Should i get bed stiffeners?

So the good news is that my ARE campershell is finally coming in! I ordered it in the beginning of August but the windoors were back ordered so it took forever.

Anyway do y’all think i should install bed stiffeners if I plan on hitting the trails a lot with this shell on? Im new to pickups and the concept of bed stiffeners.

Thanks!

 

Wouldn't hurt. They're not terribly expensive.

 

Yes. /Thread

 

You already have one from Toyota...the bolt on ones are just a clever gimmick.

 

Gimmick? You're the first person I've heard say this. Totally non confrontational, why do you say that?

I've considered some, for the sole purpose of additional tie down points.

 

Up to you. Do your research and decide if ya need em.

 

My take is that for the relatively low cost, it can’t hurt

 

Yes. They help a ton.

 

I read the total chaos bed stiffener page, this is my research

 

I have a set with my Snugtop but not really sure if I should have put them on. When installing them, one side of my bed was not square. Tightening down the bolts drew the very end of the bed square where the stiffeners were but I could clearly see it had no effect on the rest of the side. So, yeah the bed end is protected but you can still suffer bowing in the middle. No way around that.

Meanwhile, every friggin time I enter/exit the bed near the side I scrape my knees on that friggin thing. Every friggin time.

 

Also wondering, how exactly do they help?

 

Push on the top rear corner of your bedside a little. You'll be surprised how easy it will flex. Not hard to imagine something pushing it out of square.

 

Also have never heard this. Please explain

 

They don’t address any better the forces acting on the bedside than what’s already present from Toyota. Some additional rigidity in the rear will just make the rest of the bed dance around more as the vibrations have to go somewhere ...like trading one problem for another at your expense. The bed is what it is composite and light gauge steel it’s gonna flex. If the problem was that easy to fix Toyota would have done it on their best selling truck. These companies don’t provide any evidence or facts to back up their claim other than conjecture which is a good indicator it’s just a gimmick. I love throwing mods on my truck this won’t be one of them.

 

No skin in this but I’m not sure Toyota would, they are pretty conservative with this truck when it comes to change. I have heard a lot recommend them, but I haven’t seen much in the way of bed issues with a rack or top either. This thread has my interest as I do have a bed rack on order and figured I would need to put in stiffners. All that said I appreciate the discussion and opposing positions.

 

Thinking about things holistically - a car as a system of systems - is something car guys and gals sometimes forget. If the bed doesn't feel like it's flexing as much when its being pushed on, chances are those forces are going some other place that wasn't designed to flex in the first place.

 

I’ve had the cap on for almost 10 years and never used them but then this is about as off road as I get...

 

I did it more for the added tie down points. One of my most used mods.

 

Please elaborate on this dancing around effect that you have experience with.

 

The ones i've seen make it more of a pain to slide things into the bed. and....why?