Quick education on shell mounting please

My new-to-me Tacoma came with a ARE shell. I removed it because I don't need or want it, but I'm trying to sell it. It was mounted to the truck with a rail system. The rails were mounted to the inside of the bed with some kind of nut-serts (hard to see with bed liner). Clamps went from the rails to the shell lip.

Question 1: What kind of butchery will I see to the bed body when I remove the bed liner? (and actually, the nut-serts on the front appear to be install through the bed liner, any suggestions how to remove?).

Question 2: What does the rail mounting offer over a simple clamp between the bed rail and the shell? I have someone interested in buying the shell, but they just want to come over and have me help them plop it on. Drilling into their bed and installing rails is not ideal. I assume they could stop at Autozone or someplace and get some basic clamps for this purpose?

Thanks.

 

What year ? 2011 ? That’s not a bedliner. It’s factory. Those rails are factory.
Any pics ?

 

Interesting! I had no idea it was a factory option. Yes, 2011. Here are some pics.

The tailgate has some sketchy looking flathead screws holding the plastic at the top. I can't believe that's factory?

So regarding the topper mounting, the new person could just clamp it without any rails, no problem?

 

Did you take the tracks off? That's the factory cargo management track- put it back on. There should be one across the front too. The tailgate bolts are factory as well. They're screwed onto plastic inserts so if you take them out more than a time or two plan on buying new inserts.

As to your question about the "bed liner", that is the bed. There is no liner on the newer trucks, it's a composite bed to reduce weight.

Your truck should have come with four loop thingies (technical term- they're cargo tie downs*) that slide into the track, they may not have come with your truck or the previous owner may have stuck them in with the jack or something.

*Example:

$29 Bed Cleat

https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Toyo...toyota+tacoma+tie+downs&qid=1609530058&sr=8-5

 

Thanks. I had no clue about this. Is the plastic over the top edge of the bed factory as well?

 

Yes

 

As are the corner D rings.

Tell your buyer they need to have the factory tracks in their truck or they're on their own. There is no way I'd drill into someone else's truck; too much risk of them coming back later and complaining. There are clamps that have T-nuts that slide into the tracks and there are older styles (like mine, I got it in '06) that clamp into it. If you remove the end caps on the tracks the T-Nuts slide out.

Also they need two different types of gasket material to put under it. There are several threads on them along with the parts links on Amazon.

 

Storage compartments as well

 

Yup, I have those. Also some metal clamps used to hold the shell on, presumably not factory, but they were using the rail:

 

Yep, those are the factory tie downs at the bottom of your picture. You can slide them on and off without removing the end caps.

I would strongly advise your buyer to add an additional pair of clamps in the middle to apply more even downward pressure along the bottom. It's a PITA to get shells to seal properly on these beds.

Honestly, if you have the storage room, I'd hang onto the shell for a while and see if you change your mind. If you're going to be hauling dirt bikes or something yeah, it's not going to work, but for quick camping and generally being able to toss stuff in the back out of the weather they're handy. Mine's been on since '06; I need to pull it, clean it and put in new seals, but I camp out of it a lot. I've still got a utility trailer from when I had motorcycles.

 

Do all the tacomas have the rails, or is it an option? The buyer hasn't come by yet, but if she has them, this will be a cinch.

 

Yes, they're part of the factory bed and they help hold the bed in place.

 

Thanks for all the help. They had the rails and the install was smooth sailing. Plus, now I understand that I have a plastic bed.

 

But sir, it is technically a composite bed! "Plastic" makes it sound so... cheap and flimsy!

Really though they're plenty tough and don't rust out, and you'll also note that there is a steel channel at the rear of the bed encompassing the tailgate. A lot of folks really swear by the factory bed mat for hauling things around, though depending on what you're doing with the bed (hauling debris or doing a lot of gravity-assisted loading) you might not want to pay the Toyota premium.