Should i get bed stiffeners?

I have a homemade bed rack probably weighs 90-100lbs. carried all kinds of stuff on top and in the bed never any issues.

 

Nice sticker.

 

If you off-road with a cap, RTT, and gear than I highly recommend it. This is where mine cracked instead of down at the bottom which would have allowed the bedside to lay out much more than the 1/4” I ended up with. Mine is a 2nd gen but they are all the same beds for the most part.

 

I pulled my bedsides tonight, revealing the construction of the area where the hardware that catches the tailgate is. It is surprisingly light on mass, I’ll take a pic tmrw and post it here. There are some pretty remarkable alloys these days but I’m not sure this area is made of anything special. Granted, the tail gate takes most of the load in keeping the corners of the bed taught and relatively square when under load.

I dunno. I saw a few posts of cracked composite near the gate and that was enough for me to spend $100 on mine. Of course, the ATM ones have a bottle opener.

 

yes.

 

Good job, that looks very professional rack. You got some skill there.

 

I added the Total Chaos stiffeners before putting on my Leer shell. Figured for the price why not, and the extra tie points come in handy. Never heard a complaint that bed stifferners screwed up anyones truck. Not sure if they do anything but usually you buy insurance before you need it not after.

 

I just put on an ARE CX, added the total chaos prior. If nothing else, it fixed some gap issues with my tailgate, right side was about 1/8" out of square. I also like the additional tie down points, I have a gunner kennel which is pretty heavy and carries precious cargo - I like how the bed stiffeners are tied in vs the factory tie down in that position.

 

Stops your bedside from pushing outwards. When you load ur truck with a rack or camper and wheel u will see

 

Decided to make my own because I was bored and why not. The extra tie down points come in handy and my bed mat fits perfectly in between. I also don't bust up my knees getting in or out because I either remember that they're there, or my eyes allow me to see them clearly

 

Nice! Want to make another set $$$?

 

If you want to fix the true issue, then jumping in deep is the proper way. The bed is floppy so it can flex right along with the floppy open channel frame. Brace or box the frame and the movement is substantially reduced. That's the hypothesis, anyway. As of last week, I'm going deep.

 

Ive watched an install video for the total chaos ones and i’m not really seeing how they add much structural integrity to the bed. I could still see it warping even with those brackets. I think you’d need like 3 sets down the legnth of the bed to really help.

I’m trying to weigh the pro’s and con’s of having to drill into my bed and having brakets in the way of sliding things in and out.From what I’m reading in this thread it sounds like people really like them for the extra tie downs.

Has anyone heard of people’s beds actually warping?

 

Not sure what you are trying to do? Just curious. Isn't the frame supposed to flex?

 

Your logic is flawed, "toyota would have done it", why would toyota install a mod that only like 3% of Tacoma owners would benefit from?? How many people actually install bed racks and camper shells?? Because they're the only people who need them in the first place.

By your logic pretty much ANY mod is a "gimmick" because if it wasn't then why didn't toyota just do it that way from the beginning?

Exhaust re-route, gimmick.

High clearance bumper, gimmick.

skids plates, gimmick, just use the ones toyota designed.

shackle flip kit, gimmick

energy suspension bushings, gimmick

etc etc etc

 

Simply boxing the frame. Some will argue the flex is good, I don't hold that point of view.

 

the frames should be more rigid than they are. looking forward to seeing this

 

Jesus Christ... I think the Total Chaos stiffeners that I bought were like $150, which makes them cheaper than my floor mats. They've got additional tie-down points and a place to mount an antenna, so that alone makes them worthwhile for me.

Also. I do appreciate that there was a lot of engineering that went into these trucks, but some of you have a belief in the engineering that borders on religious.

 

Okay I’m about to pull the trigger. Am i overpaying? Or is this about what yall paid?

 

Yes. LoL.

https://caliraisedled.com/collectio...products/05-2018-toyota-tacoma-bed-stiffeners