How durable are composite beds really

I would guess the upfront engineering cost along with tooling/manufacturing cost versus stamping metal beds like you have been for years is deterring

 

Yeah I picked up a pristine OEM one from a member here, who defected to the Gladiator Guys forum.

 

I don't think anybody has said the composite is stronger, just adequate for the job of a miniscule truck and lighter for fuel economy (my misstatement the Tacoma has no fuel economy). Still waiting on those pictures of the "chips", so we can see just what you are talking about. By the way thanks for staying around with the personal abuse this forum provides.

A strength issue that has not been brought up yet is how Toyota reinforces the Composite at any fastener location with metal backing plates, such as the front tie downs and the cubby hole screws.

 

Steel deforms before it breaks, plastic breaks before it looks bad.

There aren't many Tacomas that have a fifth wheel hitch or a tradesperson that gives no shits about tossing metal tool boxes from a roof into the bed of their company issued truck.

 

It has been raining in SoCal and my bed is loaded with my camping gear I will take some pics perhaps tomorrow when the rain lets up and I can remove my gear

 

I have no worries about a composite bed. Glock has shown what plastic materials can do for decades.

The lack of rusting is a huge selling point imo.

 

Mines got a couple of deep scratches from the trailer ball hitch I left in the bed. Won't do that again. Other than that it's held up great over the last 7+ years and I still prefer it over metal truck beds.

 

Because it's cheaper and easier for them to achieve the same goal. Composite can be stronger than steel, but it depends on makeup, shape, etc. A composite bed rated for 2500 duty might be really cumbersome to make.

There's also performance at the limits: steel will take a lot more abuse, if both are built to the same max strength (steel is a tough material and can be bent a lot before breaking). While composites usually fail spectacularly once you reach their limit. (Both have failed, just one will look more like a truck bed than the other).

So the point is not that the Tacoma bed is stronger than a steel bed, but it's that the Tacoma bed is strong enough for typical Tacoma use (e.g. homeowner throwing 500 lbs of junk back there).

 

Honestly I have owned all kinds of truck beds - steel base that I rhino-lined, steel base that came with a plastic overlay shell, and composite base.

Of the three, the steel base with the plastic shell was the absolute worst. Gravel and leaves still worked their way between shell and bed and it was every bit as scratched and dinged as if it were a bare bed. And that truck was garaged.

I liked the rhino liner, but it still had a ding or two from rough handling. The composite has a few melt marks where I did some soldering on my tailgate but other than that its been solid. Combine it with the mat and its been the best bed I've had.

 

3 pages deep and no one mentioned the bed mounts . Golly
Maybe they have been beefed up over the years but I highly doubt it
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/tacoma-loose-bed-design-flaw-explanation.388873/

 

The only time I have heard about the composite bed getting damaged is from a vehicle accident

 

Never in a million years thought I would see Flannery O'Connor mentioned on here. Bravo my friend!

 

Ah yes. Airing irrelevant grievances. Social media at its best

 

I had a 3/4 ton ram and after a few loads of firewood the bed looked like shit. It was all dented down where the box was sitting,I was easy with placing wood in and had a mat. My Taco on the other hand has hauled probably 10 times the firewood and the bed is scuffed ,no dents or cracks.

 

for what a tacoma is rated for not much downside to composite, other than being slippery as hell. Bed mat was one of my first purchases, and with that installed it takes most of the beating and stops from sliding.

 

I through bolted these big ol' D-rings to hold in my camper. No signs of cracking or anything, and I'm sure they're taking some serious loads.




I've got thousands of miles hauling this thing around now, and not just on smooth highways. The camper alone weighs more than some Tacomas' max payload, and that's before putting anything in it. These beds are great.

 

I've looked at mine a bunch, no chips or scratches. Beats the shit of the aluminum bed F150 I had.

 

I like the fact that it will never rust and I don't need to bedline it.

Definitely needs a rubber mat or something because stuff slides around like it's on ice. That's my only complaint.

 

In my last post I didn't even think of the fact I don't need to add a bed liner. My last truck I bought in 2008 and spent $600 (back then) to have a Line-x spray in liner. The composite bed saved me that cost. Not to mention with inflation I guarantee its over $1,000 now to have done. I'll gladly buy a $140 bed mat instead.

It's not a farm truck. It's not a beast tow rig. That's what they make F250 Super Duties for.

 

I wish my 2nd gen came with front tie downs.

Yes I know people install them, but why on earth did toyota only put factory tie downs on the back of the bed