Small truck bed question

[Gene Jordan]

I've recently purchased a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. The late models are larger than the earlier ones, but it's still not possible to haul a sheet of plywood in between the wheel wells. Inside the bed are four indentations that are approximately 3/4 inch deep on both sides, front and back of the wheel wells. It appears that if something was put from one side of the bed to the other in these indentations that I could haul plywood on top of this laying down flat. Does anyone have any experience with this and what material did you use, like wood, aluminum, or possibly steel? The truck bed is made out of some sort plastic (resin ) material that I'm not familiar with, but surely the sides can support a few sheets of plywood.

The members on this forum always provide a wealth of information and many different viewpoints. Thanks in advance.

[Keel McDonald]

Gene,

You should be able to cut a 2x4 to fit (side to side) in those notches in your bed, one for the front and one for the back of the bed. If a few sheets of plywood are all you're wanting to haul, it will work fine. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's what those notches are for. The owner's manual in my Ranger even suggests doing this to haul plywood.

[Tyler Howell]

Done it! It works. You don't need the 2x just to haul sheat goods but with it, now you have hauling space underneath and it is well supported.

[David G Baker]

Gene,
I have seen smaller pick-up trucks with a 2x rack with a sheet of plywood or OSB that sits just above the wheel wells. Sheet goods sit on top and smaller lumber slides in under the rack. I have seen some that have made this a permanent addition to the truck due to the large amount of sheet items that are hauled.

[Jim Becker]

Not only can you "raise the floor" for the sheet goods that way, but you can also use a hitch receiver device from places like HFT to enable good support on longer sheet goods.

[Bart Leetch]

I have 2 2x4's in the back of my S10 that stay in the truck all the time just for this purpose.

[John Bailey]

I have a 2003 Tacoma. The indentations work well, but are not far enough to the rear for the ply to balance properly. It's easy enough to add something to the 2x's for proper support. Also, unless I'm missing something, 2x4's aren't wide enough by themselves to reach over the wheel wells. The 2x4's have to be raised 4-5"s to get them over the well.

John

[Randal Stevenson]

Gene,

You should be able to cut a 2x4 to fit (side to side) in those notches in your bed, one for the front and one for the back of the bed. If a few sheets of plywood are all you're wanting to haul, it will work fine. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's what those notches are for. The owner's manual in my Ranger even suggests doing this to haul plywood.


Year and does your Ranger have a bedliner? My Ranger has a factory over the lip bedliner, that doesn't have them. (94). I am unsure whether the sides have them and since I have a toolbox, it isn't easy to remove and reinstall.


Otherwise, I was looking at doing a project I saw years ago in Fine Homebuilding. They made a brace to hold up the sheets, and the 2x's went under. The big difference, was at the rear, in front of the tailgate, was a brace which slide out and had lips to hold the stuff in the bed.

[glenn bradley]

Yep, that's it.

[Gene Jordan]

Thank you to everyone that replied.
Just a note to John Bailey. This Tacoma is a 2006 model and the indentations are up as high as the wheel wells minus 3/4 inch. If I install a 2 by something the height will actually be heigher than the wheel well. That's kind of what had me stumped. I suppose i could cut a 3/4 inch rabbit out of the 2 by 4 to make it come out flush. I just wondered what other people had come up with.

Thanks again.
Gene

[Link Bowers]

I used 2x6s on my long bed 2005 tacoma (same as a 2006) to haul drywall as well as plywood. The 2x6 will give you a little less flex and a 50% greater bearing area to transfer the weight to the side of the truckbed.

[Jack Norfleet]

I have an 06 Tacoma and use two 2x4s in each slot.

I went on and installed a set of the floor mounted d rings up front using the bed mounting bolts. They give me a good tied down point up front which prevents the load from tipping down at the rear.

[Steven Wilson]

Sorry, I can't feel your pain. I just bought a GMC Sierra 2500HD diesel and plywood fits in it just fine

[Jamie Buxton]

Here's a post and pics about the solution I've used for years. The platform is a tab-in-slot design which assembles and disassembles without tools. Collapsed, it stands in the corner of the garage, and doesn't take much space.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showpost.php?p=81393&postcount=9

One trouble with those two 2x4s running across the truck is that you can't easily slide the first sheet into the truck. Rails running front-to-back are easier to deal with.