bed tie downs

Nah man your not going crazy, here is a pic of my old D-Cab with my bike in the back.

 

I am glad that I am not the only one that built a ramp using the 2x6 kit from Sears/Autozone. I used that for years and then sold it with my last bike. Nice looking DC, BTW.

 

thats what i meant by my ? before. i think i am going to do the same thing.

 

I think (since you have the short bed) that will work out to be the best option for you.

 

Yep but unfortunately I no longer own all three. Traded the truck in last September for my X-Runner, The bike and the 2 x10 ramps I sold in July.

 

I have other pics of my setup on my old truck shoot me a pm if you want to see more. I dont wanna clog up TCBOB's awesome site with pic's of a truck I no longer own.

 

Thanks for the compliment, I am here to help.

Mark,

You're welcome, you are right it is pretty straightforward, and it is absolutely necessary to have something lower than the rail system. Toyota should have put them in from the factory. Just make sure to get your wife or someone to come out and hold the plates square while you tighten the bolts, or take LRH's advice and use the 3m spray adhesive. I doubt that you will, but should you run into any problems or need a clearer picture of something let me know.

This is probably a correct statement, though an Ultra Classic, or simmilarly heavy bike would likely cause the failure of the un-reinforced tailgates mentioned in other threads. Also, the only reason that I advised against using this system for heavy bikes is that I am overly cautious with my bike, and even in the trailer, I have a ratchet strap at all 4 corners, plus a set of cam-lock straps at all four corners as well. In the un-likely event that any strap should fail then I still have a back-up. I also check the straps every time I stop for fuel or lunch when I am trailering my bike as well. Call me paranoid, but I suspect it is because I have more money tied up in custom paint on the bike, than it cost when it was new.

 

Is the bolt in the bed a torx? If so, what size? I plan to add a couple D-rings this weekend.

 

I think I am learning to trust the bed rails. I have had my GSXR 750 in there for a 1k trip with no issues. I thought I needed to add some tie downs, turns out those engineers know what they are doing. Who would have thought.

 

just dont trust the roof racks to much. i put my canoe up there this last weekend. and the front one pretty much kinked. it looked like it was going to snap off if i went over a bump. I had to cut down a 2x4 and rest the canoe on top of that.

 

If my memory servers me correctly the bed bolts are t-55 and the d-rings in the back of the bed are t-45's. I got my torxs from sears.

 

I installed an extra set of d-rings in the front of the bed today. Thanks Homer - the bed bolts are in fact T-55. One of the bed bolts came out very easily. The other one was a real pain in the A.

 

hey where did you get those bolts. and do they swivel?

 

You can order an extra set of d-rings from Toyota. They come with a metal backing plate to install them through the plastic bed. However some of us simply install them under the existing bolts in the bed that hold the bed to the frame. This way they are about as strong as you can get. The down side to doing it this way is that they do not swivel. To me that is no big deal.

 

Just to be clear...if you mount them as they come, with the metal backing plate they do swivel just like the ones that come in the back of the bed. They look identical. I can post pictures if you want. I believe there are pictures on the site already if you look hard enough...

 

NO problem man that what this place is all about, helping each other out.

 

I pulled out the bed bolts for mine too. Nothing less than an impact wrench and torx bit for the wrench would get them out. But at least I know those suckers aren't going anywhere!

 

Why won't the D-rings swivel when using the bed mounting bolts ? Could the D-ring attachment hole be drilled out larger in order to get the swivel back on ??

 

if you look back up at 007tacoma's pictures, you can see that on both sides right on top of the wheel wells, there is a little recessed area. i assume that is where a toolbox would rest if you got one. as i do not plan to get one, they make a great mounting area...they are very easy to reach when installing, they are protected because of their lowered position , and you can tie down quite a load with that angle.

 

Is it me?...Or does your rear left tire lean out 2wards the top?...Or is it a slanted driveway with the weight of your bike that does that?