Tacoma Loose Bed design Flaw explanation

My bed was rattling badly. I checked it out and i think my problem was different than all these posts. The washer was loose. To me that meas the bolt just loosened itself. The sleeve was still flush with the bed when i took the bolt out. If the bed was wearing away then the washer sould have still been tight between the sleeve and bolt head. So i just took it out and cleaned it up then put it right back in. I kinda wish i had checked to see if the bed was level before and after but i didnt think about it at the time. But now i want to prevent the bed wear problem in the future....should i use the hard plastic spacers or a softer rubber. Im thinking rubber because i shouldnt need to create extra space

 

Vulcanized rubber or hard polyurethane would be a good choice. Its got to be tough enough to sustain the weight and vibration. UHMW polyethylene as used by Dave may be a good choice too. UHMW is very tough, but slippery, so I'm on the fence with that one

 

Yes the dealership cut down the sleeve.

 

I can't speak for your case, but I can guarantee that in my case this bolt didn't just back itself out- I had to put all my muscle on a cheater bar for each and every 1/4 turn on that bolt, to get it out... I understand your point about the sleeve/bushing, but I have to assume that the bushing does not actually extend all the way (in one piece) from the top to the bottom of the bed (where it meets the frame)... Remember that you *can* see bed wear around the bushing and below the top of the bushing, in my photo above.

My belief is that the wear on the bed is caused by the bed moving forward/back and left/right where it meets the frame, and also to a lesser degree around the bolt washer on top- this is also the reason the designers made the bolt hole so much larger than the bolt itself- they knew there would be side-to-side motion there.

Which is why using UHMW tough slippery plastic as a spacer makes sense- allow the bed to slip easily without wearing down the bed where it meets metal.

I'm afraid that rubber or regular hard plastic will quickly disintegrate if used in that situation.

 

I think you're misunderstanding something. Allowing the bed to move / slip is a recipe for disaster, that is not the function of the UHMW polyethylene. The function of the UHMW plastic is to isolate and absorb vibrations.

Also, the bed should remain firmly attached to the frame and never move. One reason for the large holes in the bed are to allow for adjustment for bed / cab alignment. I think it's wrong to suggest the designers wanted the bed to move.

 

It may be true the design was supposed to float a little. It does work for a while. I think where Toyota may have dropped the ball is the system works well until there's debris introduced and starts making what was originally a clean, smooth surface into an abrasive one. The steel mounts on the frame will burnish but the composite bed will not, it just wears. I bet none of this would be necessary if you remove the bolts once in a while and clean under there. But that's just not realistic in practice.

I would suggest not using simple rubber or anything soft because it's going to suffer the same fate as the bed itself, being eaten up in the dirt and vibration. My memory is starting to fail but I think on my old truck Toyota had fiber reinforced rubber isolators. I might be think of something else. Anyway, they were hard rubber (if I'm remembering right) and durable. That would be OK. But there were thick, like 1/4" or something. They also would not allow any thermal expansion. That's not a problem with a steel bed, but with a composite bed it might resist movement enough to cause buckling somewhere. Not sure.

Honestly I think UHMW, Delrin and similar materials are ideal for making these isolators and washers. It's tough, compresses a little, low friction. If you have a mill I would use Delrin and machine nicer looking and very smooth parts. But I'm satisfied with my UHMW sheets, too.

 

A (presumably softer durometer) poly would keep things damped but I think the squeaking would drive me nuts, probably as much as the original noise that the mounts were making. It boils down to one of two solutions, either prohibit (or isolate/insulate) the movement or encourage/allow it with a wear surface. Either way is arguably valid.

 

Had a knaack box in for months. Figured it was the box lid or handles rattling. Box is out, rattle remains.

Finally gave the bed a good jerk and remembered this page. Lo and behold the bed was worn on the mount like others have posted.

Found an old tire, cut out a square on the side of the road with a leatherman, installed and fixed clunk before the sun came up. Merry xmas.

 

I just learned Tacomas have composite beds after reading this thread. Thanks guys.

 

UHMW it shall be , my front passenger is loose.

 

Gotta love stumblung across a thread accidently, but applies to the inspection i was gonna do this weekend on my 2nd gen for why i hear something rattling loud in the rear.

Anyone know if you can pick up UHMW from hardware store?

 

7 bucks from McMaster-Carr
https://www.mcmaster.com/#8752k121

Kinda doubtful that a regular hardware store would have that stuff in stock.

/guess I'll be checking my bed later today for this...

 

Could you give us an update on how well this has held up? @DaveInDenver

I just put some HDPE (had it on the stock rack so didn't order UHMW) in mine and I'm hoping this won't be a recurring problem.

 

Hi Dave. Do you have an update on the box situation?
Thanks

 

I just used the rubber between the box and frame method and so far so good. I just used rubber. No clue about UHMW, I just used this piece of heavy duty rubber from an old pet brush.

 

Thanks for replying. I actually have the uhmw on order so I'll be trying that fix as of now.

 

Hey everyone, I have been dealing with this issue since 2014 or 63,000km on 2013 LBDC. Right after I started hauling my 81honda cb 900 around.
Even with the ECP Toyota wouldnt look at it, started a claim for warranty and nothing ever got done, biggest fuck around.
So I had to fix it myself. I came up with an identical solution using fiber reinforced rubber from an old truck bed liner as extra washer/spacers under metal washer. The wear on the gussetes/frame mounts is a new idea to me and will be investigating that shortly. In my case it is soly the composite material being crushed from lateral forces.
My fix only lasted 2years, and now just recently returned, now having to fix it again I have gone back to Toyota Corp and got a little bit further this time. A dealership has looked it over and I am just waiting to hear back from them. Because to me, this is a desgin flaw, putting plastic between metal and expecting the plastic to hold up with the metal! Stupid!

Now not only am I dealing with the bed coming loose again, my sidewalls have also broken and are being held together with a rachet just so I can close the tailgate.

This issue needs to be a recall, TSB, whatever. I urge everyone with a Taco to talk with thier dealer or Toyota Corp about this, otherwise we are the ones footing the bills for all these fixes.

Once I figure out attaching pics I'll do so.

Great thread btw

R.G

 

More proof these trucks are not made for real work. These are dainty trucks. They need bed, and frame reinforcement. They need reinforcement everywhere!! Tailgate. Leafsprings. Pretty much replace everything on this truck to make it do truck things. On a side note, my wife loves hers. At least it can handle groceries.

 

Sorry but I gotta ask. I'm no expert but the shell including the rack is mounted on the steel bed sides/tops so I don't see how the weight of shell+rack would stress the bottom of the composite bed. Coming to that conclusion assumes the stress is being transferred to the bottom of the bed via the composite sections on top of the bed sides. Is that even possible? It seems like stress on the bed would have to be due to loads in the bed.

Shoot me down if you want . . .

 

Hey I like groceries.