Question For those that USE their Truck bed as a truck

We landscaped are hole yard with the trd off-road and hauled lots of rocks it nicked up the sides alot but nothing a bottle of 303 wouldn't make better. The compartment door on left side is nicked up pretty bad needs a new one.

 

For hard use, 2 words..."Bed Mat!"

Yes, she's a 2nd gen, but it's about the same...

 

Beds are strong, mounting points are the problem. Do a search in the 2nd generation, where the bed rests on the frame is the problem area wearing through. Some guys were using thick rubber in between bed and frame to keep it from wearing through.

 

^ This ... Happen on my 2005 - I do forestry work for a living - I drove about 10,000 km (a lot of it off road) one Fall with a Honda Foreman in the bed - The tie down points (cleats and back rack) were solid - but the bed loosened off the frame. Its needed body shop work to repair - It was shimmed and I think the holes needed to be re-tapped.

Previous to that I had worn a hole in the composite bed ... but again it happened under less than usual circumstances.

Best advice if your are working the truck / carrying loads on a regular basis, check the tightness of the bed attachment bolts regularly. The composite bed can handle a lot from day-to-day abuse - I wouldn't stress about it.

 

Every time I start my Tacoma I use it as a truck