Overlanding Bed Security

Hey everyone, Thank you for your responses in advance.

A little background, my stock Tacoma has been on many trails in colorado when I lived there, long before I ever knew what Overlanding was. I am considering myself a beginner, and over the last couple of months, I've done a deep dive into researching RTT, Overlanding, and dispersed camping. I have a 2008 taco, double cab with a 5-foot bed, and a rear seat delete. How do people keep stuff in their truck bed safe when they are away: i.e. shopping, staying in a hotel for a night, in a city, not near their truck, and a daily driver?

I want a low-profile bed rack for the Ikamper mini to maximize gas mileage and stand out less. I've been looking at diamondback, Billie racks, frontrunner, decked, truckvault, and some other lockable bed covers, but it's like a jigsaw puzzle. I've seen a few posts on here using D-rings and locking the tailgate to the bed, but if you have a diamond back with frontrunner you cant open it to lock anything. I've seen pop lock but it's 50/50 and most people do not want that headache. The combos seem endless but nothing I've found so far seems to work.

I run a nonprofit and want to get on the road to meet more people and raise awareness for my genetic condition. I guess long-term travel, dispersed camping, Overlanding but nothing extreme since I know ill be solo most of the time, and some city parking/exploring. Do you have any suggestions with your knowledge? Thank you!

 

I don't worry too much when I am out in the dingles, but being in town is another story.
My advice if in town like staying in a motel overnight, is bring everything inside with you that you value. Or lock it up in the passenger compartment. I have a softtopper only, and the stuff that goes back there is stuff I can live without, although losing some things might put a cramp in my short term camping plans. Fridge, Jackery, electronics, firearms all up front with me.

 

I was trying to solve a similar problem and ended up creating metal gull wing doors that attached to the rack. They lock in the back via latches with a padlock hole, and the rear door (with plexiglass for visibility) comes over the top of the tailgate, securing it.
If you go for this approach, I'd hinge your doors up as high as possible to maximize your door opening.
Downsides of this set-up include that it's not waterproof or dustproof (also that my fit and finish are kinda redneck). If you're not sold on a bedrack/rtt combo, a commercial topper or GFC/integrated tent solution will be an easier fit.

 

The @KBvoodoo Max Modular locking cabinet system works well to keep sticky fingers out of my bed when we're loaded up and on the road.

 

I spent a lot of time looking for a perfect solution to this dilemma but ultimately came to the realization that there isn't one, and you'll probably have to sacrifice either some security, aerodynamics, or ease of access while camping. The compromise I came up with is getting a low bed rack to keep my tent flush with the roofline, and then putting my gear in locking bins(I use Plano Sportmans trunks) in the bed. With the tailgate locked, there's no way to pull the bins out without either disassembling a lot of parts or snaking your body into the bed and getting real creative with some bolt cutters. It's not theftproof by any means, but definitely enough to discourage opportunists.

 

I used to have a bed rack with a RTT on top. Never liked that everything underneath was exposed to the elements and anybody that walked by while it was parked. I ended up going with a camper shell and eventually some decked drawers inside. The camper shell locks, the decked drawers lock, and then you can lock the tailgate so that the drawers aren’t accessible if you want to go all out.

 

This is a nice setup. I might do something like that in the future, just wish all that stuff wasn't so damn heavy.

 

Yea the camper shell was fine with just an add a leaf, but I had to upgrade after I added the drawers and bumper.

 

This is more or less the same as my setup. Locking camper shell, locking tailgate with PopNLock, and custom-built drawer/platform that locks. Still not perfect but enough to deter most thieves.

Keep in mind no matter which mousetrap you build if someone wants it bad enough and has ample time without being stopped they are going to get it. Put enough deterrents in the way and it becomes less of a target. Sometimes those deterrents are locks, sometimes physical (side panels on those racks), sometimes they are common-sense (parking in less crime-prone area). No solution is perfect but you can get close enough for relative comfort.

 

This system work well as far as access goes and stuff? I have a SyneticUSA retractable cover and I was going to add the CaliRaised bed rack to it just like how you did yours.

 

I use the KB Voodoo rack with tonneau brackets. Had the OEM cover on first but I didn't like having to crawl inside when needed. So that cover was replaced with a Bakflip Revolver. Night and day difference.

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Do you know if there is a Bed Cargo divider that will fit without interfering with the Syneticusa retractable cover?
Do you know if the OEM bed cargo divider will fit and not intefere? I contacted Syneticusa and they do not know which is absurd.
Please advice
Thank
HR

 

Sorry Ive never looked into bed cargo dividers. By the looks of it, the OEM one would interfer as those handles on top look too high.

 

Thanks

 

Awesome setup! I’m about buy the BAK X4S. For your bed rack install did you have to cut anything on the rails to install the brackets? Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks in advance

 

A lot could depend on what amount of gear you're looking to protect in the bed.

If you want to fill pretty much the whole space up to the wheel wells, the Decked system would do the job, but costs a good amount.

If you have a smaller amount of gear, you could look into a pair of swingbox containers, which are designed to fit under a tonneau and basically fill the space between the wheel well and the tailgate; possibly combined with a couple of tactical boxes (Plano and Pelican make good stuff that's waterproof, UV stabilized, and lockable) bolted to the roof rack over the cab.

Personally, I built a custom unit to fit in my bed between the wheel wells using UTX/Sande/Birch plywood, then finished it with spar urethane for waterproofing. Gear in sealed totes on top of that would be weather/dust protected but not completely inaccessible under a bed rack, but something like large mil-spec (or plano/pelican) cases in that space could keep gear pretty much inaccessible if you have lockable swing-outs blocking the rear opening under the bed rack and enough cover mounted to the sides; several companies make large rigid molle grids or you could mount some rifle cases onto the sides of the rack.

For the most part, a soft tonneau might be sufficient for most stuff. Unless you're in a major city just keeping stuff out of view is 90%+

 

I will definitely be going be going with just some small stuff so the first option seems to be the best for me. Definitely like the BAK X4S since you can still open/close it with a bed rack on top. I’ll look into some swing boxes and Plano Cases.

I really appreciate the response. Thanks brother

 

No cutting at all. Just take your time and line it all up properly.