Bed stiffeners - what am I missing here??

Hey all,

my bed-to-tailgate gap has been widening after 2+ years with a camper shell on which is no surprise to anyone here. I ordered a set of total chaos stiffeners, pulled the bed square, installed them, and the gaps are the same as before.

If I pull the bedsides together using the new points on the bed stiffeners, I can get the gap to close again ( pics below showing existing gap and gap when pulled together).

somebody tell me what I’m missing?? I hate to say that these bed stiffeners aren’t anchored to the structural part of the bed that is bending outward and really aren’t solving any problem? The only solution I see is a solid brace possibly using the factory bed cleat rail to hold the upper bed together?

I’m sure someone else experienced this as well

 

You have to do it with the camper off. You don't need to even square the bed with the camper off

 

I had the camper unbolted and off of the bed rails when I installed them. I can fully remove it and try again?

 

Your gaps look normal to me, you can't expect them to be completely flush

 

I can definitely see the difference in your pictures there. The gap is certainly larger at the top without the ratchet strap in place.

I've never been a fan of the TC stiffeners because of how little material there is supporting the corner between the horizontal and vertical flats.

You have a semi-rigid connection to the frame via the bed bolt when you mount them, but there isn't much support material near that connection point. It doesn't take too much force to bend a thin piece of 3/16" mild steel, so maybe you're seeing some flex on the stiffener itself. Not necessarily right at the corner, but at the bottom plate specifically--that tied with some some flex in the composite bed might potentially be causing what you're seeing.

 

thanks for the input, i'll look a bit more when i get a chance to try to pinpoint exactly what the point of flex is. when you look behind the taillight, there are some structural bed supports. however, only the upper most bolt of the TC stiffeners attaches to one of these internal bed support points. the 3 bolts drilled through the bed sheet metal aren't proving much structural support at all.

Not trying to knock total chaos, the stiffeners are definitely well built and a quality piece. I am a bit of a perfectionist and may be being a bit picky here as well...

 

Be careful with those straps. One click to many and your bed sides can buckle. Ask me how I know.

 

oh man! I guess i better leave well enough alone then. hopefully the stiffeners provide the support required to keep the gap from getting any worse. thanks!

 

i also observed the widened gap between the tailgate and bed ... attempted to physically close the gap by pushing on the top of the bed ... bad idea ... ended up putting a hairline crack in the tail lens ... an expensive lesson ... convinced me not to install bed stiffeners as long as the tailgate functions ...

my obs ford has panel flaws all over the place ... it came from the factory that way ... doors, hood, and tailgate have worked as intended for twenty-five years ...

like pointing out female wrinkle flaws ... don't go there ... lol ...

 

Pretty much installed the Cali Raised (now in TX) bed stiffeners as you did. I left the cap on and bolted in place. The only thing I did different was I used two rachet straps. The first strap was attached to the bed rail cleats (circled in WHITE) and carefully cinched in. I used the second strap on the tail gate latch (circled in RED) and cinched that strap fairly tight. I then went back to the first stap and gave it a few more clicks followed by doing the same with the second strap. It was then I installed the bed stiffeners. That was about 4 years ago and the bed and cap are going strong.

A little curious if you're carrying anything on top of your cap?

 

Touché

 

Not carrying anything on top of my camper, just the shell itself.

Based on what I'm hearing I'm going to leave it alone and hope the new stiffeners just keep things from widening more in the future.

 

As a point of interest, I have nothing on my bed. 2005. The only weight on the sides is me occasionally climbing over. I recently found cracks by the hinges. I brazed them. Maybe worth checking. Those stiffeners should definitely help prevent further propagation or formation of.

 

This is how I did my TC stiffeners and they closed the gap up.

 

Hmm

https://youtube.com/shorts/LHoRxJeDqcc?feature=share

 

I have this problem when loading kayaks up top ... rear of the shell needs adjusting here and there ...som÷ime the bed itself moves around and to be lined up after corigation roads

 

After I installed bed stiffeners and the gaps didn't change I noticed my tailgate was bowed a bit. I think this is another common cause for the uneven gaps at the tailgate.

 

Why not loosen the bed bolts and shift the bed even

 

I do

 

Check below the taillights in the corner for cracking