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Bed Stiffeners - Tacoma issue only or do we need them?

Blindjustice1787

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Reading through a Tacoma forum this morning while looking for some solutions, I came across a discussion on bed and bed rail deflection. There was a lot of discussion on the weight of toppers and racks, with the answer to just add bed stiffeners.

I had not considered this, so I did a quick Google search for “Gladiator Bed stiffeners”, but only found bed stiffeners for tacomas. Is the Tacoma bed just weak, or do Gladiators also need stiffeners when putting racks capable of holding 1,000 pounds on them?
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Puch

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Reading through a Tacoma forum this morning while looking for some solutions, I came across a discussion on bed and bed rail deflection. There was a lot of discussion on the weight of toppers and racks, with the answer to just add bed stiffeners.

I had not considered this, so I did a quick Google search for “Gladiator Bed stiffeners”, but only found bed stiffeners for tacomas. Is the Tacoma bed just weak, or do Gladiators also need stiffeners when putting racks capable of holding 1,000 pounds on them?
The Tacoma has a plastic composite bed.
 
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Blindjustice1787

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So what your saying is…no we don’t need them?
 

Beemer533

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Correct, no need
 

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fourfa

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It’s not just the composite bed, the sheet metal around the bed corners has a sharp angle that acts as a stress concentrator, and leads to cracks and metal rips that propagate outward. Fine if stock but not strong enough for toppers with weight on them without stiffeners, esp if wheeling hard. I’ve never heard of a problem like this on any other truck.

Happened to my 05 Taco, quite badly. I put in the stiffeners, and I also use a tight ratchet strap between them when off-road
 

Volksparts

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I'm glad OP started this topic as I have questioned this since I picked up my gladiator and have been running bed stiffeners on my Tacoma for 5 years now. So glad I don't need to spend the extra cash for these on our trucks. Thanks for the info guys.
 

SPED1

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Raptors have them too!
Jeep Gladiator Bed Stiffeners - Tacoma issue only or do we need them? 1657048062018
 

SPED1

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Do you see any bed flex from off-road use? If you do or if you never want to see any bed flex, we have the solution for you. Here are the Evil Offroad Bed Supports which are designed to provide superior adjustment to pull you bed sides in or out with ease. These bed supports feature FK Heims along with Grade 8 Hardware so you know they will last. Each support has tabs laid out in strategic areas for maximum adjust ability and each support is notched in case you really want to crank down on the supports. To add we include backing plates for extra side support.
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