Bed Stiffeners: overkill or useful?

Hm, interesting.

I’ve noticed nothing whatsoever. Maybe I’m not looking hard enough for it ha.

 

Pfft who even buys bed stiffeners

 

Of course I'm being facetious.

I'm not familiar at all with these composite beds and hoping I can get a set out to a 2nd Genner sometime soon. But several of my 1st Gen customers have told me it made a difference for sure; one even said "I can actually close the tailgate now without issue"

 

I for sure didn't go looking for it, or expect it, just smacked me in the face and I was like 'whoa, fkn awesome'. Maybe has something to do with my super softly valved ADS shocks or my J66 packs. Unsure, but they were a welcome addition for more than just future-proofing and improved my ride quality pretty noticeably. I have a Niki Lauda ass tho, and I notice the subtlest of things. Was nothing like adding the Hammer Hangers, but, like I said, not mad about it.

 

If God had intended Tacomas to have bed stiffeners, then bands of angels would descend every time a Tacoma was sold and install our choice of brand.

 

Start the revolution, buy a set for your truck, lead the push!

Don't be a follower, be a leader!

 

Wow, sorry to hear that, I assumed that just happened for everyone.

 

Curious though...if bed stiffeners improved the overall integrity of the vehicle, then why doesn't Toyota make it part of the design? Seems like a fairly inexpensive modification to greatly increase owner satisfaction.

You guys are convincing me that this mod is necessary. Out of curiosity, does this mod get in the way of other ancillary type equipment or accessories (e.g. bed extender, caps, etc.)?

 

Well if you look at where bed stiffeners are installed, you can see what accessories would and wouldn't work with it.

As for necessary, that all depends on usage.

If you have a 1st Gen and throw on a camper shell or bed rack full of accessories then yeah you'll need it. Google what the bed sides look like after carrying some weight.

But if you don't put any weight on those bed sides then it's really a non-issue. Kind of like the way the exhaust is routed and sits below the transfer case skid plate. If you don't wheel then it's not necessary to reroute it as the engineers didn't think that one through correctly.

 

I'm curious how we know these actually do more good than harm. Not saying they are bad, I really don't know. It just seems possible that stiffening something that might actually need some flex could cause issues. Is there anything more than anecdotal observations to support the benefits of these?

 

You can choose not to run them; curious what your theory is on the "harm" caused?

 

They can get in the way of stuff but in my experience it has been a non issue. More likely to cause a problem with loading stuff that maxes out the bed space than other accessories/mods I would think. 4WP makes some that brace internally if it’s of concern.

 

They discontinued them some time back.

I asked someone to model a set for me if they wanted me to make some but haven't heard back.

 

Well...It would be nice if someone has this knowledge and doesn't mind sharing this, and therefore save me some time.

I appreciate the feedback. It doesn't cost much to do, so I may explore doing this.

 

I guess what I meant is, if you look up a picture with a bed stiffener installed (posted on vendor websites) you'll be able to see how it ties up a part of the bed width.

Accessories are normally on a bed rack, along the side rails, or against the front part of the bed.

Example of stiffener installed along with accessories in the areas mentioned (picture from a vendor's site) -



And although it's not a 2nd/3rd Gen, here's what I've offered 1st Gen owners -



The specific truck shown there is the one where my friend couldn't even close her tailgate. Now she can easily as it brought the bedsides back in to a 90 degree.

 

I can't think of any reason where the bed itself flexing would be a benefit, but there are MANY examples of how the bed gets twisted out of shape and damaged by not running them. Do what you want with your truck though.

 

So a question on using these - I frequently have items loaded on pallets put into my truck. How big of an impact will they have on getting stuff in/out via pallet? I like the ones that go all the way to the top and have a lower profile.

 

Do a cardboard mockup of the stiffeners, test it. "Pallets" can mean many things in terms of width and profile, how high you lift pallets before moving them backwards/forwards. Only you can verify with your working conditions.

 

For my uses they look like something that'll get in the way or I'll unknowingly kneel right on it at some point.
My tonneau cover holds the bed together.

If carrying a topper or camper I would probably get a set.

 

This is why they are not "standard" on or worse, welded onto, Tacoma ... some people need all of the bed-width they can get, others require rigid bed-walls and do not care about how much it intrudes on those corners.