Best choices for bed stiffeners

I used @At The Helm 's bed stiffeners and loved them

 

I’ve never seen a report or picture of the composite bed failing from extensive abuse offroad or heavy toppers and RTTs.

It’s a solid theory and I’m sure works well but I haven’t seen anything that suggests they are needed.

Tons of people offroad, have toppers, and RTTs without bed stiffeners and no reports or pics of failure.

 

I just like the idea of the extra tie downs some of the stiffeners offer. The "stiffening" aspect would be a bonus.

 

No offence, but that ^^ isn’t my experience at all. The composite bed has proven to be exceptionally durable, which is why you never see posts here about people damaging their composite bed, or having issues with it being under-engineered. In my experience, the composite bed is far stiffer than a metal bed, and way more durable. Not sure what you are getting at. Maybe explain further. Thanks.

 

Create a need/gap in the market, provide product that fills that need/gap. Make lots of money.

 

When you load the bed rails with a RTT or Bed Rack you are creating a great load on the factory bed. This will increase gaps at the tailgate and eventually crack the sheet metal or composite bed. Throw in off-road use you'll be looking at problems down the road. It could be 2 months of crazy abuse or 2 years before issues arise.

We did build these out of NECESSITY. We had a 2nd Gen Tacoma where the bed got rattled to pieces and damaged the taillights, bedsides, and tailgate. It pretty much fell apart on itself. This was after LOTS OF ABUSE, but was the original inspiration for the bed stiffener. Years later here we are!

Think of it like preventative maintenance
$159.65 + 30 minutes of your time will save you lots of hassle down the road (especially if you plan on using the truck off-road)

TOTAL CHAOS
WWW.CHAOSFAB.COM

 

I've had a small RTT on a mid-height rack on my 2nd gen and now on my 3rd gen. Never noticed a problem with the bed, but the rack and RTT are only about 150 pounds. With me and the dog in the tent, that goes up to close to 400 pounds, but that is a static load. I never really worried about it. On my new rig, I've added mounts for a HiLift, axe, shovel, and a 5 gallon fuel can. That adds another 100 pounds or so of dynamic load. So, I started to worry.

I went with the Total Chaos stiffeners. A bit more expensive than some of the others, but they come up a bit further on the sides than some others, they have an antenna mount and extra tie down locations, and they work with the OEM bed mat (which I wouldn't have minded cutting, just didn't have to). Easy to install, and I've already used the tie downs. I even combined the install with the diff breather relocation behind the left tail light. I would probably be fine without them, but peace of mind is a good thing.

 

I am not seeing how the bed would flex with the tail gate up. I could see needing these if you ran without a tailgate or an old school net. Seems to me that a better design would be to fit inside the bed by removing the tail lights. Then you don't have that extra material, but I guess that would mean that you would be buying something like this for actual purpose and not look.

 

I saw a friend's fiberglass topper on a 2nd gen that cracked on top while off-roading. No bed stiffeners. No RTT, but he did have gear on top. Nothing crazy. He put bed stiffeners on and had to use them to bring the bed sides back into alignment.

 

The tailgate latches will allow for side-to-side flex, at least to a point. They don't really brace it. It might help a little. Think of breaking a pull-tab off of a can -- you keep bending it back and forth, and it gets easier and easier until it breaks off. That is what I imagine happens over time, although I doubt you'd ever see a complete catastrophic failure on a truck bed. Just mainly getting more and more flexible over time.

 

I’m sorry to hijack, but the only real good bed “stiffener” is a hot wife in lingerie next to you.

 

That is an appropriate hijack sir.

 

There are plenty of pictures of 2nd gens with this problem if you look in the 2nd gen threads. Most of which are ranging from just bedrail bar use to heavy ass fiberglass topper+RTT. The pictures do exist.

Seeing as the 3rd gen bed is no different except for taller bedsides and a re-engineered tailgate, I’m sure there is potential for the same issue for 3rd gens who have weight on the rails or heavy off-road flexing

 

If I buy yours (I'm going to anyway), does it come with a sticker?

 

Lol, well a few different places! Can get one from Russia (not recommended), borrow one from a friend (not recommended either), or use match.com like I did 10 years ago!

 

Of course it does

 

I got a bunch of stickers, a catalog, and a poster! I'd say about $150 worth of brackets and $9.65 in marketing material, LOL

Solid product, though. Poster is hanging in the garage.

 

probably a strong bracket, but those would look good if a guy made them in his shop on sunday afternoon, not for a commercial product. they do not look "finished".

 

somebody has been binge-watching Mad Men!

 

I guess I have a reason to now