Cracked bed

those cubby holes above the wheel well stopped around the 2012 model year.

The robots in the factory used them to move the bed tubs around. They changed to using pneumatic robots, so the hole was deprecated.

 

Wouldn't bed stiffeners make it more crack-able? Composite bed that can and is designed to flex, You are adding metal stiffening bars that will prevent it from flex?

 

normal stiffeners go on the tailgate side

 

Still preventing the bed from flexing, Probably a bad idea. I'm sure there are lot of other factors like added weight of the rack and rooftop tent, height of the rack, age of the truck etc. Going over uneven ground with that much weight sitting so high up might break or crack something.

 

I haven't seen a crack there before and I can't be sure if the typical bed stiffeners by the tailgate would help with that. I realize weight on the bed rails is contributing to that, but is there an uneven distribution of weight in that area? The bed frame you have looks sturdy and looks like it would more evenly distribute the weight on the bed rail tops. Somehow I think it may not be doing this. Getting another bed is part of the solution. The other part is preventing this from happening again. If you placed this frame on level ground, does it sit flush? Is there any noticeable strain on the other corner?

 

You may want to look at “hot staples” to try to repair the panel. I think eastwood sells a kit. I’m not sure how much force they will support but the body shop uses them to repair plastic bumper covers and plastic panels. You can just google it and give it some thought.

 

Good to know

 

Good to know! Mark me corrected!

 

I saw your post in the GFC fb group. Im very surprised you bed cracked there. Ive wheeled pretty hard for a few days with a heavier RTT and bed rack, and have never seen anything like that. Mostly have seen the bed separate at the tailgate from the metal part..

I dont know what to tell you, but I have seen beds for sale in New England area for ~$1000. Probably cheaper than the dealer. Id start looking around craigslist if you need the replacement

 

I think you replied to the wrong person. I haven't been on Facebook in a long time.

 

@Dvolcan

My bad, was meant to go to OP

 

Yea I have no idea how this happened. I wheel pretty hard but I’m not jumping the truck. I wonder if it has something to do with wheelin in the snow. Maybe the bed material gets brittle when it’s cold and the vibration and flexing made it crack?

 

How cold?

 

the bed itself shouldnt be flexing that much..

 

It probably will a bit if you have 300 pounds suspended over it, I bet.

 

The bed is bolted to the rear part of the frame. The frame, if not reinforced/boxed is probably flexing. I guess the bed too, but it had 4-6 bolts holding it to metal - via the bed bolts.

The GFC is not 300 lbs. I think more like ~200

My frame is flexing here, with the bed attached, not the actual composite bed..

 

Bed stiffeners would probably help.
Seeing that, I might also try a ratchet strap across the bed using the tie downs on the rail system when wheeling. It wont help a lot. But I don’t see how it would hurt.

 

Cool rig you have there. I guess it depends on what his snow wheeling consists of. He also said he's done a lot of wheeling so who knows. I imagine if you have a good jolt sideways even 200 lbs up there will put some stress on everything. Maybe something happened during his "camping" when he increases the top load quite a bit that weakened it.

 

The truck is 16 years old. Makes me wonder if UV radiation breaks down some of the strengthening fibers in the composite over time.

 

We rock climb a lot and the roads to get there are blown out. I also use my truck to get fire wood, so heavy rounds in the back along with a shitty road. Basically I think it’s a combination of the the truck being 16 years old and the weight of camper and whatever else ends up in the bed. I’ll post pictures of the fab work I do and give updates if it helps or makes it worse.