Bed cleat strength?

The tie down loops in the front of the bed seem wimpy. My last truck had big cleats. The reason I ask is because I have winch setup that I anchor to the front tie downs to pull dead equipment up a set of steel ramps into the bed (lawn tractors, snowblowers, etc). I had no worries with my old truck about the winch breaking the cleats but the Tacoma cleats are dinky. The tailgate is also awfully thin and lightweight. Should I worry about either of these things? Can the tailgate hold 500 lbs?

 

No.

You can check with Relentless Fab or Mobtown Offroad for tailgate reinforcement plates (or DIY), but even with my Relentless plate, I had a scary amount of flex with a 500 lb load sitting on the tailgate for a couple seconds, which scared me enough to have me get that weight off immediately and never do it again.

The inside of the tailgate is pretty much empty, only a few small, weak reinforcement tabs and some nylon.

There have been numerous stock tailgates that bent and deformed with 200 lbs of weight!

 

Does this mean it wouldn't be very safe to load a 500 lb motorcycle into the bed? Or would it be okay since its just rolling over the tail gate and not resting on it?

 

With a stock tailgate I wouldn't try it rolling 500 lbs.

I'd be hesitant with my tailgate with a full Relentless plate reinforcement.

My load was static, and 500-550 lbs and it was easily flexing the tailgate 3/4 of an inch, and half of the load (motor) was in the bed already.

You could be okay with a rolling load and a reinforced tailgate.

 

Lot of guys who use dirt bikes and ATVs and load them into their bed.

I saw one guy with a SXS in his Tacoma bed once, but his tailgate was destroyed.

500 lbs is way more than a stock tailgate can handle IMO. @RelentlessFab makes a nice product and is significantly less than a replacement tailgate.

 

Yea I'm definitely planning on getting the reinforcement plate before trying to load any atv or motorcycles, but that is surprising that it's dangerous to try to load an atv or motorcycle without it.

 

My dad has been hauling his Honda Shadoe in the bed of his Taco for years. The rear wheel sits on the tailgate in transit, and there is no damage at all to the tailgate.

The moveable bed cleats however are pretty weak. He had 1 snap one time while driving and the bike fell over denting the tank on the bed rails.

I just recently got my Taco so I have no hauled my bike yet, but have used his many times to transport my bike and all is good.

 

I got the long bed largely in part for being able to haul motorcycle in it. If the tail gate can't handle that I'd be better off with a short bed with a trailer.

 

This is what the inside of the tailgate looks like..

 

So do they end up bending in the center or do they actually brake off the hinge?

 

They reinforcement bars bend and shove the legs into the tailgate sheet metal, denting them. They don't break off at the hinge.

Outside of aesthetics (or a tailgate that closes properly) then it's not much of a problem.

I'd just go out and stand on the tailgate, or have you and someone else stand on it together and see how much flex it has - it doesn't compare at all to the strength of a standard, full size truck tailgate. They're really lame shit tailgate designs.

 

Well thanks for educating before I broke something.

 

As far as the bed cleats go I've heard some people have issues with them and some don't, the rails themselves are pretty strong IIRC - I seem to remember a post on here somewhere about a guy who ran over the loose end of a tie down strap and it ripped the cleat right out of the bed rail, bed rail was fine.

 

I read somewhere (owner's manual I think) that the bed rail cleats are good for 300 lbs but that number is lower depending on the direction you're applying the force from. There's some square looking loops bolted to the side of the bed up front and those aren't attached to anything but the bed plastic so beware of overloading those also.

I'd recommend going with this mod for securing something heavy:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/28533-installed-d-rings-bed-pics.html

I put 4 of the dodge D-rings in mine (front and middle) and my only regret is not hitting the 2 in back by the tailgate also. I've already bent the factory D-rings by cranking down a ratchet strap too much. Installation was quick and easy but I'd recommend using a good impact wrench to remove the bolts, they're in there really tight.

There's a ton of alternative D-rings in that thread but if you're not on a tight budget go with the dodge / mopar ones. They're very high quality and they're really stiff so they won't make any extra noise on a rough road.

 

Good info to know. I guess I'll be pulling the tailgate off before loading anything too heavy! More hassle, less risk. Guess that's one thing I'll miss about my Dakota. I've had 500lbs of bagged wood pellets plus me on the dodge tailgate and it didn't flinch. The bed also had real heavy cleats for tying loads down.

I'm a bit torn on something I load frequently, which is my snowblower. It's a 32yr old Ariens and is heavy, probably around 300lb. I'd hate to have to pull the gate off for that, and I'm sure the wiring for the cam makes for an extra hassle.

 

If something has 200lb capacity, how tight can you make your ratchet strap before having to much force/pressure? Can you over tighten and exceed weight limit?

 

Get yourself an aluminum tailgate reinforcement plate. I got one cause I haul dirbikes around all the time and it’s amazing. I’ve had two 450cc bikes in the bed, rear wheels on the tailgate, and never had an issue with it bending due to the relentless tailgate plate. Well worth every penny.