Total Chaos Bed Stiffeners! One of the best investment so far!

Awesome!

TOTAL CHAOS
WWW.CHAOSFAB.COM

 

Don't sweat it. Anyone who has been here for any amount of time has bought something for their truck that others don't understand.

I've kept an eye out for these as I occasionally wheel my truck and have a cap, but so far my gaps have not gapped.

 

I think this is really the bottom line. For normal use with an open bed the design is sufficient. Even occasional weight isn't gonna hurt anything. With the tailgate closed the bed sides should be fine, the tailgate provides support. It's if you're putting weight or force on the sides all the time or twisting the chassis that you run into problems.

What fatigued my the sides on my '91 was the WilderNest. And I totally acknowledge this is an unique case. I am preparing the Tacoma to mount this and wanted to fix a problem I knew was going to be there. Even if the Tacoma bed was just as strong as the older trucks I'd have done this and since it's not even that strong this was definitely gonna happen eventually to it.

Closed it looks like this.


Open it looks like this.


But since the lid that flips over is heavy and awkward, they put in helper springs. They prevent the lid from slamming shut when you close it. They are loaded with the top shut and that's a constant pressure pushing the sides of the bed out. There's a bracket that goes over the door to tie the two sides together, but it's still a big unsupported space. When I 'wheel with it I connect the bed sides together with a ratchet strap to give it support but there's only some much you can do over time.

 

Now if we could just get a bottle opener added...

 

No changes planned. With a little creativity you can still use the antenna/whip mount as an opener.
Still works if you're familiar with opening bottles on the edge of a table


TOTAL CHAOS
WWW.CHAOSFAB.COM

 

I've had my Total Chaos Bed Stiffeners on for almost a year now and love em. I spearfish a lot and like to go out on kayaks. Sometimes I go offroad with the kayaks on my racks so I got these stiffeners for the peace of mind that my bed flexes less and will mitigate any encounter with the bed tearing. I read a few folks who had their beds split/tear due to the loads on the rails and thought it would be a good idea.

These things are much beefier than they look in pictures. They've also added more tie points for me which has become super functional every weekend hauling things. I get a lot of comments on them.

I'm sure you'll continue to enjoy them.

 

Metal bends, plastic flexes. You can’t compare the two. IMO adding the stiffeners just creates a rigid point that if flexed too hard will crack the composite bed around it. The bed is meant to flex and works just fine. I’ve never seen one issue posted ever about it. How many trucks are out there from 2005 to now?

 

My RCI rack is solid enough that I believe it'll hold the bed together lol. I have it and a RTT on the bed and haven't noticed any serious issues.

Added tie down points would be cool though

 

The metal in my bed didn't flex, the welds along the seams were cracking and lip had started to buckle. Like I admitted in a later post, the WilderNest is pretty hard on bed sides and an exceptional case. I eventually beat that flat and bolted angle iron along it, but the damage was already done by then and the side has splayed out.

Your point is valid, normal use shouldn't seriously stress the bed of a Tacoma or any truck. But I don't think it's completely fair to say it's pointless to reinforce an obvious weakness to any pickup bed if your use dictates it is fair either.

The stress and shock of 'wheeling also cracks the fiberglass in topper shells, so repairing the gelcoat periodically is necessary. Doesn't mean all toppers are flawed, but does mean I have started using 1/8" rubber under them to try and reduce the cracking from it.

 

I'm in the same boat. Stiffeners we're one of my last mods and carrying an overlander xl smittybilt with camper shell. There were so many other things I've done to the truck and frankly these were on the bottom of my list and really just because I wanted to spend money during a labor day sale. For most people I doubt these necessary. But it was always a thought for me driving over trails hard without these that maybe it was a good idea to have extra support given my extra weight.

 

Dude, that is awesome! That looks really awesome. I like that it sits flush with the roof rack, that's exactly how I want the bed rack to sit on mine when I do mine.

 

Why the hate on the gasshole? I love mine. Every car I've ever had until the Tacoma has had a way of mounting the gas cap to the filler door while getting gas. The Tacoma felt unfinished without it. It's easy to install, relatively cheap, and serves a purpose...

Of course, ive blown more money on stupid crap than I care to admit so maybe im not the best judge.

 

That's Overlanderz for you.
To go with their stupid Krazy Beaver shovel etc

 

I have mixed feelings if they actually work though as I have them and although my bed hasn't split a lot it still split a bit.

I honestly don't know how anyone runs bed racks and actually wheels with RTT or whatever because without a RTT just spare tire, recovery boards and a hi lift my bed split a little with the bed rack on and I've had the sidebars like stiffeners from day one.

@tacoma16 had them and his whole bed split last year

But then @Norilsk doesn't have them and you can see paint coming off his tailgate from how much the bed flexed and rubbed the paint where the tail gate closes. Vs mine doesn't flex that bad with the stiffeners.

They help but I hate to say the composite bed and soft bed rails are shit and it seems like nothing will completely stop it from moving a bit unless any sort of cap or rack you put on, you tie into the frame to carry the weight

 

They help but if your bed is showing signs of bowing, it’s just a matter of time.



This was before the stiffeners

And after I put them on
Then a year later of wheeling

Can see here in this picture that the bedside is still pulling away even though the stiffener is in place

Not saying this will happen to everyone but don’t think that a bed stiffener will prevent your bed from bowing. My total chaos stiffeners stayed square, it was just the crappy bed. Rtt with a cap and bouncing offroad doesn’t mix well with our beds.

 

I just put the little cord thing that holds the cap in the little clip part that locks the cover closed. Holds the cap no problem at all and I didn't need to buy anything else.

 

Pretty much what I was trying to get at

Many will buy these thinking it will beef it up where nothing will happen.
I know I did. It still split

And like yours mine haven't moved but you can see where the top screw is that the bed is pulling away from that part.

I think it would definitely help with the bed caving in but not splitting out.

And like you said when it comes to flexing and banging around off road it's just not going to stop it 100%

 

Pretty much. Everything has its limit and everyone’s load, driving, and terrain will play a role. Just need to watch and not just set it and forget it. I did until one day my tailgate wouldn’t close properly.

 

You have a high clearance rear bumper, which requires cutting the skirt off the bed. I've talked about this with friends over the years since this isn't a new thing. People have bobbed their beds and cut that low hanging part off for as long as I can remember and our observation is that that part of the bed is pretty important to the overall integrity of the sides. Probably more now than in 1st gen Tacos and 79-95 trucks since the fenders aren't welded to the inner bed like they used to be. I don't have any engineering analysis to prove or disprove this, just the observation of people in my 4WD club. It seems when the outer sheet metal is trimmed that you start to see folds and seams failing sooner. Of course if you 'wheel your truck it's naturally gonna take more of a beating, but trucks now just aren't built as stout either.

 

Your last sentence regarding the trucks not being built as stout is what I feel it is. Even with the skirts cut, the bedside is a 90” bend at the top of the bed rail. It still pulled away.