HELP! Calling all replacers of spare tire hoists!

The other day someone broke into truck and made off with my spare tire kit (among other expensive things). Unfortunately, my truck has some type of proprietary star-shaped lock socket key thingy which drives the spare tire hoist and without knowing the original lock ID number, I can't get a replacement socket. Suffice to say that I've learned more about Tacoma spare tire hoists in the past three days than I ever cared to know in three lifetimes!

At this point, it seems like my only option is to cut down the tire and replace the hoist unit

Questions:

• Is it necessary to raise the truck bed to gain access to the hoist unit mounting bolts?
  • It looks like the bolts thread into the mechanism from the top of the frame, i.e., directly underneath the bed). But, given that the tire is currently in the way, I can't feel around for clearance.

• If raising the bed is necessary, how does one go about doing that?
  • Is it possible to just loosen a few of the bed bolts and shove a 2x4 between the bed and the frame to gain clearance?

Thanks team!