My bed mounting channels are bending. Anyone else experience this? Any fix?

Hi there. I have attached two photos of my bed mounting channels which I’ve used to mount my bed rack. I tightened the bed rack brackets in the photos onto the bed channels, and to my surprise the bed channels started to bend. The plastic is bending as well as you can see. I was shocked by how weak the channels are. Is this normal? The bed rack feels secure, but I’m not sure what will happen once I go off-road. There is a 200 pound hard shell tent on top of the racks, and as the racks wobble back and forth off-road, I am concerned that the weight of the tent will lift the brackets against the channels, bending them even more. Any suggestions to fix this or is it normal/okay?

 

Not an emergency; that's reserved for a downed truck.

Someone should chime in regarding your bed rack.

 

Not an emergency.

those mounting channels are not intended to support large loads… they are thing sheet metal. You’d also do better mounting those brackets close to where the channels are mounted with a screw. Less likely for it to bend there.

 

^This. Put the mounting brackets right next to a channel mounting screw, and don't go nuts torquing it down. Most of the weight is going to rest on the bed sides, you should be just fine. Might want to consider bed stiffeners, though.

 

Yes, I’ve seen it.
The issue goes all the way back to the 2nd Gen trucks.
I experienced this back in 2006 when I used the channels to mount my tool box.
I still think Toyota should have added more bolts. Maybe one more between each that are there now.
And it would be nice if the channels were a bit “stronger”.
While my case wasn’t as extreme as yours, I knew then “there was a problem”.
While the bed rails are nice, they are not robust.

 

Do you know if there is a more heavy duty replacement part? I tried Googling, but I don’t know the technical name for that part. I used “mounting channel” because it sounded like it made sense lol.

 

Try “Bed rail system”.

 

Do y

Do you think I am at risk of busting them? I’m going to move the brackets closer to the screws, but I hope I haven’t permanently damaged the channels.

 

Thank you. I went nuts screwing the brackets on because I noticed when off-roading that my bed rack was wobbling back and forth a bit rather than being perfectly fixed and stable. Is a little bit of bed rack wobble normal? Granted, the tent weighs 218 pounds and my awning weighs probably 40 pounds. The dynamic off-road weight capacity of the bed rack is 300 pounds so I assumed it shouldn’t wobble at all. I bought the new Kuat Ibex bed rack. If a little bed rack wobble is normal, that would put my mind at ease.

 

I don’t think they will “bust”.
What will happen is the “C” will open up and then things will get loose.
As soon as you start putting any lateral movement on the rack, it’s going to get loose.

Next issue will be the bed corners.
They like to crack too.
Go ahead and look into bed stiffeners.
You’re going to need them.

 

I don't have a 3rd Gen but no bed rack should be "wobbly" at all in any way.

Dynamic vs static weights are two different things btw

 

Any suggestions on how to prevent this? Or do you think moving the brackets closer to the screws will fix it?

 

Moving the brackets closer to the screws will help.
Definitely do that.

 

Using more mounts would help too.
My 4 on each side. Maybe more.

I love Toyota, but the bed rail system is “weak”.
There will be guys disagree, but I’ve used mine enough to know that they bend if you put “up” or “down” strain on the channels. The “D” anchors also add leverage. And make the torque applied “worse”.

 

This video shows what I mean by wobbly. It flexes back and forth a bit more than the truck flexes when I push and pull on it. Please see the video and tell me if you think that looks normal considering the weight it’s holding.

 

Does not look too bad to me.
Looks like truck moves more than the rack.
All you can do is “try it out”. Check the mounts in a few days.
And especially if you do any off road driving. The bed flex will loosen things up when off road.
I’ve had my body flex enough I could hear the door seal “screeching”.

 

can you adjust how the rack is mounted to those bed rails? like extend them a little more so they dont skew the bed rail up?

like adjusting these 2 bolts on each clamp?

 

The entire bed will flex separate from the cab. That may be part of what you are noticing. Watching your video, it looks like the rack itself is flexing a bit and deforming. With that modular design and minimal cross-bracing, I would expect a little of that.

You may be overthinking this a bit. Make sure all rack assembly bolts are snugged up and check them again after using it a bit. Move those clamps near a channel mounting bolt. Go have fun.

 

Looks like the bedside is moving; that part is 'normal' and it happens. I thought you meant the bed rack separate from the bed itself.

Many people run bed stiffeners to add a little support to the bedsides.

I sell them for 1st Gen trucks, but many vendors offer them for 2nd/3rd Gen trucks.

The bed sides are susceptible to bowing outwards due to the added weight on the bed sides.

 

I have the same KUAT bed rack installed on my Tacoma. Definitely a different mounting syste than I am used to from previous bed rack. I mounted my mounts closer, so do not have quite that issue.