Bed depth frustrations

I tried putting my 80qt Cabelas cooler in the bed, the tonneau wont close with the cooler. My frustration is that the 2nd Gen bed is almost 2 inches deeper. 3rd Gen is about 21.5'' deep and Gen 2 is over 23'' deep. Its the littlest of things, but extremely frustrating when trying to take a cooler for a trip.

 

That was one of my pet peeves with my Tacoma. The gen 3 Tundra is a little better but still could be deeper. It's kind of crazy when you approach the vehicle from the side to see how high up the floor of the bed is. I mean there is daylight there and you can see straight through.

This is one reason why I really like retractable tonneaus that you can lock open in intermediate positions to accommodate taller objects without having all the contents uncovered. I had one on the Tacoma and it worked great for just these situations. I am almost certainly going to be selling my OEM cover and getting a retract soon.

 

Yeah, the bed mount is double the height compared to a 2nd Gen, its like a double mount. Like why couldnt they have given use the depth? Cost cutting Toyota at it again. I measured a friends Chevy, and his bed depth was the same as the 3rd Gen.

 

Perhaps you can use one of these?

 

Sure, but I bought a truck to carry things like a cooler. I know its a option, but its Toyota saving a few bucks which then makes me spends hundreds on a hitch carrier.

 

Other things fit under. If something is taller I can fold up the cover but then takes waterproof away from the entire bed. I guess my gripe is that toyota put extra tall bed mounts from the frame to the bed, instead of making the bed closer to the depth as the 2nd Gen. Small little cuts in their cost over their last model hurt the usability and function in everyday use of this one.
Dont get me wrong, I love the truck, its the little cuts in their costs that irk me

 

It was probably more of a design constraint rather than a cost cutting measure. I would imagine switching to a composite bed would require larger reinforcing members compared to a steel bed, which could be a reason why the bed shrunk in all dimensions compared to the second gen. I do appreciate the deep bed in the second gen and was something I noted when I was seriously looking for a third gen. I have a sleeping platform that fits over storage totes and the decrease it bed height for me would reduce head room under my cap.

 

Or for the NVH and lets not forget bed wiggle gate on the 2g.

 

I can't believe how many people are defending the bed depth as some engineering limitation. They could have made the bed the same depth, regardless of mechanical design restraints, it just might not have been as cheap as they wanted. Bed depth is extremely annoying when you have a tonneau cover and can't protect your stuff. Very obnoxious, and no justification for having done so.

 

TBF, I have a 2018 with the Toyota tonneau and there are some things that I can't put in there with it closed that you would think I would be able to. It only has maybe 20" of vertical space when closed.

 

I do agree, I wasn't defending Toyota in that sense. They should of made the bed at least the same depth as that was something appealing to a lot of previous gen Tundra owners and something Toyota promoted in the past. Im sure they could of moved some stuff around or come up with a different support structure. Maybe they thought ppl wouldnt notice or care . It's one of a few things the third gen went backwards on.

 

I’d bet you have more than you think, closer to 22” under the tonneau. But look I know I’m not hauling a kitchen fridge under the cover, but like @DFS said there’s no reason the make it shallower, they added a double bracket between the bed and frame. Easy to see the difference when you have them side by side.

 

Hmm you must have an old one or something cabelas lists the spec at 20.5 tall on the 80qt polar cap. I only needed a soft top so got the truxport that sits on top haven’t measured but sitting on top rails it’s deep… deeper than my ford.

 

The bed size has been a big concern of mine for the gen3s, a gen2 6.5ft has 21.9% more volume then the gen3 6.5ft, which is not inconsequential. Most of the size difference is actually in the width. The height is 22.2” vs 20.9”. Like another poster said, different covers will provide different interior heights so can gain back height that way. I also do not understand why the composite bed was used, to save weight? If for weight the gen3 ended up heavier somehow in comparable models. The f150 redesign years ago did actually drop 400-500lbs. Overall this just makes it tough to buy the 6.5ft gen3 in my case as a direct replacement as I need it for hauling.

 

Python/cable locks are my go to in cases like this. Use them for coolers in my open boat all the time when the boat is trailered and unattended.

 

I had a similar frustration when going from a Tundra 2.5 to a RAM 2500......cooler(s) no longer fit under Retrax. I bought a new cooler (Kong) that was not as tall. Now that I have a Tundra 3, the Kong fits fine.

 

Thanks for the direct observations, which confirm my assumptions based on a tape measure last year.
This was a concern for me too bedsize depth - along with reduced Cabsize cubic space.
Sure you can get the 6.5 bed but that doesn't help with height when you want to travel with taller items like a cooler covered for security.
The Gen 2.5 was cubic space leading on the short bed depth and Cab cubic feet available.
They made the 3.0 Gen same as the F150, Ram and GMC/Chev as far as bed depth goes.
They are all roughly the same now.

 

Yep. Especially after Oregon decimalized procession of hardcore drugs

 

On a positive note, coming from a Tacoma, yesterday I found that the Tundra's increased bed depth met a key wish for me... I can fit my bicycle in the bed for quick solo rides without removing the front wheel and still be able to close the tonneau cover. This with 42 or 44cm wide handlebars. Nice not to have to mess around with the thru axle every time. Bed depth may not be best in class but it pretty much works for me. I also have a hitch rack for times when we need more bikes and are carrying lots of other stuff.