Hauling plywood in DblCab short bed

Yeah, yeah, I know -- if I really cared about hauling plywood this isn't the truck I should have got, but let's get past that. I had to "sell" the Tacoma to the wife and she insisted on something to cart the kids in.

So, I like making sawdust and this means I need to occasionally haul some lumber. Time's limited, so it's only a couple of times a year. I figure I can cope with the non-optimal truck for that. I see the notches in the bed liner to put in cross beams so I can fit plywood over the wheel wells. I'm going to fit some to it. But I'm thinking a step beyond that. Even with the tailgate down, plywood will be hanging over nearly a foot and a half. I'm trying to think of a good way to anchor it so it doesn't slide backwards when I accidentally goose the taco (I hope "goose the taco" doesn't mean something obscene in Canadian).

Has anyone else worked through this? Suggestions?

When I was researching this truck purchase, I was interested in the Chevy Colorado (and GMC Canyon) feature that locks the tailgate partially open so it's at the same height as those cross beams. One more support point when hauling ply. When I test drove one and looked at the tailgate I see that's it's just another eye on the tailgate cable. I wonder if that could be retrofitted to the Taco. Or maybe just another anchor point for the existing eye that doesn't lower the tailgate all the way. Has anyone else spent any brain cells on this idea? Is there a source where I could order an extra eye and/or anchor post?

 

To keep the plywood from sliding out of the bed you could use a couple tiedown straps. One end of the strap would connect to the bed rail tiedown above the plywood. The opposite end of the strap would connect to the bed floor D ring on the opposite side of the bed, under the plywood. You would end up with 2 straps criss-crossing across the back end of the plywood. Hopefully you can picture this.

 

Ha ha ha. You dirty dirty Texan. How could you say that on a public forum?

Anyway, "C" clamps on the rear 2X4 cross-member should hold the ply in place and/or use the rear "D" rings to pull them down with a ratcheted tie down. On the long bed, I just use a 2X4 cross member on the slot by the tail gate and let the plywood/drywall rest on the bed in the front. This method does not need a tie down but the 2X4 must sit tight. Try the same approach with the tale gate up and see if that would work.

 

I have nothing to offer for advice but....Just noticed your in frisco! I live in mckinney....about to move to north dallas/addison area.

 

Thanks for the ideas. The C-clamps won't work in cases when I'm hauling hardwood veneered ply and I want to keep it looking good (well, unless I have more scrap wood to put between the clamp and the plywood). Even the criss-crossing of tie-downs will need protection where it meets the edge of the ply.

I thought about trying to do this with the tailgate up, but on the short beds the wheel wells meet the front of the bed. You can't put the front edge of the ply lower than the top of the wheel wells. I haven't put a measurement to it, but I suspect that would require a 4-6 inch tall rear cross member. Kinda awkward.

I'm also wondering if I need to add a pair of front d-rings.

No one's thought about securing the tailgate one-third of the way open?

 

Cool! Hey, why don't you fill out your Location? The Carolina Alliance has me in their sights, so it's good to know who else is Texan. We could meet for beers sometime and scheme against them.

 

to prop the tail up all you would need is a shorter cable that you could pop in place of the factory ones for such outings

 

If you have a hitch reciever you can buy extension racks to support overlength stuff

 

I'd post a link, but I don't know how........I'm mildly computer retarded.

 

When I made my cross members I drilled a hole on each side with 48" between so all I have to do is run a tiedown around the load and it is secure to the crossmember. I then take another strap and loop D-ring to a couple times around the load and to the other D-ring. Holds great and I live in a hilly area.

 

I believe this is what Toy4Life is talking about. I had forgotten about those. You can find several vendors on the Internet who sell similar devices...

http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?r=view&i=40863

 

Hehehe we can oil our guns while we scheme lol.

 

Yeah, that's it basically. There's a perfect example on JC Whitney under the racks section.

 

My brother in-law is a fireman in Frisco. My wife and her family are from Plano. It's a nice area, but too hot for me and too many people and traffic. So I made the wife come up to Ohio where my family is.

 

I was wondering why anyone would want to lift the front 2" to make it even.
If you load the bed, you are going to want all the steer axel weight that you can get.

 

Hey Dan, technically you are right but I think it is more of a cosmetic thing. Some people feel the truck looks better when it is level. We are so vain!

 

I hadn't thought about just getting another cable. That wouldn't require adding a post. I'd just need to get proper fitting eyes. I haven't checked, does the cable mount the same way to the tailgate as it does to the bed?

Thanks for the idea. Sometimes I make things too complicated.

 

I couldn't find the one on JC Whitney, but the rhoppas link to overtons was helpful. I didn't even know anybody made something like that. Time to sign up for some catalogs, I guess.

I've never had a desire to add accessories on my previous used trucks, but I'm proud enough of my Taco to add-on. I need some catalogs to get a feel for what products are offered.

 

I'm not sure I'm picturing this. Do you tie the D-rings directly to the load, to the crossmembers, or to the tie-downs holding the load to the crossmember? I had started to think in this direction, but I was going to screw hooks onto the cross members. Drilling holes is so much simpler.