Eyebolts pulling truck bed apart

[b team]

It seems as if the front tie downs are under more stress than the rear? Any opinions on this?

 

[chnlisle]

I could be wrong on this. It certainly wouldn't surprise me. If you install the bolts like so / \ it seems to me the forward turn buckels are working to prevent the rears from pulling the camper out of the truck. If they are installed this way / / all 4 are working to keep the camper snug agains the bed wall and the load is somewhat even on all of them. The trade off could be some minor damage to the front of the box but I think thats better than damaging the bed. Just my guess.

 

[pvstoy]

Here is another posting to add fuel to the subject.

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=813

I was thinking that the camper moves around pulling at the eyebolts when you have a smooth or plastic bed (and a mat that can slide around).

So when the load shifts off road or at mall speed bumps, there is slack on some and then not. Really makes a difference at what angle and direction the turnbuckle is heading toward the bed as to how the camper is going to move and how much.

If Bens method of half turn and then check them later works on normal driving roads, then one must really check them off-road usage.

Correct me if my theory is off here, but I was thinking that if you have a spray in liner then the camper won't slide around. When I put my camper on I have to line up the holes through the camper/bed. I can't push it around to line up the holes. I have to use the jacks to lift the weight to break the contact pressure and release the friction the wood / liner creates.

How many of you with a spray in liner/eyebolt turnbuckle combo have to adjust the tension on the turnbuckles? Would it be worth the extra money just for this reason?

But on extreme off road and launching your truck off an unexpected jump, liner or no liner the camper is going to move and shift. That is where using LQHIKERS method is really going to help keep the camper on your truck. Design the method for how and where you are going to drive/use the truck/camper.

 

[chnlisle]

Pat,
I just got back from Wickenburg. I drove 6 or 7 miles on what I would describe as a pretty good dirt road. On a scale from 1 to 10 1 being the road out to San Ignacio Lagoon and 10 being one street over from me in Tucson just after the bi monthly grading I'd say it went from a 10 (recently graded) to 4 or 5. When I took the camper off this AM the rear bolts were snugger than the fronts. There was plenty of up and down on that road. I'm not sure what to draw from this and when I put them on it was just hand tighten and then one turn. When I used the / \ method the rears were usually the ones that became slack. I'm guessing that since this isn't rocket science (or maybe it is) Its just best to check them after you've been driving for a bit.

 

[craig333]

Checked mine. Looks okay but I have only round washers. I'll be making some plate to reinforce it shortly.

 

[b team]

At first i just had the camper in the bed of the truck. later I added a 1/2 rubber bed mat. This really helped the problem of loosening turnbuckles.

 

[Tomas Tierra]

I am on my 2nd T100 and have been dealing with this problem for a while..thankfully not as severe as LM man!

I had this problem when my camper was bolted through the floor of my '95 extra cab. All of my welds on the front edge let go and I was terrified that the whole bed with camper would eventually fall off.It was a six foot bed, both of the FWC's I ran on this truck were to long, and hung over. I sold the truck mainly due to this problem. The new (02) Tundra has the bed bolted to the frame.

On the '93 t100 the problem hasn't been as severe, it's a long bed and both FWC's I have had on it fit well. On my eye bolts I have put extra rubber mat scraps between washers and metal as sort of a shock absorber..seems to be working alittle so far. I need to get back to the marine supply store and get some 2" by2" plate washers to install..

I have attached a photo of one of my forward eye bolts on the '93 T100. I am pointing at one of the broken welds.

Definately a design flaw in the T100/FWC compatability realm..

 

[lqhikers]

response to pvstoy on posting link

I'm going to try to post link on second set of turnbuckles on 2008 tacoma. Here goes!(after i add link i can not seem to add any more text following link don't know why. lqhikers.http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/2008tacomabulidup#1

 

[lqhikers]

posting foul up

Thought i had it figured out guess not.giving up for now. lqhikers

 

[SunMan]

I'm feeling better and better about the $50 I shelled out for the four gargantuan stainless/forged eye bolts I used on my set up. I also used stainless 2"x2" square plate washers a la Tomas Tierra. Seems to be holding, and the turnbuckles have stayed snug per Ben's method, but I haven't put my set up through the wringer as some of you have. You can bet I'll be watching much closer from now on!

 

[LAWNMOWERMAN]

T100 solution

Here is my solution for the T100 bed corners.Before anyone gets excited there are 8-3/8 Grade 8 bolts(4 on the bed wall+4 in the bedfloor)

 

[Tomas Tierra]

that ought to do it.
nice, now you can keep on bombin' on down the road!

Stan, that photo with the camper on the ground- with no damage- says ALOT about your product...

 

[kcowyo]

Ughhh.... reading this thread was like getting kicked in the gut.....

So I'm a T100 guy too. I do have a Line-X spray in bed liner in my bed. All four turnbuckles are mounted \\ - as in pulling towards the front of the bed and cab of the truck. I have no metal plates on the underside of the bed for reinforcement. All 4 turnbuckles look like the following, the passenger rear side -

What I've noticed over the last year is that by not initially using a spacer between the camper and front wall of the bed, was that the FWC pushed that wall into the back of the cab. I have maybe 1/4 of an inch now between the top rail and the back of the cab.

When I took the camper off last winter I could see how bad I had tweaked that wall. About that time I saw Lawnmowerman's photo's. Following a few emails from him, I noticed the pinch welds he mentions. They were covered by the Line-X so I never noticed them. With that front wall pushed towards the cab, the Line X has started to separate just enough that I can see these pinch welds becoming an issue.

I also noticed after removing the camper that the front 2 eyebolts were bulging up slightly. Not much but bulging nonetheless. I had hoped to visit Ben last fall and have reinforcing plates added to the the bottom of my bed but time & finances didn't allow for that. Clearly this is something I need to address.

Regarding the spray on bedliner preventing the camper moving around, this is somewhat true. When loading the camper on and trying to align it correctly in the backyard, it is a SOB to move around. It takes me and a buddy to do it.

However, it can & will move on a bedliner with enough centrifugal force even fastened down with the turnbuckles. Let's just say you're driving out of Death Valley, south on Hwy 395 with the intent of taking CA14 over to Bakersfield. Let's say you miss your turn and don't notice until you're in Johannesburg.... Again speaking hypothetically, ( ) let's say you get irked enough to do a "hasty" u-turn on Hwy 395. If not careful and without slowing down, the whole camper will shift, even with a spray on bedliner. Hypothetically speaking of course....

So I have little to add to this discussion other than yes, I'm starting to see some similar issues with my T100 & FWC combo. The spray on liner does help but it covered up those pinch welds from my sight so I wouldn't have put all of this together. And I usually hand tighten the turnbuckles and crank them one more with a screwdriver. They still will work themselves loose over rough and washboard roads. I could use Locktite or another solution but I just assumed that was part of the deal, having to re-tighten after time on rough roads.

 

[pvstoy]

More posting help with links

I'm going to try to post link on second set of turnbuckles on 2008 tacoma. Here goes!(after i add link i can not seem to add any more text following link don't know why. lqhikers.http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/2008tacomabulidup#1

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=753

Hey LQHIKERS...I think you got it but you need to find your page and copy the address from the address bar for that page and paste it in the link window. I do notice a different link...Did I get the right one you wanted?

 

[chnlisle]

Ok guys here's the thread Pat is talking about....I think.

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=654

 

[LAWNMOWERMAN]

Equipment loaded on trucks or trailers should always be secured rear/ and front\ .Tiedowns should always pull against each other.I see no reason to secure a camper any other way.
My turnbuckles don't come loose any more since I installed the new brackets.

 

[EdoHart]

I don't get airborne, so maybe I don't do extreme 4x4

First, I really like Lawnmowerman's solution. It looks almost as strong as lqhikers direct to frame solution, while being easier to build and mount.

Second, I have never had a wheel off the ground because of bouncing. According to a friend following me, I did have a rear tire off the ground in an extreme articulation situation, but I was going so slow I never knew it. I can see how bouncing even one tire off the ground could impart enough force to start to rip apart the bed - especially if one turnbuckle is loose.

Third, I check the turnbuckles before each trip. I found that when the camper was on my Dodge, with a rubber mat in the bed I had to hand tighten the turnbuckles after the first 100 miles, again after another 200-300 miles and, yet again after another 200-300 miles. After that, the camper was so settled onto the truck that I couldn't hand tighten them any further; even after hitting a tree at the right, rear corner of the camper, all of the turnbuckles were tight.

Now that it's on the Chevrolet with Line-X spray in truck bed liner, I find that after the first 2 checks, all 4 turnbuckles are hand tight.

By hand tight I mean using my right hand (I'm very right side dominant), turning the turnbuckles counter clockwise with my right hand in the typical "fist" attitude and wearing leather gloves (to prevent the sharp edge of the turnbuckles from biting into my hands). I may not get the turnbuckles as tight as Ben's method, but I'm not complaining.

Also, with either the rubber mat, or the Line-x coating, once the camper is supported by the truck bed, I can not move the camper in the slightest.

 

[lqhikers]

more imput on tie downs!

Reading edohart's remarks on tie downs i agree that bolting through with backing plate works,but the reason i added 2nd set of tie downs was the fact that my eye bolts tore out of the camper mounting points,(tearing out of plywood).With 4 extra tie downs under extreme use you have a bit more control.I also put spacers between camper and edge of bed where tail gate would be to keep camper from any side way movement.I did this on my 2002 taco with steel bed and i feel it is even more important with 2008 taco with plastic bed,which i think was a sell out by toyota to save a few $.Just my 2 cents worth.Drive slow and enjoy "its the journey"

 

[b team]

here is a pic of the damage. I have designed a fix and will post up soon.

 

[DLN]

I finally got around to inspecting the bed mounting points and found a small amount of deflection/damage in the truck bed. The front mounts had pulled the bed up maybe 3/32" from the angle metal that attachs to the rear wall of the bed. The rear mounts had dimpled the bed about the same amount. I don't ever push the truck that hard on rough roads so I'm guessing some but not all of the damage is just from tightening (or maybe over tightening) the turnbuckles. I had some pieces of a Simpson HST strap left over from another project and made some reinforcing plates for the under side. I'd have preferred not having all the extra holes in the plates but that is what I had on hand. The front plates catch the angle metal and the bed frame and the rears just the truck bed. Here's a couple of pic.s