Bed Stiffeners: overkill or useful?

I have a set of bed stiffeners in the garage, since the previous owner line-xed the bed and the bolts are covered and I cant get a ratchet or wrench to seat properly to remove them for install. Wondering if there is some kind of solvent I could use to get the goop off of the bolt heads

 

Another thought 'pro' stiffener...when I took my truck off road for the first time I remember following a friend that had a non-stiffened Tacoma bed as I. The combination of uneven terrain/ rock/ dips/ gulleys/ etc, it was pretty shocking at the racking, twisting and movement of the bed. Even if your not loading it on the rails but plan on doing some driving on rough terrain, it might make sense to add the stiffeners.

 

Alot of pro's here for bed stiffeners and some personal experiences showing they are needed. I have over 80,000 on my truck w/o bed stiffeners and 300-500 offroad miles a year with no issues. I run an ARE cap, not really heavy, but no RTT. If I ran an RTT on the cap I would run the bed stiffeners since the tent, people and cap would add quite a bit of weight and stress to the rails. My spare is mounted to the bed rail up against the cab and when hunting the prerequisite tools and gear are in the bed. Doesn't mean I am right, I just haven't had any issues with my bed and current setup. If I see any changes I will update.

 

Hitting that certain spot with a solid hunk of metal sure does lite up your life. I hope I've learned

 

Try squirting some goof-off into the torx pocket without overflowing it and have a rag handy. If it does soften the line-x you want to limit the damage.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1LO6uxy11I

 

While driving with Leer cap I could always see bed side movement. After stiffeners, very little movement.

 

After viewing that Tundra Twerk video...I can see how these would add rigidity to the tailgate! lol

This would be my next expense...maybe for Christmas....hmmm.

"Honey, my wife, my life partner, I want to protect my truck bed with these bed stiffeners--they're high quality too!"

Last year, I got Bed Mat, Bed Lights and Locking Wheel Lugs for Christmas.

 

Obviously talking about the truck parts.

 

It felt like it added rigidity to the whole back end of the truck/frame. Couldn't tell you how or why but it was noticeable.

 

Oh, I have no doubt you could feel a difference!

I consider it a good investment...like my Talon CAT shield and locking gas cap.

Plus, there's extra loops to use for tie-downs.

 

Don’t fall for the scare tactics, bed stiffeners are unnecessary, I’m sure that flex is supposed to be there, trust the engineers!

 

Did not show as video at first ... my bad.

 

Engineers I trust, it’s the bean counters that I question. The video doesn’t show the bed walls flexing away from the tailgate anyway which was why I installed them, mostly just frame twist. I agree that for any who don’t put excessive loads on the bed walls or do but do so using welded steel bed bars they aren’t a necessity though. Cheap insurance with tie down benefits.

 

If you can see the bolts, what about a dremel and a grind or polish pad? Small so only the bolt head is impacted.

 

I just ordered mine from Total Chaos.

 

Does the full-height but thinner profile make up for the boxy and wider RCI design? Also RCI seems to have some slightly bigger and square-ish holes. And TC is $180 vs $150 for RCI.

 

2nd and 3rd Genners still need to drill into their bedsides to install them right?

 

Only the 2 bottom holes are predrilled, but TC uses one existing hole at the top of the bed. 3 holes drilled either side though.

 

Sounds good

Hopefully this member can utilize them and give me dimensions to make some for 2nd/3rd Genners