Bed Stiffeners with topper/shell

I been shopping around for a bed topper/shell. I looked at many threads and post of the different shells. While I been researching, I ran into a thread about bed stiffeners. So, my question or curiosity is those of you who has a Shell/topper on your 3rd Gen Tacoma, do you have bed stiffener? Those of you who do NOT have a bed stiffener with your shell, how is your bed holding up?

 

The tweaking of the bed is slow, over time, and can lead to cracks on the bed.

if you have a lot of weight on the bed rails, such as a topper, just get the bed stiffeners.

few grand for a topper, don’t skimp out on 100 bed stiffeners.

 

you have a good point, thanks

 

ive heard it is easier to get the stiffeners on before the topper. Toppers can add slight flex to the bed rails and make them move difficult to install. Just a heads up

 

2nd gen has 13 years and 265k on it with an ARE topper. Took it off recently and there were no issues. 3rd gen has had a topper on for a year now with no issues either. Wouldn’t hurt but don’t know how much it’d help either.

 

at worst, you've overpaid for good tie down spots. at best you prevent a problem, which I have seen on several posts. When i added mine, i did notice the tailgate gaps that had formed close a little.

My vote is for the total chaos

 

I picked these ones up and installed them prior to getting my shell installed (soon to come). Total Chaos ones were by far the lowest profile ones I could find and would recommend them.

 

+1 for Total Chaos. As mentioned, they're great tie-down points.

 

Another for total chaos. Good tie downs and I'm pretty sure they are the only ones that extend to the top of the bed rail.

 

Total Chaos on mine. I'll be adding a RTT soon.

 

Added Cali raised stiffeners and installed them the day before I got my topper. Didn’t want to risk it. I think they were like $100 on Amazon.

 

Running TC bed stiffners and I love em. They have multiple eyes and are beefy as all hell

 

I think that the issue is not only that the topper can cause the bed to spread but that excessive flexing of the bed can cause the shell to crack. Something to keep in mind if you spend a lot of time off road.

 

If you are BOUNCING around a lot with a bunch of weight riding on the rails then it would be a good $100 investment. IMO

 

What model cap do you have? I am seriously considering the tent on the cap this year.

 

^This.

Had a topper on my 2008, put 117k miles on it in 10 years. Stiffeners weren’t a common concept when I added the topper, and had zero issues.

 

I've had a snugtop rebel for a year now. I don't have bed stiffeners and I've noticed no problems. If I were putting a rooftop tent on top of it shell maybe I'd give it more thought.

 

I guess I gave it more thought anyway... I went out and measured the angles at my rails and they're at a perfect 90 with the bed

 

I have Total Chaos stiffeners on my 2nd gen with a Leer topper. I figured $100 was cheap insurance against a problem down the road.

 

Made an account just to reply to this. Just got a TRD OR and have been wondering this too.

The thing that gave me pause was seeing some comments here and there that bed stiffeners might just make everything around the stiffened part bend around the stiff part. And I got especially worried after seeing post #75 here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...investment-so-far.570748/page-4#post-18870320

So I’ve been trying to see if it’s worth doing if I only had an aluminum rack, and carried my RTT only when using it.