

 

FYI the tacoma does not have a bed liner - it has a composite bed

 

This lumber rack thread has some good info regarding what is under the bed caps as well as some ideas for mounting to the truck bed .

May be of some use to you .

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/64974-brand-new-building-ladder-rack-advice.html

 

I had no idea. It's a good thing I didn't follow a friend's advice of just bolting a rack straight on the bed sides.

The lumber rack thread is very interesting but I would still like to be able to keep using my tonneau cover. Someone in the lumber rack thread posted that the top of the bed sides (I don't know if there's a name for it but I'm talking about the part where stake pockets would be) is only plastic and that there's no metal under it so I'm not very comfortable with my idea of making 2 brackets that will go on each side of the cover rails and bolt in the bed rail.

I think I should rethink the inner bracket and make it a leg resting on the bottom of the bed.

 

You can reach up from the underside of the truck and get between the bed/ fenders. I just mounted a hi lift to the bedside.

 

I made some changes to my original design. What I learned this morning about the composite bed made me doubt my first plan of just using the bed rails to hold my rack in place. Especially since the rails are now 1" away from the bed sides because of the Litereder's spacers.

I think I need the rack to sit on the bottom of the bed somehow but I'm still not ready to give up on my brand new roll up cover so here's the new plan.

Each side of the rack will be made of 3 supporting feet resting on the bed rims and the cover rails, going over the angle part of the cover rails where the velcro is and then sitting on top of the cover rails.

Inside the bed I will have brackets that will go under the cover rails with 2 bolts holding all 3 layers (outer bracket, cover rail and inner bracket) together. The inner bracket will be bolted to the bed rails which will hold the rack in place.

I will need to make 2 types of inner brackets. A type "A" to use on each end of the rack which will only be bolted on the bed rails and a type "B" for the middle of the rack which will bolt to the bed rails but also to the bottom of the bed on top of the wheel wells.

I think having it bolted to the bed rails on 3 points on each side will be more than enough to hold it in place and the extra foot on the inside, in the middle of each side will give it the support it needs to prevent the bed rails from tearing apart.

I'm a computer programmer, not a design engineer so I don't know anything about this kind of stuff. Am I making a stupid mistake somewhere in all this ?

Last thing I need is to end a day by finding out my RTT is 200 km somewhere behind in the middle of a back road

Type A

Type B

 

RTT Rack






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