Its sort of a long story, but I'm considering removing the bed from my '97 tacoma-but only for a week or so; I do want to re-install in eventually. Just wondering if anyone has done this (or maybe just the take off part) and if there are any tips. How heavy is the bed, in terms of numnber of buddies I';d need to buy beer for when it came to the take-off?
Thanks

 

The ride will be very stiff which means very bumpy, cause there will be no weight in the back. Just a warning.

Never taken a bed off, just been in a truck with no bed, so can't help you on the removal aspect.

 

i took the bed off of my '84 mazda, it wasent too hard, just get a couple of guys to help, and dont forget to unhook all of the taillight wiring

 

just had the bed off my '88 last week so that I could get at the gas lines without dropping a full tank.....took two of us with no problems

 

Took the bed off my 95 Tacoma once. Very easy to, only 6 bolts hold it on (I think). My wife and I lifted it up and slid it back onto saw horses.

 

i know a guy on here named todd who's from MA has a wooden bed...

 

Just 1 other friend is all you need to take the bed off. It's not all that heavy, just akward.

Like the other guy mentioned, it's only 6 bolts.

Take the gas shield off from inside the gas filler hole. You'll have to remove the cap to get it out.

Make sure all your wires are not attached to the bed, BEFORE you go to lift it off. I've seen some tired to the frame rails and some tied to the bed. Specially under the tail gate.

Other than that, I can't think of anything else.

FYI: Putting the bed back on is alot harder than taking it off. The drivers side has to be lifted higher to allow the gas filler tube to be properly located in the bedside to slide up in the gas filler hole. (That make any sense?)

Happy mods!

 

just don't forget to take off the gas cap...here's an excerpt from our article on offroad.com on removing a Tacoma bed.

"Remove the taillight via the four Philips head screws, disconnect the wiring at the light and remove the taillight assembly. Feed the electrical wires down through the taillight holes and remove the plastic fasteners from the bed so that the wiring harness is not attached to the bed of the truck at any point. Disconnect the electrical connections to the license plate lights.


Remove the tailgate and the tailgate hardware from the bed. The tailgate can be reused with the new bedsides if desired. Either way, the hardware can be reused to fasten the tailgate edge of the new fenders. Don't forget to open the gas filler door and remove the gas cap just as if you were going to fill the tank. The gas filler is not actually bolted to the bed, so no further disassembly is required.


Remove the four bolts and two nuts that secure the bed to the frame rails and then transfer the bed off of the truck onto a stable, elevated work surface. The bed is easily light enough for two grown men to handle. Take care to lift it free of things like the gas filler. The beside can be placed on anything like blocks of wood or used tires, etc. to create a work surface that will not require the low-hanging wheel openings of the sheet metal to support the weight of the bed."

link here for the whole article.

http://www.off-road.com/toyota/proje...rks/index.html

 

Wow thanks, great stuff. Thanks to everyone else as well. I've seen a lot of the wooden beds in ohio (rust belt) but I actually have another rust drien reason...my frame is mightly scaley (sp?) and it could also uses a little welding re-enforcement so I was thinking that if i had the time this summer, I'd pull the bed, thereby exposing the majority of thye frame (and also the rustiest parts) and just go to town on it. Use a either a wire brush on a drill,
or a grinder w/disc and clean it up, and then coat the hell out if. Salt sucks.

nutty I know..

thanks again, everyone.