Thoughts on the new AJC Gear Plate?

AJC released a new plate to make it easier to secure gear to the bed of our trucks. It comes pre-drilled with various holes for fridge slides, l-track and pro eagle jacks. Unlike the Goose Gear plates, which are mounted by drilling new holes through the bed, the AJC plate mounts using the existing bed bolts. It’s also much more reasonably priced. https://aidenjamescustoms.com/produ...-tacoma-short-bed?_pos=7&_sid=035610ae4&_ss=r

While this solution must make for an easier installation, and certainly a more reversible one, I have some concerns about the long-term durability. Because the gear plate is going to be in-between the bed bolts and the frame rails, it seems like it would reduce the security of that connection. I’m running a wedge style camper and that’s even more weight in the bed, bed bolts and therefore going through the plywood base plate. It also claims to be “bed stiffener compatible,” but with the base plate sharing the front bed frame bolt with the bed stiffeners it seems like it would take the tension off of them and reducing their effectiveness. Unless you installed washers between the plate and the stiffeners, perhaps.

My question is, has anyone tried mounting a baseplate through their bed bolts before and had any issues with this system? Any thoughts on the AJC system?

 

I stumbled across this baseplate and messaged them about shipping charges. I also have a wedge camper. I've seen several other people use their OE bed bolts with DIY versions of base plates and had no issues.

If shipping isn't ridiculous, I may bite the bullet and be the guinea pig here.

 

After writing this post, I emailed AJC about this question and they told me they include spacers that go between the bed and the baseplate so that tension stays where it needs to. They also include a "higher grade bolt," which might mean longer as well to accommodate that added stack height. I think I'm going to give it a go too, happy to share a review here after install!

 

Did you end up picking this up?!

 

Hey @roguegs! I did get the plate and I've had it for a couple of weeks now. Here is an early review.

The Aiden James Customs Tacoma Gear Plate is a clean and simple solution to add mounting points to your truck bed. Whether your goal is to mount a fridge slide or add tie downs, the plate lets you do it without drilling. Every hole has a ¼” - 20 T-Nut beneath it, making them even more sturdy and reusable. There are so many mounting spots in the plate, I think it would even be a great starting point for a DIY camper if you wanted to make your own Goose Gear style cabinets.

With all of that said, I did have a few minor issues with mine, but I have been in communication with Scott who owns AJC and he’s taken my feedback into account. He told me my plate was the third he’d produced and I know he’s making improvements. He even offered to send me a replacement.

The first issue I had when installing it was that my Rago Fabrications bed stiffeners were a little too wide for the plate. The fix was as simple as filing notches into the plate and Scott is going to adjust the CNC file so this isn’t an issue in the future. One thing I really like is that the plate is higher than the bed stiffeners, before they created a small lip that could be a pain when loading or unloading cargo.

The second set of issues I had came because my plate had too thick of a bed liner coating. The plate is secured using the stock bed bolts, which are supposed to rest inside a countersink in the plate so they’re flush with its surface. This is a great part of the design that makes the install so easy. But because the liner on mine was 2-3mm too thick, it caused the head of the bed bolts to stick above the surface of the plate. The fridge slide mounts on top of one of these bolts and in order to secure mine I had to put 5mm nylon spacers between the slide and the gear plate. Scott is aware of this issue as well and this is why he offered to send me a replacement, so I'm sure he'll be on the lookout for it in the future.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this solution. It is well thought out, well designed and versatile. All of my interactions with Scott and his wife Shawnna, who also works at the shop, have been courteous and professional and it’s great to support a quality family business.


Here are a handful of photos of the install: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Dz3EXVvdUx6BUg7y8

 

Dude I love it! I have a wedge camper as well and it looks very well thought out. My main driver on getting this is because my fridge is taking up space in my back seat and I’d rather have it in the same area that you do. Plus the fact that all the holes already have t nuts helps me create a simple drawer or storage box system in the future…

 

Awesome! Would love to see your design for the storage system if you end up putting that together.

 

BTW - How heavy would you say the platform is?

 

I didn't weight it, but I would guess 40-50 pounds. Even with it's large, awkward size I was able to lift and install it solo and I'm not a big guy. It was a challenge though, it would definitely be easier to install with a second person!

 

did you have yours shipped and how long was the lead time? Sorry for all the questions!

 

Happy to help! I had mine shipped. It took probably a month to ship after I bought it. I was the first person he'd ever mailed it to, so he had to figure out how to do it. He ended up getting a local company to make him a custom box to fit the plate! I am in Northern California, so it arrived a few days after it was mailed. Packaging was solid, the box was a bit beat up but no damage to the plate. I don't know what the cost of shipping was, Scott quoted me $90 and it ended up being more but he didn't charge me the difference because of the delay.

 

where in NorCal are you? I’d love to come check it out if you’re somewhat close.

 

I'm in the East Bay. Sliding into your DMs.

 

Being a woodworker and looking at how this is made I’d have serious concerns about it’s long term durability. Berliner is not 100% water resistant long term in this kind of environment. When there is metal under it and how it bonds to metal is less of a concern than if it’s on top of wood. The wood this is made of is Baltic birch plywood, this is the best plywood you can buy for indoor environment no question about that. But for outdoor many things come into play, most importantly is the glue used to laminate the plywood. Some Baltic birch manufacturers uses water resistant glue but many don’t, and it’s extremely difficult to find manufacturers that will provide that information. What you do have is marine ply that quality wise is not as good, (from a wood perspective) but for an outdoor environment will be far superior.
Then cost comes into play, the plywood this is made from is about $40 for the amount needed using Baltic birch and retail prices, using marine ply would be $200~250. So $40 for plywood, plus design work, plus bed liner, plus (I assume lazor cutting). I’m personally not seeing the $500 price tag, considering there is no long term guarantee.

 

Hey Mutely! I have mine inside of a camper and I live in a dry climate (California). The long-term durability of the plate was definitely a concern for me, but I figured for my situation it wouldn't be an issue. I'm not a woodworker and don't know a whole lot about ply wood though, so I appreciate your perspective.

 

Looks like a cool product. Thanks for posting, hadnt heard of it.

Id be worried about the stock bolts not having enough thread engagement into the frame. How did it feel when you bolted it down? As you alluded to in your first post everything from the bed up relies on those 6 bolts.

Also, did you happen to get a pic of the "t-nuts"? Im curious how those are anchored?

 

If they are the same T-Nuts I’m thinking of, they are self anchoring. They dig into the plywood when you first tighten them. I used them when installing my fridge slide in the rear seat on a 3/4” plywood base and it’s sturdy.
https://youtu.be/HVfkxJiqLkA

 

Ahh, those make much more sense. My mind went to the machining / milling world when I read t-nut

 

@roguegs is correct, they are that style of T-Nuts for wood. I didn't get a picture of them prior to the install.

The rear four bolts, closest to the cab, had really solid engagement. Hard to say exactly, but I would guess at least an inch of the screwing. AJC provides replacements for the two bolts closest to the tailgate, but those could probably have been even longer. I wasn't stoked on how much thread I was able to get in there. But with the addition of bed stiffeners and before installing the plate, I wasn't getting a ton of threads in with the stock bolts either.

 

Anyone know if Goose Gear uses the same kind of wood for theirs? I really like the storage system Goose Gear has for campers but the price!