Removing plastic caps on bed

Has anyone removed the plastic caps on the top edge of the bed without breaking or destroying them?

 

Look inside the bed and see where they are bolted in, remove those bolts and start prying them up, it will feel like you are going to break them but they will come up.

 

I've removed tailgate caps on 3 Tacomas, 06, 13, 14. I broke at least one or two tabs each time but that wasn't enough to render them unusable. I removed all caps on my 06 because the weight of the cap caused them to rub through the paint. I repainted and put them right back on. Just keep in mind that there's a bunch of ugly under there when you remove them. There are lots of holes in that top rail and tailgate so leaving them off won't be attractive.

 

Going to install a Commercial truck Cap, http://www.4are.com/product/dcu_diamond/ ...to remove the plastic caps on the side of the box...to make it even with the bulk head...The ARE dealer I'm buying the cap from says the Tacoma is the most prone to water leaks. I am also learning a lot, finding out the poor strength of the box itself, but that's another issue. I want to remove the gate & caps myself in order to avoid the dealer prying & scratching the box...

 

You will find that even with a cap installed, you get a lot of dust and dirt. There are a lot of gaps around the tailgate.

I also strongly suggest that if your cap has a standard cap door, you need to put something across the top of the tailgate to protect the paint where the rubber door gasket hits the paint. If you don't, it will wear down to bare metal. I always remove my tailgate top cap, put some heavy 2" wide black electrical ltape across right where it would hit, then reinstall the top cap. With the cap door closed you won't see it and it solves the problem.

Edit.... I just saw your picture, you won't have a cap door.