Cracked Pinch welds under bed (!!)

Pic 1. bed is separated
Pic 2. You can see the slope of the frame and no bed support at the most forward part of the bed
Pic 3. What I had on the truck (total weight around 500 lbs)

 

Bed rails not designed to carry that weight? So I design a rack to sit on the bed rails THEN blame Toyota it's Their fault?

 

I’ve created a FB group to try and collect anyone who is willing to share photos/videos of any damage incurred to try and make a case of what I believe is a design flaw by toyota.

the fact of the matter is the is, they changed the design on 2022+ models and added a crossmember at the weak point and 2 additional bed bolts.

 

The truck bed is unsupported nearest the cab past the final 2 bed bolts. This appears to be a known problem because they obviously addressed it in 2022+ models. So what happens to the rest of us?

 

Seems to me that an entrepreneurial person might make a bracket that extends from the frame to the bed.

 

Should be mass produced and sold just like the bed stiffeners for the rear.

 

Seems to me it’s a upfitter problem not Toyota. 2022 bed is composite so we’ll wait and see how the plastic holds up. Rack manufacturer needs to extend support down to bed floor and across floor.

 

I wasn’t implying that it was a Toyota problem. I was suggesting a solution that didn’t imply fault.

 

Well, I get your point, but Toyota sells their bed rail system for the DCs and it's rated by them to support 880 lbs at the top of the bed. My camper weighs less than half that, and I don't have anywhere near 400 lbs in the front of the bed. It's clamped into their bed rail system, again at half the advertised weight. My truck is also a "TRD Off-Road" (probably like most) which is advertised for exactly what I do with it. Nowhere does Toyota warn against weight on the bed rails. I get that the camper puts stress on the front, and there's dynamic loads, etc. but they clearly whiffed on the front bed design for DCs that are used as they entice us to do. They know they have a super flexy frame and an unsupported front of the bed. They even built the P-side front of the bed stronger. Take a look under one and you'll see what I mean.

https://www.toyotapartsdeal.com/accessories/toyota-deck_rail_kit.html

 

The real issue is the amount of tundras that are a double cab is a small portion of overall tundras sold. Of the double cabs, the owners who have a camper or rack or shell, or something along those lines is a small portion as well. Of those owners, the portion who actually take their trucks and go wheeling with them is a small percentage.

Essentially, we are talking about 1% of 1% of whatever percent the double cabs are. So not a lot of data/complaints/malfunctions.

i hope toyota will take it seriously, but seeing as they have a new model year out and the new 6.5’ beds are utilizing an additional crossmember and 8 bed bolts instead of 6, I don’t if they will do anything.

i am seriously considering making the switch to a f250 tremor or a Ram power wagon.

 

Good plan, can’t break the welds if it won’t start.


On a more serious note, if your current tool won’t do the job you want then you’re right, it may be time for a different tool.

 

That’s crazy to me that the frame just falls away from the bed like that. I always thought the double cab was the one to have if you’re hauling stuff because you can place it closer to right between both axles. But if you load up your bed and put the heaviest stuff toward the front, it’s unsupported. Weird.

Agreed that there could be a bolt-on support for the front of the DC bed much like the bed stiffeners for the rear.

PW won’t get you any additional payload. Ford might not come home from the trail. Either will drive MUCH larger than your Tundra.

 

Thanks for the chuckle.

 

Here is a pic of an older dodge 2500 I believe…not sure. Something like this in conjunction with a crossmember would do the trick. With additional bolts running to the crossmember up front so it not just two bolts on the corners.

As you can see I’m passionate about this and have done some research….it just irks me.
Same frame for 5.5’ bed and 6.5’ bed and didn’t bother to add support for the additional 12-15” or so. Could’ve been a $200 expense or so in metal cost to add 1 crossmember at the factory, instead of a several thousand repair job or bed replacement.

 

I hear you….
But all the evidence I’ve seen has been 500-600 lb set ups, and 1 camper at around 800lbs?
Far below some of the 1500-1700 lb campers causing domestics to fail.

 

I recently toyed with the idea of getting a pop top camper shell! Between this thread and the $8k pricetag, think I'll just axleflip my enclosed trailer, install a cargonet hammock and escape window, and use that instead!

 

The problem isn’t just the weight on the bedrails. The problem is driving offroad on uneven terrain and the C channel frame flexing. Bolt on a rigid bed on top of the flexing frame and ofcourse you’ll start tearing the metal. Add a bunch of weight on the rails and it just makes it 10 times worse.

You can weld everything back together and add more supports but it’ll eventually tear apart again. The only true solution IMO is boxing the frame.

 

Well yes and no. I’ll start by saying I’m a big fan of boxed frames and didn’t buy a tundra for the longest because I didn’t like the c channel design. That said there’s advantages and disadvantages to both setups. The boxed frames flex as well, albeit not nearly as much, and they can also crack under those kinds of loads because they don’t flex enough.

the bottom line here is that the pickup truck is designed to be used dozens of different ways and without specialization there’s always trade offs. This is especially true when it comes to costs. I mean, nobody would spent 250k on a tundra that could do all the things people want really well so compromise is the name of the game.

 

I hear you, but when you bolt more rigid things (rack, tent, etc) to your bed, adding weight and reinforcing the bed's rigidity, the hot spots where the bed is stressed by frame flex get even worse. The open C frame becomes more of a disadvantage.

Best way to keep off-roading your truck at high speeds or even at low speeds with a tent and rack is by preventing the frame flex. Isolate the flex to the suspension. Changes the game for sure. Probably raises new concerns.

If we're doing more than driving on gravel roads, we're well outside Toyota's anticipated use anyway.

I was dead set on doing this when I first got my truck, then kind of forgot about it. But I came down pretty hard at one point on a service road while hunting in CO, and I'm fairly certain my bed hit the back of the cab. That got me curious again...

If you've boxed your frame, how is it holding up? Has it caused any other issues? I've read all I can on it, just looking for updates on how things are holding up.
@joonbug
@831Tun
@Vizsla
@osidepunker
@papasmurf
@froggy78
@reywcms?
@KevinK?

 

There was a trend in sled deck manufacturing that had the entire weight of the deck, and 2 snowmobiles, resting entirely on the bed rails. People were pika chu face when they started to get ripples in the sheet metal of the box.
Like wtf did you think would happen?

 

Mines not boxed yet and the old man’s rig is in getting it done now. This has proven well on the other trucks completed by the shop and no issues for those built rigs. We’re also adding frame and bed reinforcements for his gfc to tie it to the frame rather than the bed rails.

I’m taking a different approach to boxing the rear and just cutting the frame off after cab and doing a full back half.

 

Yep. You can see this in demonstration with how the Tundra's 2nd gen counterpart, the body-on-frame Sequoia, has a fully boxed frame. The Land Cruiser likewise is setup with a boxed frame. Rigid body on top, frame needs stiffening. Throw rigid things on something that has flex, expect stress concentrations.

 

We decided to embrace the wet noodle approach, and everything on our truck is designed to flex with the frame instead of trying to resist it so hard.
There’s pros and cons to every choice, and we decided to keep ours light and flexible. If you brace it a bunch, you add weight, which can require even more bracing, leading to an almost never ending circle of chasing the dragon until you decide to do what @reywcms is doing and go full back half.

It’s about deciding what weak points you want to keep and repair based on cost and ease of repair/replacement. Our shit wobbles and bends like a mofo. But it doesn’t break.

 

Holding up fine, no damage to bed. It’s not overloaded, and even though it doesn’t flex much, the rack/tent/awning lets the bed flex without resistance. Probably a poor example for the average off-road adventurer, whole truck is reinforced = not realistic for almost everyone imo..

 

Fix it, sell it, buy a Harley and a tent then follow the decent weather????? The fuel savings will cover periodic hotel stays during the inclement weather. Just an idea!

 

It's held up well and I can't think of any other issues it's caused. I have found the need to modify my driving and my expectations of how hard I can reasonably push this platform. Baja will do that to ya. So, I recently acquired a 2014 built Raptor because the ones I've traveled with down there have done fairly well in Baja and parts are more likely to be available.

 

Put it this way. Of all the LT Tundras between the Bastrds and SGU, I believe they’re all boxed except for two trucks. There are two trucks in the group that have cracked beds. Guess which two.

Realistically, not too many people are going to spend that kind of money to box their MT truck. But if you wheel it hard enough, it might be better than putting money into fixing this only for the problem to eventually come back again.

https://youtu.be/p1LO6uxy11I?si=MZsMvEr09pFpQFHl

 

Everybody loves the tundra twerk.