Bolting FWC to bed of 2005-2013 Toy Tacoma

RC Pilot Jim

RC Pilot Jim

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San Diego Calif
This week After looking in 3 states for 8 months, I gave up trying to locate a good 2006 Toyota Tundra Access Cab 4x4. Results were non-existent. So...after talking with 3 fabricators I decided to purchase a new 2013 Toy Tacoma Access Cab V6 4x4 and took deivery Tuesday Jan 15th. Wow what a difference between my '99 4 cylinder and the 2013 V6 (plus all the neat features the '99 didn't have). Actually my 2012 Eagle was made to fit the new Tacoma or first gen Tundra,so I only had two choices.

Ok, now onto the subject matter. The Eagle is bolted onto my '99 Tacoma. The '05-'13 has a composite bed. Can't bolt it down (as it is). Because of physical limitations my injured back will not allow me to get into the position needed to connect and monitor the turnbuckle/eyebolt method. My choices are 1) Bolt down; 2) Install a Tork Lift System (Pricey-$950.00)

My choice is "Bolt Down". The issue is the method used and whether it will "VOID" the warranty. The CERTIFIED fabricator I decided on will weld 4 "L" brackets on the inside of the frame with the horizontal plate under the composite bed then drill up through the composite bed and the camper and we will secure it with 4 ea "Elevator Bolts" of the proper size. Labor and material cost $400.

Warranty Question:
I checked with Toyota, welding a bracket to the frame will NOT void the warranty.

DRILLING into the frame WILL VOID the warranty (because drilling changes the federally approved specs relating to safety issues).

Toyota said,... "In the event of a failure, if the failure is relative to the welding then I pay. If the water pump fails, failure has nothing to do with the frame then Toyota pays". I asked for written confirmation - They wouldn't give it without consulting with the company attorney(I have the warranty managers name)
I'm going to take a chance and do it this way.

Word of Caution: If you choose to do this make sure you pick a certified welder that won't weaken the frame because any failure will be yours to pay to have fixed.

Pictures
I will post pictures after installion next week.

LuckyDan brought up some good points about to consider: frame and bed Flex.

Bed and Frame Flex
I just consulted my brother the civil engineer. We discussed following facts: Both the '99 and 2013 beds are bolted to the truck frame, though the 2013 composite bed is held down by 6 bolts with large "flat washers" doing the holding. We wondered if "frame flex" would crack the bed material. So if the Elevator through bolt(welded brackets) to FWC was "9/16" and the hole in the composite bed was say "5/8". would that be enough clearnce to allow for bed flex and prevent cracking the composite ??

Any Engineers out there please comment.

Jan 25th - Swap will be done today.
I discussed the frame- flex- bed flex issue with the fabricator. They are familiar with this issue so will drill the hole in the bed and bed mat two sizes larger than the 3/8" bolt hole in the "L" bracket. This company goes way back to the 50's in Hawthorne California. They have a lot of experience with off-road Jeeps, Baja race cars, motorhomes, tow cars and trailers. I feel confident in the job they are doing.

Feb 2nd, 2013
Updated this Post with a new post titled "Bolting FWC Eagle to 2013 Tacoma" with pictures.
 
Something you may want to consider is the amount of flex you can expect when using your truck off the pavement. Though the bed is mounted to the frame there typically is not a 1 to 1 correlation between the amount and direction of frame flex and the bed flex when encountering a stressor like a rock, water bar and so on. While I don't know much about the new Toyota's beds I do know in my professional life we "hard" mount equipment to our fiberglass and steel truck beds and not to the frame because of this. It's also why the Torklift turnbuckles are built the way they are.

I'm sure there are better engineer types on here that can comment more more specifically than I and hopefully they will.
 
Something you may want to consider is the amount of flex you can expect when using your truck off the pavement. Though the bed is mounted to the frame there typically is not a 1 to 1 correlation between the amount and direction of frame flex and the bed flex when encountering a stressor like a rock, water bar and so on. While I don't know much about the new Toyota's beds I do know in my professional life we "hard" mount equipment to our fiberglass and steel truck beds and not to the frame because of this. It's also why the Torklift turnbuckles are built the way they are.

I'm sure there are better engineer types on here that can comment more more specifically than I and hopefully they will.


Thank you Dan for your comments. Will discuss your input with my "engineer".
Jim
 
I expect some of the old-timers, I mean experts, will comment further on this issue, but in the mean-time... FWC uses two flat steel bars that extend for most of the width of the bed, with turned up ends to form eyelets. The bars are bolted on top of the composite bed using the bolts which attach the bed to the frame. The camper is then attached to the bar eyelets with turnbuckles. This effectively attaches the camper to the frame and doesn't compromise the integrity of the frame (or your warranty.) I'm aware of this arrangement as I acquired a truck that may be exactly like yours last month and had researched the mounting technique this past fall. I expect to order a Fleet model in the coming weeks for spring delivery.

Here is a topic which includes photos by Stan to show the mounting bars: http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/3288/ Note that there are two sets of photos, the second are the "newer" heavier style. Also, they place a rubber mat between the bars to provide a flat surface for the camper. This is from a couple of years ago, so there may have been some changes, too. I have also seen photos of the bars with "centering" brackets attached, but don't remember where I saw those.

The FWC guys are at the RV show in Denver, so probably won't be monitoring the forum until next week, I suspect.
 
I expect some of the old-timers, I mean experts, will comment further on this issue, but in the mean-time... FWC uses two flat steel bars that extend for most of the width of the bed, with turned up ends to form eyelets. The bars are bolted on top of the composite bed using the bolts which attach the bed to the frame. The camper is then attached to the bar eyelets with turnbuckles. This effectively attaches the camper to the frame and doesn't compromise the integrity of the frame (or your warranty.) I'm aware of this arrangement as I acquired a truck that may be exactly like yours last month and had researched the mounting technique this past fall. I expect to order a Fleet model in the coming weeks for spring delivery.

Here is a topic which includes photos by Stan to show the mounting bars: http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/3288/ Note that there are two sets of photos, the second are the "newer" heavier style. Also, they place a rubber mat between the bars to provide a flat surface for the camper. This is from a couple of years ago, so there may have been some changes, too. I have also seen photos of the bars with "centering" brackets attached, but don't remember where I saw those.

The FWC guys are at the RV show in Denver, so probably won't be monitoring the forum until next week, I suspect.

Thanks for your input Bill. It is interesting that all 3 fabricators don't think the FWC bar setup is safe enough. The "bar" set up is what I envisioned except I wanted to drill through the "bar" to attach the camper. By the way I have a modified shell so the weight is Half of the normal kitchen model.
 
The bars that FWC uses work great..I had one of the original less beefy FWC bars and I managed to bend that one on one of my first off road trips with the new Eagle. From my experience you will need to replace all four of the eyebolts on your Eagle. I broke 3 out of four of my eybolts on a 2008 Eagle. FWC has since gone to a stronger eyebolt and they have a backing plate on the inside of the camper. You will need to see if you have that plate and add it imo. The Toyota composite bed is more flexy then a steel one apparently. After I replaced all 4 of my bolts and was sent a new mounting bar by FWC, I had no further problems. I would just go with the FWC setup they have worked the bugs out, there are probably hundreds of 2005+ Tacomas with Eagles and this setup.


Thanks for your input Bill. It is interesting that all 3 fabricators don't think the FWC bar setup is safe enough. The "bar" set up is what I envisioned except I wanted to drill through the "bar" to attach the camper. By the way I have a modified shell so the weight is Half of the normal kitchen model.
 
The bars that FWC uses work great..I had one of the original less beefy FWC bars and I managed to bend that one on one of my first off road trips with the new Eagle. From my experience you will need to replace all four of the eyebolts on your Eagle. I broke 3 out of four of my eybolts on a 2008 Eagle. FWC has since gone to a stronger eyebolt and they have a backing plate on the inside of the camper. You will need to see if you have that plate and add it imo. The Toyota composite bed is more flexy then a steel one apparently. After I replaced all 4 of my bolts and was sent a new mounting bar by FWC, I had no further problems. I would just go with the FWC setup they have worked the bugs out, there are probably hundreds of 2005+ Tacomas with Eagles and this setup.


Thanks for BSharpoo7 for your input.
My issue is my back INJURY. I am unable to contort my body into a position to monitor the turnbuckles for tightness.
I leave the camper on permanently. It only weighs 850 pounds dry, so as long as the suspension can handle the extra weight (custom leaf springs) and I can live with the poor gas milege (I can) I prefer to bolt it down.
 
Jim, in case you haven't seen this:

http://home.comcast.net/~david.johnson11/CustomMounts.html


Super Doody
Thank You for the input. Your pictures are super on your website. By the way the procedure to upload pictures to this website is to REDUCE the size to (I use) 28% of normal.
Procedure:
1 Right click on the picture or drawing, select Edit
2. Window opens that displays "Paint"
3. Select "Image", the "select/skew"
4. Under "stretch" change the "horizontal" and "vertical" percentage to 28%
5. Click Ok save it to my documents
6. To input a sketch use scan featuire on your printer - scan to a PDF imasge then upload to the file.

If this is not clear let me know.
 
Thank you Dan for your comments. Will discuss your input with my "engineer".
Jim


I have a back problem too but so far am lucky enough to be able to use the FWC system though it can require some off air expressions. I am using the FWC bars to attach to a 2011 Tacoma bed and am happy. But I did have a bolt snap and to keep that corner in place I used a ratchet cloth strap from the side plate used for the jack to where ever I could hook the other end on the truck body. This worked fine for 5,000 miles til I got home. I am thinking four such straps might do the job, be easy on your back and not provide the wind resistance some of the more expensive external options offer. If you go that route you might want to place some kind of sticky rubber mat between the bottom of the camper and the rather slick Tacoma bed. This is by far the least expensive option. It is all easily monitored for tension and wear. The big truckers use straps like these (though bigger) to hold down large loads so I would think it is safe.
 
Super Doody
Thank You for the input. Your pictures are super on your website. By the way the procedure to upload pictures to this website is to REDUCE the size to (I use) 28% of normal.
Procedure:
1 Right click on the picture or drawing, select Edit
2. Window opens that displays "Paint"
3. Select "Image", the "select/skew"
4. Under "stretch" change the "horizontal" and "vertical" percentage to 28%
5. Click Ok save it to my documents
6. To input a sketch use scan featuire on your printer - scan to a PDF imasge then upload to the file.

If this is not clear let me know.



Hi Jim,

That is not my website but the author has some really great ideas.
 
Did you notice that there is a set of Tork Lift mounts for Toyota for sale in the Gear Exchange?
http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/6884/
You would save some $ but need to check to see if they fit the 2013.
 
Thank you one and all for your comments and advice.
I will update the post with pictures after the job is done and it stops raining (yes it rains in San Diego).
And update you on how it holds up over time and the wash board roads of Death Valley.
 
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