improved bed cleats

Neat idea.

Lol at people getting offended.

The bed cleats have worked fine for me but they do seem a bit thicker than necessary, has only affected me once but having smaller tying points on them would be nice.

 

Mine work great - certainly not useless - I would not want some stupid looking eyebolt sticking out into bed in the way and especially drilling a hole in the cleat weakening it but I guess "to each his own"

 

I assumed you posted this looking for feedback and opinions, not affirmation.

 

I found the same issue with mine where I didn't care for how my motorcycle straps connected to the stock cleats. A guy in the 2nd gen section awhile ago created this thread for DIY tie downs on a budget: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/additional-bed-rail-tie-downs-on-a-budget.170758/

I ended up using that thread to create some but I went with eye bolts that I dipped in plastic-dip. I also could not located plastic washers but found some rubber ones I used instead for against the bed rails. A few used the spring nut for the rail slot and some others used the T-nuts that people later located that fit the rail perfectly. Both solutions work. What I like about this is how cheap it is and how I can leave them on the rail and not worry about them being stolen since they are so cheap to replace. The only downside is they do not pop in and out of the bed rail easily like the stock ones do.

 

I have 4 of these soft loop tie down straps to hook my bungee cord hooks in. Also works for my tie down straps.

$10 Soft Loop Tie Down Straps - 1500 Load Capacity & 4500 Lbs Breaking Strength - 6 Pack - Loops for Securing ATV, UTV, Motorcycles, Scooters, Dirt Bikes, Lawn & Garden Equipment - by AUGO

https://www.amazon.com/Soft-Loop-Ti...=B01N1NV536&psc=1&refRID=8VPQ9YNRY929MHBTP3QR

 

i was just showing something i did to those bed cleats , they dont stick out to far into the bed, and they dont weeken the cleats at all

 

They OEM’s are a little thick but those D rings will fit.

 

They work for you, but if you drill a hole in anything then it weakens it.

 

My bed cleats are super useful and super durable I’ve found!!

 

I'm offended by that.

 

Never had an issue with my cleats and bungee cords, to each his own.

 

The Tundra cleats are made out of aluminum. I don't know if they fit the Taco track, but they look the same as the plastic ones. Of coarse, you shouldn't be using those rails to tie down anything heavy enough that would even come close to breaking the plastic cleats. But, it would seem logical that you could grind down the aluminum cleats and they would still be plenty strong enough. I wouldn't pay the price for new ones, but if you ran onto a great deal on used ones, might be worth looking into. Also, I just took a closer look at the Tundra cleats. They have extra ears that require the cleat to be slid in from the end. For anyone that parks in Harlem and are worried about theft of the cleats, it wouldn't be hard to block access to the end of the track.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/4-2007-201...278-0C010/283527665738?epid=673401718&vxp=mtr

 

I know. I have a bunch of trolls confined to living under the bridge. LOL!

 

Those holes worked perfect for what I wanted.

Damn tailgate is so thick they don't make a decent surfboard pad to fit the way I like, so I made my own set up. Works great.

 

WELL SAID

 

.....I'm assuming that you're not cranking the ratchet straps too much, those rails are only screwed into the plastic bed with 5 or so wood screws.

.....I don't see how you can use anything in the bed rails to secure a motorcycle safely. When I first got the taco I used the cleats and it seemed sketchy.
about a month ago I had two dirt bikes and my buddy was pulling hard on the tie downs (not ratchet strap) and I could hear the plastic bed creak and could feel it distorting.
I put D-rings under the front and rear bed bolts so there's no issues with strength.....I just wish that they were outboard a few inches but it works fine.

 

wood screws.. LOL!

 

With the right size hole, you probably don’t need the eyelet. Could just run the bungee through the hole.

I pretty much only use straps and ratchet straps in the back so no need to do this. Simple fix, although I probably would’ve went the larger hole route rather then adding the eyelet.

 

I was referring to the style of strap, not actually securing a motorcycle. I agree, the rails are not designed for anything close to that.