Bed Stiffeners - What do they do? Do I need them?

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TOTAL CHAOS
WWW.CHAOSFAB.COM

 

Just ordered these and looking forward to getting them installed! I already have a Snugtop Rebel cap on my Taco, and the inner lip just *barely* covers the top bolt. I normally am one to do things the right way, but really not excited about removing my cap just for the 10 min job to get these on. Considering if I should just dremmel out a small notch so the bolt can clear. Any other tips or suggestions for those of us who already have a cap on? Thanks in advance.

 

Could you have a friend lift the rear of the shell while you install the bolt? It wouldn't need full removal and shouldn't be too hard to lift. We've had a customer go this route before. It does require an extra set of hands

 

Good idea, that might be my best option. Have some sealant between bed rails and the cap to keep water out, but just may have to break it and redo. Thanks for the quick reply.

 

Let us know what you end up doing. Post a pic or two once you install them

 

Comment below if you have any questions about TOTAL CHAOS Bed Stiffeners

TOTAL CHAOS
WWW.CHAOSFAB.COM

 

Is there a TW Coupon? If so I'll order today.

 

We don't offer any forum discounts, our pricing policy doesn't allow discounts since it's unfair to our dealers.

You might be able to find a deal on these by visiting one of our Authorized Dealers

TOTAL CHAOS
WWW.CHAOSFAB.COM

 

Well took a little while before I had some nice weather to get them installed, but finally done and very happy with them. After getting the stiffeners and seeing how beefy they were, I realized that even if I lifted my shell temporarily to access the top bolt, after installing the stiffener the bolt would protrude too far to let the the shell back down.

So I went back to the idea of chopping out a notch in the lip of the shell, which ended up being much easier anyway. Used a 5/16 bit to make a few starter holes, then the dremmel to connect them and even out. Piece of cake.

Installing the brackets was pretty straightforward, with one exception. Drilling the 3 holes into each side, my bit caught the edge of the bracket and shattered the bit into four pieces (tough bracket!!). So after that happened I stepped down to a 1/4 bit and then handfiled the rest of the way. Took a little while longer but worked fine.

In the end everything installed great, and it’s rock solid. I sprayed down my trimmed fiberglass/carpet shell piece with some black rustoleum, and did the same for all the bolts provided total chaos to get rid of the brass color. Looks factory and loving it, ready to put the RTT on top now!

 

Pics above, thanks for the help!

 

Thanks for the update!

Glad to see you were able to complete the install. Everything looks great!

TOTAL CHAOS
WWW.CHAOSFAB.COM

 

That’s nice, you got any for us 1st gen guys. Otherwise I need to get some gas if I’m to make my own.

 

@TOTAL CHAOS I just installed mine last night. No issue as install was straight forward but after the install my driver side has a gap up top. The rest of the mounting area is flush with no concerns. Is this right/normal for the driver side?

 

Is the gap only found in that one location? All of the hardware torqued down without issues?
We don't see a gap like this often. I'll definitely look into this

TOTAL CHAOS
WWW.CHAOSFAB.COM

 

Yes only at that location. All bolting location are torqued down with no issue.

 

Just ordered a set of bed stiffeners for my Taco. What do you recommend using to “touch up” the hole surfaces after drilling the bed, as I assume the drill eats up the powder coating in the holes? I was thinking of putting a dab of RTV under the washers on each side. Will that do the job? I live in a four seasons climate, where winter road salt is a possibility. Mild steel won’t last long if it isn’t properly coated everywhere. Thanks!

 

The composite bed doesn't rust like a steel bed so you don't need to be too picky on what's being used to touch-up.

Some customers use black touch-up paint or rustoleum. A dab of RTV would work too, it would seal everything up

TOTAL CHAOS
WWW.CHAOSFAB.COM

 

@TOTAL CHAOS

I had another brand of bed stiffeners in place that rusted badly and I'd like to replace with your aluminum ones. Would it be possible to get a set of bed stiffeners with no pre-drilled holes? That way I could put holes in it that would mate up with the existing holes from my previous set of stiffeners.

 

Sorry, we don't offer the bed stiffeners without the holes

 

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