Bed Stiffeners? Concerned now about integrity of composite truck bed.

I learned after I bought the 2022 Tacoma that the bed was plastic. I was assured it was sturdy and I should have no issues. Then, after watching videos about a camper shell I want, I hear comments, and see that people have these things installed on the back of the bed of their Tacoma.
Comments are that they keep the bed from deforming in some way or from cracking.
This seems a little crazy to me that two brackets on the back of the bed would keep it from cracking. Also it seems crazy that Toyota would put a bed on a truck that wouldn't hold up for the life of the truck. I also noticed there are no holes for stanchions like normal old truck beds. How confident are people that this bed, the rails of the bed, will not break or fail?


Thank you all for replying. Great answers from all and appreciated. I suppose there are a lot of individuals here and all have differing opinions. I am a lot more confident that I probably do not need these stiffeners as I will never abuse the truck. There has to be a warranty that covers the bed anyway.
For those who like the additional tie down and don't mind that little bit of extra metal in the bed, the reasoning is good. I like tie downs, but I'm putting a camper shell on and don't want any brackets in the bed to work around, if I take the shell off.
Today I'm off to the topper dealership to ask if I can afford the options I am wishing for. I was pretty settled on a Ranch brand with carpeting, and sliding windows that has the optional remote release of the back door. Then I watched the videos and would like to have at least one "windoor" so I can load stuff from the side. Also, saw people who installed a "Mountain hatch" for the tailgate. I like that.
May have to buy an XR100 Leer. I don't know yet. I will, I think, be buying a rubber matt for the floor. I am shocked that the camper, or actually, the truck bed is not sealed so water doesn't run in. Some videos about taking the railing off and sealing them with silicone. I really don't want a river running through the back of the camper shell.
Y'all have a good day and thanks for the great replies. I will, I'm sure, complain again about something.

 

The bed stiffeners are not for the composite bed. The are for the metal sub-frame.

 

I can see bed stiffeners being helpful if you have a bed rack system that pushes out on the bed + a bunch of weight on it. I've never seen a deformed Tacoma bed, though.

 

Bed stiffeners are supposedly for the sides of the bed. To prevent them for bending inward under load from say a topper. As someone who has both, save your money. I should have not succumbed to irrational fear.

 

^yep, and specifically deal with flex at the rear of the trucks metal subframe, inherent to the design of the bed box having a pesky tailgate in a gigantic opening instead of another solid wall to tie the 2 side walls together.

the stiffeners are also really handy dandy tiedown points, and add +5 offroad cred.

 

Been abusing my composite bed for four years now and it's been indestructible. Beats a steel bed ALL DAY! The bed stiffeners have no bearing on the composite bed whatsoever.

 

+1 for additional tie down locations. That's honestly the biggest sales point. Anything additional to that is a bonus.

 

The composite bed has been in use in Tacomas for the last 17 years, they are solid and proven.

 

half of it is hype. Had multiple Tacomas and tow with zero issues. I even jumped a Tacoma and the bed was fine

 

Toyota trucks have had issues with weak bedsides going back to the 80's long before they had composite beds. Bed stifners were available in the 80s as well but looked more like a triangle than.

 

it's all a compromise. could have a composite bed, or a self-modding fast-change fuel pump.

 

The composite bed eliminates the need for a bedliner. IMO, a good thing.

As stated earlier, the bed stiffeners are not about stiffening the bed. They're to keep the sides (rear sheet metal) from spreading. This would be a problem if you have a camper shell.

 

No worries.

 

I agree 1000%! I too was skeptical about the composite bed. Soon after purchasing (15 years ago) I installed Super Springs on my 2005 Tacoma DCLB 4wd. ~12 years ago, while doing a landscaping project, I loaded ~3200lbs of landscaping block into/onto the bed of the Tacoma, and hauled to my home ~10 miles away. After that I was no longer skeptical of the composite bed. I know that I should not have hauled that much weight with my Tacoma, but it is a testament to the strength and durability of the composite bed.

 

Trucks just aren't designed to carry weight up over the box. So if your not one of those people who drive around with an RTT on your roof, you should be fine.

 

Same here. Beat the heck out of my bed hauling all sorts of stuff, sometimes so heavy my front tires are barely touching the ground! (that was a scary trip!) bed is fine except for the usual scratches and scrapes.

 

Well. I want some bed stiffeners, but they are not cheap. And I see how people install them and it pulls the sides of the bed like 1/4” inwards to correct it from not having them.

but like people said, I never seen a tacoma bed go bad. Lots of people run roof top tents, camper shells, and more and they are fine.

I think it’s just another item that companies sell that we don’t need but want. Think I’ll pass on it.

 

I’m glad I got bed stiffeners. I don’t know if my bed would’ve spread apart from the weight of my camper shell without them, but adding a 3/8” thick steel L bracket to the corner of pretty much anything is going to make it stronger. When there are Tacoma owners out there who’s beds we know have failed in this way, and here I’m putting 200+ lbs. on top of mine at all times, it was an easy choice for me. What’s $170 to help protect a $40K+ truck? And I got some good solid tie down points up off the bottom of the bed, which this trucks lacks otherwise.

 

Relatedly, I installed bed stiffeners a while ago and was wondering this. Thanks for reminding me OP to ask.

There's about an 1/8th of an inch gap between the bedside and the back of the stiffeners after install (I got the total chaos ones), is this normal? Or do I need to torque it more? Felt as tight as I could get it IIRC, but maybe I need bigger wrenches haha

 

I would not use the bed stiffeners to pull it tight. Instead, take a ratchet strap attached to both bed rails and tightent it to pull them together. Once the stiffeners are flush to the bed side, tighten them down.

If at any point, it seems like the ratchet strap is doing too much work, then quit. Your stiffeners could possibly be less than 90°.