Tacoma Bed Stiffener Essential

I been searching for bed stiffener

What am I looking for in a stiffener?
What essential am I looking for like material or design?

If it doesn't matter as long its a steel L shape support, I might as well buy this

$46 WANRI New Rear Bed Channel Stiffeners Fit for Toyota Tacoma 2005-2021 Bed Stiffener (ZXC-0099YS)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9MZWPYD/?coliid=I3MPGU9W0VXC5F&colid=M4ORGOHFDFWD

 

All the same function. I grabbed total chaos because of its lower profile design.

 

Get a stainless set from Greenlane Offroad. No rust worries. They get a lot of rubbing and abuse, so keeping them painted is a PITA.

https://greenlaneoffroad.com/3rd-gen-toyota-tacoma/tacoma-bed-stiffener-bracket-set

 

Dang those are super nice but definitely not cheap!

 

I ran the all-pro bed stiffeners on my 2019 and loved the design and price point

 

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/aof-ap-307435

 

I got a set from At the Helm fabrication, I believe there a vendor on here.

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=Tac...hUKEwiBkMvj2ov-AhW7BDQIHbIJBNoQrQIoBHoECCMQBQ

At The Helm are the ones I installed a few days before my Snugtop shell was installed.

 

Do these solve an actual problem that I should be concerned about?

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/cracked-bed.712448/
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/anyone-else’s-bed-cracking-here.603580/#post-20323953

 

Prices are in CAD. $200 USD.

 

I've been running the 4WP stiffeners with a rack-it lumber rack and camper shell for about a year and they work great, even with a fair amount of offroading. I was definitely getting some sagging/cracking before I installed them: https://www.4wheelparts.com/p/4-wheel-parts-factory-tacoma-bed-stiffeners-61748w/_/R-4WPBR-61748W

They're a little harder to install than the ones that go inside the bed, but I like that they totally disappear under the truck.

Note, however, that if you're using them with a rack-it rack, you'll need to drill a couple extra holes to make them compatible with the rack-it brackets. It wasn't a big deal, though.

 

Total chaos are the best. Their design is patented and goes all the way up the bed. So in theory, more resistant to torque. However, whichever one you get is a giant piece of metal and will do a good job of preventing that cracking. This is especially an issue if you have a long bed. And definitely an issue if you off-road with your truck, the crazy angles can put a lot of stress on the truck, our frames are soft and flexy easy.

 

I bought some knock off total chaos bed stiffeners and they seem to work. At first I could see that looking at the space between the edge of the tailgate and tail light the gap wasn’t even at first on both sides. But after a while the gap seemed to have gotten smaller.

 

you made me start digging. never a good start.

https://patents.justia.com/patent/D820180

1. it's a design patent, like corners on an iphone, not a standard patent, like how clocks are assembled.
2. it specifically says "I claim the ornamental design for a truck bed stiffener, as shown and as described."

so total chaos fundamentally can't be the best because their patent specifically claims they're only an 'ornamental design'. meaning they have no structural benefit.

 

Interesting..

 

something to accessorize your truck.

the essential item is to brag that you have a stiff bed and others don't until they buy what you have.

i've got the total chaos one's as well, specifically for the low profile design, but the attachment points made the most amount of sense to me. i don't care one bit about the bed stiffness, but i use them specifically for tying loads down.

if your problem is tiedown points, then yes. but wouldn't really consider it a 'concern', more of just a 'hassle' to need to tie down somewhere else.

 

Agreed that the tie down points are super useful!

 

I went with Rago exactly for the extra tie down spots.

 

I always wondered about TC's popularity here... Yes, their low profile design makes them low profile, but at the same time this has the effect of making them well, un-stiff...

TCs could be defeated with a lot less load than most others.

I went with the LilBs because of they also reached to the top and have lots of additional toe down opportunities.