Do bed stiffeners just transfer stress somewhere else?

Not often do I find myself in the presence of another intellectual such as yourself

 

It’s obvious to me that you must have attended the same Turbo Encabulator training session that I did.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac7G7xOG2Ag&pp=0gcJCdgAo7VqN5tD

 

I've had a camper top on my truck for a year and half and now thinking about adding some stiffeners. I can just install the stiffeners now right? Or do I need to remove the cap from the bed for a better install?

 

yes, you can just install them now. there really shouldn't be anything about the topper that should stand in the way of the stiffener install.

 

While we are talking about it...with the Cali Raised bed stiffeners or really with any of them do they interfere with carrying 4x8 sheets of wood etc?

 

Shouldn’t be an issue as you can’t lay a sheet flat on the bottom of the bed, and at wheel well height it’s way more than 4’ clearance

 

Yeah I was just making sure at wheel well height it would still be clear, renovating my house and need to be able to get sheets of plywood and drywall in there. TY

 

The original question is an interesting one. If you jack one wheel up until the other lifts off the ground you will see a severe misalignment on the tailgate. So when you stiffen the bed those bed stiffeners and surrounding structure will be taking a significant load in such a situation. It may actually decrease your flex a tiny bit but it will also help stiffen things in a way that will improve ride quality.

 

Those are the best!

In My Humble Opinion.

 

What a PHD treatise to evaluate "Pickup bed Stress due to bed loading and ladder frame flexing from roadway irregularities".

It really is a two way street. A rigid bed box could amplify stresses elsewhere due to frame flex.

What has a front...has a back!

 

My general philosophy is to keep fixing and improving the things that break until they stop breaking. When you run out of things to fix you obviously need to push things harder

 

On a more serious note in this case you are really just transfering the load to the bed stiffeners and their attachment points instead of the places we already know flex and break. Havn't heard of any beds or surrounding structures breaking from using them and I dont see any negatives outside of those areas.

 

Thats exactly where my head was at.

 

It's the sides of the bed flexing outward that causes the cracking below the taillights. Stiffening up the sides in relation to the bed floor isn't going to damage anything else.

 

That’s my thought.

I’ve even read in other Bed Stiffener threads (can’t remember how long ago) about the difference in stability (strength wise) after install.

Now, I’m glancing at the back end of my bed through the side mirror…checking flex. lol

I’m happy with my install. I know when I get my DB Tonneau cover, my bed will be ready for install.

 

Bed mountings would come to mind as possible "stress amplification" points.

Wi;; that require a double blind evaluation? '[)

 

Triple blind

 

Blind drunk?

 

Speaking in terms of force, if you assume a load which would pull/push the bed sides apart, by adding an L-shaped stiffener you are introducing a moment in the corner and that force is transferred as upward force on the bed of the truck, with the most pull-out torque seen at the bolt closest to the center (assuming no stiffener deflection). Note this is more applicable to a dynamic frame of reference than a static one.

 

Stress is force per area. Think pressure - PSI.

Toyota, for some unknown reason, put a notch on the inside corner of the bed frame. (Circled areas below.) All the bending force has to go through that thin sheet metal in the notch, resulting in extremely high ‘stress’, and a very predictable failure point.

Most bed stiffeners don’t “just transfer stress somewhere else”, per se. They transfer or re-distribute the forces over a larger area, or different path, resulting in lower stress levels. (Provided the designer knows what they’re doing.)