Stupid Bed Design, mod ideas?

I'm a serious Toyota guy (Wife says I have the "Sombrero'd Jumping Bean" tattooed on my ass). Normally I find a small gripe on the engineering of various models (ie 5th gen pickup you have to remove the grill to change a headlight).

There are some serious shortcomings in the bed design of the 2nd gen. Composite bed, with storage compartments and an AC outlet, pretty slick. Outlet is only 300W (yeah I've heard the gripes), but I kinda get why they did that (overtaxing alternator, smaller wiring, cheaper inverter...) and it's something I may be able to tamper with.

There is so much space they could have put more/larger storage compartments. The entire space between the bed walls and outer fender could have been storage..

I pulled the storage box with the outlet expecting to see a larger inverter or something on the back based on the amount of real-estate it takes up. WTF? I was expecting SOMETHING back there.



I'm going to probably relocate it to inside a second Tuffy storage box on the passenger side. They could have just mounted that by itself on a bed wall.

This brings me to my biggest gripe. I've had 87, 92, and 94 Toyota pickups and always engineered work arounds for hauling 4x8 sheets. My 1st gen Tundra was nice being midsized but being able to haul them flat between the wheel wells was a nice benefit. I was hoping 3rd gen Taco might grow a little and rectify the issue, but they didn't so I pickup the 2012.

The pockets for cross supports is a nice touch, but I still need to come up with a support at the tailgate for 250 mi trips to the cabin.

Here's the gripe. There is 43" between the wheel wells at the bottom and over 46" at the top. THERE IS 6 INCHES OF CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE INSIDE MY TIRE AND THE BED!!

Why in the hell didn't they reduce the tire clearance to 3.5" and make it 48" between the wheel wells? Am I missing something.

I'm seriously trying figure out how to cut them and patch to get my beloved 48". Any ideas are appreciated. I don't want to simply pop rivet sheet metal in place or compromise the structure of the box.

 

I know the inverter is in the center console now, lol. I was just expecting some kind of box back there to justify the volume it takes up.

I have one Tuffy on the driver's side. A second will allow me to store all my cargo tie downs, threaded links, tow strap, trailer hitches and jumper cables. I used to keep em in a Rubbermaid Action Packer in the bed. Expensive, but frees up a couple cubic feet of bed space that I DO utilize.

 

The Japanese don't think like the Americans. To you it is 48 inches, but to them it is 121.92 cm. Meh . . .

 

LMAO. It was a THE big selling point on the T100 and Tundra.

Then there's times I see a small feature that is just brilliant. 87 Corolla I think it was had a little spoiler molded into the rear window gasket to direct water run-off. Cheap and effective.

 

the japanese dont sell this truck in japan either. most of their pickups are even smaller than ours lol please excuse me i just got back from there and suffer jet lag in a big way!!

 

" It's always something. If it's not sand in your bathing suit it would be a little ball of sweat on the end of you nose that just won't fall off".

Roseanne Roseannadanna

Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it is stupid.

 

Never understand why someone buys something for significant money and then writes a post like this, like Toyota came in the middle of the night and made the bed too small while he was sleeping.

 

Yes. Yes they did. I was there.

 

Guys, easy. Sorry if I came off too negative. Like I said, I'm a huge Toyota fan (5 in my driveway right now) and would never consider another make. Just thinking they could have done a lot better.

Any good reason why they couldn't have made it a 48" bed between the wheel wells? Any idea how to adjust that?

I was completely aware when I bought the truck I would that I couldn't haul 4x8 sheets flat and was willing to accommodate. Just venting and looking for productive ideas. I'm a mod on 1stGenCelica.com, so I get it.

Let's tone down the drama.

 

True, just thinking with the awesome engineering they do for 99% of the stuff, this would have been an easy and cheap upgrade. Guys, seriously, no fight wanted here, let's make this a productive thread. New to this forum, but not to Toyota forums. Same screen name on all, so check me out.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/index.p...latform---2x6's-or-2x8's.273563/#post-6754513

 

I also would love 48" between the wells.

It could definitely be done, just a matter of regaining the strength you just removed.

I'm envisioning two drop in steel trays that replace what you've taken away to gain the width.

 

Pat, please elaborate on the trays.

I've thought about cutting the material out, but you can't plastic weld it as it's a thermoset. Sheet metal riveted in would give too many local stress risers.

Burgh/Oz, I get it. On my older pickups I used build long boxes height and width of the wheel wells with support in the center. supported 6.5 of an 8' sheet. The current x braces will support 5'4" of plywood. Fine for a trip from local lumber yard, but on 250 mi trip I'd have to build a support for the rears.

Oz, I wish I had pics, but my 87 and 92 had front to back (storage) boxes in the bed with removable center pieces. The wife and I used to inflate a queen mattress on top and go camping for a week. Had a foot high storage x 6.5' x about 3' wide under the bed. Basically boxed out the wheel wells front to back and had storage on front and behind them. Make Sense?

 

flex your truck.... you will then realize why there is the "6inches of clearance" from wheel to wheel well.

 

OP
It sounds like a full size truck may be a better fit for your needs.

 

Sorry, my brain is spent for the day.

I would personally never hack the bed, I've always just put long lengths of lumber down first and ply on top.

I'll see what I can come up with in my dreams tonight

 

Larry, I really don't need a full size, it's 6-12 trips a year that I need the 4' wide capacity. I can use a trailer, borrow a buddies truck, etc. My point is that Toyota could have easily accommodated the capacity, and could have given more options for storage (at least as an option)

nd, what do you mean about "flexing". You may be answering my question of why so much clearance.

 

OP, I can't tell you anything you haven't heard except that the reason for clearance between the tire and bed is probably for off road purposes. Firstly for the articulation and secondly to fit larger tires maybe? There have been a few flatbed builds here if you're interested in that route. I wish we had 48" as well but honestly that's probably why they made the grooves in the wheel wells.

 

And welcome to Tacoma world!

 

I just wanted to quote Roseanne Roseannadanna from Saturday Night Live! It's all good. Just busting your balls a little! Welcome to the forum. Lots of ball bustin going on, but no harm intended.