Bed Stiffeners (Total Chaos in this case)

Hopefully this isn't a Friday thread, but flame away if so.

I grabbed some Total Chaos bed stiffeners just because. I don't carry any weight in the back, hard top or the likes. I primarily bought them in that "just in case" mood.

Now they are sitting on the shelf in the garage and I'm being a scaredy cat to to drill.

Any harm in just installing them without drilling until I grow a pair or sell them because just needed for my use?

I emailed TC, but haven't heard back.

Thoughts? or am I just being dumb..... it's happened before.

 

They're not very useful to begin with but even less so if you don't bother drilling the holes.

I've still seen bedsides separate even with stiffeners, so I'm not convinced they actually do anything. My .02, if you don't have any weight and don't want to drill, just sell them.

 

Thank you for that insight

 

I doubt that it will cause damage if there isn't a serious load on your bedsides, but there is quite bit of load on just the one point of attachment i'd recon. When I'm nervous to make a irreversible change, even a minor one that is simple enough, I just give myself twice the amount of time that I think ill need, and just move very slowly and deliberately, watching and rewatching install videos to make sure I get everything just right. As a rule of thumb, I never jerry rig things, and take the extra time to use the right tool even if it means another stop at the store.

 

Simple install, good insurance and drilling the holes isn't a big deal. Plus side is you get some additional tie down points.

 

I’ve installed some in my bed with the notion that I would eventually get a shell to put on top and I did. Just my opinion, when I first installed the bed stiffiners, I saw no difference and there was a noticeable gap. Now that I look at it, the gaps are the same. My theory is that, like braces, it would take time to straighten out. Take this with a grain of salt. Also once you drill the first hole, you might as well drill another.

 

Drill baby drill

 

I installed the Total Chaos bed stiffeners within a few days of buying my truck, in preparation for adding the Leer topper. Installation was really easy. You bolt them each in using three existing holes (one at the top and two along the base), and then you drill three additional holes for the side bolts. This is foolproof because the holes are located for you (just follow the holes in the stiffeners). Actually the only possible tricky part is removing the tail lights to provide access to the back side of the bolts, for the nuts.

Here's what they look like, installed. (Notice that I relocated the tailgate-wiring warning sticker, because otherwise it would have been covered up by the stiffener.)

 

It was one of the first mods I did back in 2017 when I first bought my truck. Great mod, I cant see myself not having them because I've used the additional tie down on the bed stiffeners more times than I can count.

 

i installed them on mine thinking i may put a cap on someday and they were easy to install, had to ream out one hole that didn't line up with the bed bolt but overall they are good, they also add tie downs in the bed. i have owned over 15 trucks and some beds hav separated and others were fine

 

Im installing when I can catch a break from work.