Pics/Ideas - Back Half Frame Replacement

First off, Hi. I'm new here.
I just picked up a 99 Tacoma.
Haven't even had it long enough to get any proper pics.
Here is the only pic I have.

It's got 235,000 miles on it and, for the most part, is in pretty good shape aside from the bed and rear frame rails.
It's a 2.7 5 speed.

Anyway I had to actually do a quick and dirty frame reinforcement job on a crack by the passenger side shock mount before I could even drive it home.

What's strange is that there is no rust anywhere else other than the back half of the truck.
The rear bumper is trashed.
Most mounts for things on the frame are gone or pretty compromised and the bed is wrecked.

The underside of the cab and the frame under the cab, however, is spotless.

It is currently drivable but I would like a more permanent solution to the rust issue.
I will need to address it pretty soon.

My plan is to cut the back half of the frame off just after the front leaf spring mount and build my own frame out of some rectangular tubing or possibly some bent up round tube depending on how adventurous I am feeling.

I would then build a flatbed arrangement on top of that.

Anyway I am curious why I don't see more frame repair jobs done in this way, especially if it is just the rails under the bed and not the rot under the cab.

Mine needs so much repair that it just does not make sense to try to save what is there.

To get to my point, has anyone else done this?
Do you have any pics?
I have been looking for a month or so now trying to get ideas but it seems no one really does it.
It also seems there are plenty of people with the fab skills to do it but you just don't see it that much.

So if you have done it or have found some pics from someone who has done it I would like to see it.

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld
I have welded Safe-T-Caps on.
Most people go that route as long as you have the frame top 1" left worth welding to.

 

I eventually chopped frame and tube chassis backhalf...
In pick it was reviewed plate...mine ill do the same plate build then eventually tubes...if you do.t have a plasma cutter and welder then those kits work well if you do then cardboard some templates and rip some panels out with a plasma even handheld works great.

Going to do my 4dr next year...and do a modified bed that will be 11 inches shorter bobbed

 

I have seen the Safe T Cap stuff before and those are great for fixing the actual frame rails but my issue is everything else.
Most of my cross members are hanging by a some flimsy slivers of rusty steel.
Pretty sure I could twist out the spare tire mount by hand.
My bump stop mounts are gone and the shock mounts are compromised as well.
There are also holes or missing parts in all the little support brackets inside of the frame rails

I know I could fab up new parts to fix that but it still seems like I would just be welding a bunch of new stuff over crusty metal that is still just going to continue to rot.

By the time I removed thick rusty bits and damage there is not going to be much left to weld to.

Beyond that I kind of wanted to build an integrated Aussie style tray on the back so I had dedicated places to store all my gear.
Might even make the rear overhang as short as I can to help with departure angles some.

 

Cut past rust clean and grind...make new templates like factory with curves...with plasma its easy....

Make 1.5" .095 cross members back there weld tabs on to hold tank and accessories as well as abs...


Other option is one that took a massive front end hit chop rear section off before front leaf mounts and pull your bed cut same spot and sleeve frame together then do outer gussets

 

Yeah a back half tube type thing is what I had in mind.
The main rails would be replaced with tubes and probably even build in an integrated roll bar and all that.

 

If your going to do bed and modified rear and bumper do a tube chasis...2" .120 wall...insert 6 inches into good section of frame and box it in...

Then do whatever you like you can run ladder style which is 2 tubes parallel one on top of other and plate it as well...in a nuclear blast your rear section would be the only thing left...that cockroaches and twinkies...

 

I have tube chassied alot of toyotas for rear cages and beds including 3 of mine not including my old race truck or prerunner...

Its pretty simple, take bed off rum bends on a tube following upper frame line...chop frame (get all measurements including length first)
Drop it 1 inch or middle of the frame box...and make sure you drop the rear exact same ...tack into place and you can do xmembers etc tac'd....its can seem more than it is but its really hard to screw it up...if something is off chop and reweld....

 

Also I buy to keep and get my rigs personalized so I may be dropping alot of unnecessary work on you...

Depends on your intention, resale, keep it, overland, play rig, prerunner, crawler...easiest would be find a backhalf frame and mock up....sorry got excited and brain went fab fab fab...

 

The ladder style is exactly my plan if I do round tube but I would probably only do 1.5" .120 wall. (I don't have a die to bend 2 inch tube)
I would also probably go a solid 12 inches or more into the existing frame.

There will be a lot of other tube in the set up that would triangulate things enough that 2" tube would not be necessary.

 

Yeah I wouldn't buy a 2" die for just this lol...1.5 is fine and ated or ladder style is WAY more than strong enough....12 inches in frame adds no strength since you can't get into frame to weld anchor it....6 or so box end holes for tunes coming out them plate it from frame onto tubes....

Either way I'd love to see what you decide and do...always love seeing stuff customized...

 

Oh yeah this one is a keeper and the plan is definitely fab work.

I have been telling my wife for the last 5 years or so that I gonna buy an old Toyota truck and just keep it forever.
I want like a million mile Toyota that I still drive all over the back country.
Just replace things when it needs it and carry on.

I was not really actively looking but this one belonged to a friend of mine that bailed on the frame work and made me a deal I could not refuse.
He took pretty good care of everything and drives like a little old man.
You would be hard pressed to believe it has 235,000 on the clock.
If only he would have washed it every now in then I am sure the frame would be in a lot better shape.
It spent it's last 125,000 miles driving 35-40 minutes every day on dusty gravel roads and I don't think it has ever been washed.
This is likely what caused the frame to be so wrecked in the first place

The deal could not have happened at a better time because I am moving to Colorado in March and the plan is to get it set up for some serious exploring and camping out there.

 

Welcome to TW!

 

One thing I will never understand, even after having a love for Toyota pickups going back to the 1990s, is what the deal is with the frames. All vehicles, regardless of make, model, and type, can be prone to rust if proper care isn’t taken; However, I’m 99% sure that the Toyota Tacoma is the only one out there is a class action lawsuit, a buyback program, and multiple recalls under its belt!

I love my truck, and my original frame is solid, but it confounds me that Toyota seems to have gotten everything right but the frame on these trucks!

 

Good luck. I cannot offer any advice, but I would love for you to post your progress for the rest of us to see.

 

And it looks badass with those black steel wheels; I say keep ‘em!

 

Unfortunately those wheels and tires are actually for another project of mine but I decided to slap them on the Tacoma until I get new wheels and tires.
I will probably end up with another set of the steel wheels because I am kinda cheap but I will be stepping the tires up from the current 235/85R16 to a 255/85R16.

 

Get Cooper Discover AT/3s! I've had them on my truck for almost 30K miles and love them!

 

Best of Luck If you have the Skills pretty much what ever you want to do.

I am more of a Rectangle tube frame builder I had a company that could bend the tubing the name slips my mind.

 

Maybe not quite this extreme but the back half of this thing is kind of what I am thinking about.



I would still like to have some open bed area so I can still haul junk with mine.

Of course I would still be running leaf springs.

They pretty much ditched the whole back half, bent up some tube and built their own set up.