Bed Stiffeners - Total Chaos design vs. others

Question on bed stiffeners before I get my ARE MX shell.

In looking at the different designs, there is the Total Chaos design where the stiffeners come up almost all the way to the top of the bed, and then all the others like the Cali-Raised where they come up about 75% of the way.

Is there any significant benefit of the Total Chaos design because the stiffener comes all the way up to the top of the bed?

 

Nope. Anything past the second bolt up the sides is just fluff. There might be tie downs or some such that you value up there, but roughly equal lengths on either side of a joint is all that is structurally necessary.

 

Not really. More support in a way, but as @tonered said, above the second bolt is just fluff. The top bolt isn't structural in any way. The argument could bade that the mere presence of the material at the top is helpful, though. The Total Chaos ones are the only ones that are actually patented (at least as of the time I installed mine last year).

 

Additional tiedown points up top are really the only benefit, and well worth the cost to me seeing as how many times I've used them.

 

The shape is patented, not the purpose, utility, or some other benefit. So, making one that looks the same to sell as truck nuts would violate the patent. A low rise is just extra material like we noted.

 

I got a set of mini bed stiffeners from a guy on here that fabs them himself. Work great, and don’t take up a ton of room, and less chance of snagging something on them. And they have mounting tabs on top for lights, antennas or flag whips. I forget his name, but I’m certain that someone will help and tag him for me. I highly recommend them!

 

His name is Dan and a local here in SLC. There was some kerfluffle with him selling them here with the mods that I dont recall the details of, but hes a standup guy in the Utah Toyota community.

If anyone wants a set, Ill gladly get them in touch.

Edit: User tttacodan on here is who you need to PM, I thought he wasn't on here anymore.

 

I got a set from him as well, he was very easy to work with, very responsive and shipped the same day I sent him payment. The product was excellent as well as the service.

 

I don't know one way or the other whether longer or shorter is better with stiffy.

But I bought these, easy install, they fit good and fulfill the intended purpose.

https://lilbscustomfab.com/collections/frontpage/products/3rd-gen-tacoma-bed-stiffeners

 

The “issue” was TW mods only allow TC stiffeners to be sold on this site.

 

I don't recall the particulars, but this was my principle memory as well.

 

Dan's a legend. He also routinely drives hundreds of miles to rescue stuck / stranded offroaders out of the goodness of his heart.

 

He was selling successfully for a good bit of time, then tried to do a giveaway, likely got the attention of someone, upsetting some secret deal with a vendor, and all his pages, including the giveaway were deleted.

 

The top bolt on the Total Chaos bed stiffeners may not be structurally necessary, but it's a big help in the installation. When I installed mine, I first used that top bolt as well the two on the bottom -- these all use existing threaded holes. These 3 bolts aligned the stiffeners perfectly. It took all the guesswork out of drilling the remaining 3 holes.

The other thing I like about the TC stiffeners is the shape of the bottom angle. It doesn't interfere with the OEM bed mat. Other bed stiffeners require cutting the bed mat.

 

Whatdda you know anyway!

 

Nuthin'. I know nut-tin'!

 

This is all you need and they work great. Good luck with your truck.

 

Thanks everyone. I ordered the Cali Raised. I actually like the Total Chaos a little better but they are out of stock and from I can tell were not accepting back-orders. Cali raised was in stock and I have a timeline.

I really like the idea of that smalle one shown that the TW member makes but I like the added tie down features of the larger ones.

 

Rather revive this than make a new and short thread that ends with me getting shit on . Are there benefits to getting stiffeners even if you don't run a topper or added weight in back? Just as a precaution? Or is that just throwing money at a Tacoma to add a tie down point and because you haven't modded it in a while?

How much does the bed flex without added weight and is this worth it to prevent it?

 

Supposedly with a lot of off road use, washboards etc, the beds can still flex and crack. I have some but only have a soft topper, the tie downs are so worth it