Plastic Bed??

What's the deal with the plastic bed in the 2nd gen Taco's? When did they stop making them out of stamped steel?
I was putting a cable lock on my spare and took a few minutes to look at the bottom side of the bed.
All plastic, makes me think twice about putting any thing of significant weight in there.
I wanted to install some extra tie points but I have to re-think their location or provide some sort of steel backing to them for mounting strength.
Doesn't make sense to use a bedliner, plastic on plastic?
Can someone shed some light on this for me?
Thanks

 

It's actually a composite bed and is stronger than steel...

 

x2 on bed mat -- it's amazing...

 

LOL, when I read your many many posts, in my own mind I can hear Dwight's voice saying the words you've written.

 

Yeah I did notice it but I thought it was a type of liner, I dropped in a bed mat to keep things from sliding around.
I've seen many members here bolting things to it so I guess it is much stronger than I thought.

 

Ya know, it blows my mind how many people don't read/notice/understand the "composite bed" part of the vehicle description before or even after dropping $20 grand or more for these trucks.

 

Just hauled 30 treated 2"x10"x8' in the bed of my truck and all was good.

 

Somewhere a Japanese Engineer is being fanned and given a glass of water to revive him after someone just said "PLASTIC BED"......

 

I am right there with you brother. I sit back and read posts asking about this switch or that lever and try to figure out what the poster is thinking.


Maybe I am the odd one that did a little research before pulling the trigger or spending sometime looking at the gigits and gadgits.

Oh well, takes all types to make the world.

 

hahahahahahahaha

ya those japanese sure put a lot of thought into these trucks. They are awesome and imo we get what we pay for.

 

lol Yeah, I wanted this truck 6 years ago, but the cab was too small, it leaned too much in corners for me, and I didn't think I could afford it. Then I saw the 05's come out and get reviewed in various truck and off road mags so I read up on all the new features. Key on my list were the composite bed and 6spd manual (after the 01-04's being only auto). Even then I read every article and website I could find as well as spent hours on Toyota's website building different versions and reading info before buying. I knew more than the sales guys when I walked in. But then, I was gonna be dropping $27k on this truck (most I've ever paid for a vehicle, maybe the most in my family too) and I wasn't about to NOT know wtf I was buying.

 

I gotta say guys I didn't give the bed much thought when looking into the truck, my primary concern was cab safety as this was going to be the main vehicle used to carry my son.
I did notice the bed when I went to a few dealers and just chaulked it up as something to look into but never gave it a lot of thought. Glad to hear that it is a composite material with structural integrity.
Thanks

 

I just thought they looked cool

 

The box on my F-150 had a spray in liner and it was simply awesome. No dents, no rust to worry about, etc. After I got it done, I thought to myself "why don't these come standard on trucks?"

Fast foward to when I first saw the new Taco's with the composite bed and I thought "FINALLY!". Needless to say, it's one of the features that I love about the truck and it was definitely a selling point for me.

 

I like the composite bed.... My last pickup - a 1990 Nissan SE-V6 had a very RUSTY, holey bed. I treated the rust many times and it kept coming back. In my taco, I'll never have to worry about rust (in the bed at least)

 

i think nissans sell trucks with liners from the factory.

 

I had a liner and I think that added to the problem - the stuff would get under it - there were holes in the corners so you could access the tie down points. With leaves that stayed wet and/or moisture that never dried out.

 

i actually sold toyotas when the o5 came out but in the o5 tacoma class we went to they did some crazy shit to the bed to show us its strong lets as ull have a turn with a 3 lb maul about 100 of us and no cracks