Use of the truck bed

Long as its strapped down with ratchet straps youll be fine, I use the my bungee net if the load is only slightly above the bed rails. I use multiple 30 gallon plastic totes stacked 2 high which comes to about cab height many times without issue, I use 6 or so ratchet straps when I do that.

 

I say pack everything tightly together. I had a cast-iron pan in a cargo box that wasn't packed full, and after a day of washboard and rutted roads (and maybe too much racing around on dirt roads), it managed to vibrate loose, destroy everything in its box, then it broke out of it's box and dented my Coleman stove. So don't let shit move is what I'm sayin.

 

Agreed, once shuff generates kinetic energy you are in for a shit show, straps dont do anything when somethings 10 pounds and moving 20 mph.

 

I'd be more concerned about the extremely low payload on the Tacoma. Once you subtract the occupants, there's not a lot of weight left to put in the bed if you want to keep below rated payload.

 

Had a yard of gravel and my dad and I in the truck. Drove for about 45 mins through mountain passes and no issues at all. Engine did not care at all, definitely felt it when braking. Not saying it’s a great idea to do it all the time, but Toyota’s payload is very conservative IMO.

 

Get a softopper

 

Criminy......a cubic yard of gravel will weigh 2400-2900 lbs.
You were well over payload capacity. Certainly wouldn't recommend a load of that size.

I will occasionally get a yard or 2 of topsoil. It weighs about 1500 lbs/yd, I have it delivered.

 

Definitely not the best idea. That was my first time hauling a yard and I didn’t realize how heavy it really was. The truck took it very well though.

 

Lol I’d never use tape. Just funny when you see it hanging off a wing.

 

Luckily my gravel/soil place is 5 minutes away and the driver will waive a delivery fee if I'll accept a load at 7 AM (makes his day shorter). As has been said before, ratchet straps are your friends, I don't really trust bungees for much in the truck bed. I've also got a ratchet bar that another Tacoma owner turned me onto

$37 Keeper Adjustable Cargo Bar for Pickup Truck Bed, Ratcheting Cargo Bar, Ideal Work Truck Accessories, Black/Silver, 40"-70" Adjustable Length

https://www.amazon.com/Keeper-05059-Ratcheting-Cargo-Bar/dp/B0000AZ9KS
works great for keeping boxes and stuff in place against the front of the bed. Works great for below the rails loads, boxes and anything that doesn't fill the bed.

 

OEM bed mat helps a lot. I rarely secure anything in the bed unless it's really light and will fly out. For camping I just kind of Tetris everything so all items are touching the bed floor. If there's stuff sitting on top of stuff then I use a cam buckle strap (usually a kayak strap) to secure it.

I also run a Softopper while camping but that's basically to keep stuff dry and dust free, not really for retention.

 

The safe word is

 

LOL, that funny being opposite here; all loads must be un-tarped (we have un-tarping zones specifically for this with cameras)

 

I can't read the DOT road warnings to "SECURE YOUR LOAD" without giggling. I'll grow up someday. Not soon, but someday.

 

Great. Something else I just ordered because I read it here and thought it was a good idea

 

Why would I be concerned? Just amused mostly.

 

Second this - as high as you want. The only thing that really matters is that it’s secured

 

Beware of your net. Trust me on this .. used one like that on top of my Forester rack and when we got
to the campsite the privacy tent-thing ( folded down in a big circle ) forced its way out. So somewhere between
Phoenix and Williams AZ is a nice new privacy-tent.. I have since bought a net with tighter (smaller) areas and
also used bungie cords to over-strap stuff.

That was pre-truck. Now I load up and close up the tonneau cover and go forth with no worries.

The setup nightcrawler has is probably much better as it's not stretchy.

 

I got a bungee cord cargo net and some ratchet straps for cleaning out my mom and sisters hourded mobile home That we had to sell last month.

I had my bed all piled up with a loads of bagged trash and all kinds of stuff that I hauled to the local incinerator. It worked out well. I have a hard cover but I really wanted to pile it in as much as possible since I was stuck with my some siblings that didn't want to help in anyway this was cheaper than a dumpster. only would have been easier if I had a bigger bed

 

Bunch of pansies