Northwest Dive Club

Specifically, Toyota Tacoma owners, since that's what I have now (yay!), but anyone with experience with this is welcome to comment of course!

I have these bolts in my otherwise lined truck bed. They seem like a corrosion magnet, and/or an opportunity for salt water to leak through and wreak havoc. Am I being paranoid? If not, how did you avoid/mitigate any issues?

Ditch the plastic liner and have the bed, including the bolts, covered with a spray-in liner. I used Line-X in mine and it was great.

Mine are barely discolored after 4 years (Tundra owner). They seem to be zinc plated although not hot dipped. So I wouldn't worry about the bed bolts.

I am more worried about the tailgate than the bed bolts. Water easily gets inside the tailgate when its folded down. I try to rinse it periodically but could be more diligent.

What Spatman said is the best option - the spray on liner also helps keep your gear from sliding around in the bed of your truck. If you want to keep the plastic liner you could also just buy a can of the protectant stuff and spray the bolts and any exposed metal.

Even with the plastic or spray on liner its still best to keep your gear in plastic tubs - saltwater has a way of trashing pickup beads, tailgates hinges etc.

I have the same bolts on my ranger, the have some coating that seems to make them a non issue.

I will 2nd spatman though, go line-x.

To address Richard's issue with salt water getting behind the panel on the tailgate, I had the same thing, salt water ran in there, corroded everything, had to take it apart and clean/grease it. Since I felt like that kind of sucked I put a bead of silicone around the panel and under the bolt heads when I put it back together. Hasn't been an issue since.

I'll also recommend spraying off under the truck at the back when you get home. I was negligent on that, now I don't think I could get my trailer hitch out with hoist. It's basically permanently in there.

Nwbrewer wrote:I'll also recommend spraying off under the truck at the back when you get home. I was negligent on that, now I don't think I could get my trailer hitch out with hoist. It's basically permanently in there.

Rust - nature's Loctite.

I've got Line-X on my bed, and I throw all kinds of stuff back there. Never a problem and tough as hell, I don't worry about rust, but should also be more diligent as CaptnJack suggested.

spatman wrote:Rust - nature's Loctite.

+1 on the spray in liner. I had Lyntrux do mine and it has held up for 10 years and still looks good. Cant say the same for the tailgate though. The liner side is great but water gets in through the latches on the side and will eventually eat through. I might recommend what I did to the tailgate though. I had a sheet of aluminum cut to size to fit the top side and the popriveted it or before getting the liner sprayed. Thus I have a flat surface to sit things on rather than the stock anything but flat tailgate surface.

As a Tacoma owner let me clear something up.
The plastic liner is your bed. There is no metal under it so you can't remove it .
You could still use a spray in liner but I have never seen anyone do it.The bed is very tough as is.
As for corrosion go's I wouldn't worry about it.

I got my truck Rhino Lined right after I bought it in 2006. I really use my truck for all kind of things and the years have taken it toll on the lining. I dont know if any of the Line X guys use theirs for hauling dirt, rocks and the like over the year but the Rhino Lining has taken a beating. You can look at mine any time you wish to compare to other spray on liners. If your not going to be doing alot of dirt and rock hauling I am sure Line X would be a great investment.

Don-B wrote:As a Tacoma owner let me clear something up.
The plastic liner is your bed. There is no metal under it so you can't remove it .
You could still use a spray in liner but I have never seen anyone do it.The bed is very tough as is.
As for corrosion go's I wouldn't worry about it.

My 2003 Tacoma had a metal bed.

Don-B wrote:As a Tacoma owner let me clear something up.
The plastic liner is your bed. There is no metal under it so you can't remove it .
You could still use a spray in liner but I have never seen anyone do it.The bed is very tough as is.
As for corrosion go's I wouldn't worry about it.

Wow that's something I didn't know. That would surely make me step back and take another look.

spatman wrote:

Don-B wrote:As a Tacoma owner let me clear something up.
The plastic liner is your bed. There is no metal under it so you can't remove it .
You could still use a spray in liner but I have never seen anyone do it.The bed is very tough as is.
As for corrosion go's I wouldn't worry about it.

My 2003 Tacoma had a metal bed.

Your right the 2004 and older were metal. In 2005 they changed the body style and the bed to plastic.
From the picture that was shown thats a newer style bed.

It is a new model, with a backup camera in the tailgate, so something else to worry about corroding. I will have to be diligent in my rinsing. Good to know! Thanks for the info everybody!

What, no pictures????? :(

I just bought a Tacoma too and bought the weathertech (sp?) liner for it. It has about a 2 inch lip all around the outside (except the tailgate) to contain any water brought in. It fits the Tacoma impeccably but is only available for the long bed.

I've had my little Tacoma for 3 years now -- new in March, 2011. The bed is composite and just doesn't seem to mind salt water or chlorine at all. The bolts all show rust but so what is my attitude.

I did have to replace the tailgate after 1 year (?) -- but I think running a trailer hitch tongue through it had more to do with being replaced than any rust! I did get a canopy and am very glad I did.

We use the Stanley boxes to carry gear and they just fit very nicely -- easy to put in and take out.

The camper shell is installed and it's ready for diving. Contemplating getting a mat or some such to reduce slipping in the back, and looking forward to getting a larger gear bin that isn't quite so dependent on squeezing it in the back of my car. The Stanley ones are indeed really nice.

Thanks for the information everyone! I am glad to finally have a dive vehicle after all these years.

Wow! Jealous------------------------------------>

Penopolypants wrote:The camper shell is installed and it's ready for diving. Contemplating getting a mat or some such to reduce slipping in the back, and looking forward to getting a larger gear bin that isn't quite so dependent on squeezing it in the back of my car. The Stanley ones are indeed really nice.

Thanks for the information everyone! I am glad to finally have a dive vehicle after all these years.

IMAG0264_1.jpg

Nice Dive Rig!

Started out with a Stanley, and it worked okay. Moved on to one made by Plano, as I thought it's dimensions were better suited for dive gear - it's a little longer, which made it easier to fit fins inside, but it's not overwhelmingly huge. It also has wheels!

The one I have is model 1819XXL, named the Sportsman's Trunk. However, they have a new one, model 1919. The new one is a little sturdier (you can now sit on it, if you want/need to), has better wheels, no metal that can rust, and also has a oring gasket in the lid that makes it water-tight.

I've seen the new ones locally at Sportsman's Warehouse and Wally-world. I could find the older models at some (not all) Home Depot stores. It might be a little less expensive than the Stanley, too.

mpenders wrote: Nice Dive Rig!

Started out with a Stanley, and it worked okay. Moved on to one made by Plano, as I thought it's dimensions were better suited for dive gear - it's a little longer, which made it easier to fit fins inside, but it's not overwhelmingly huge. It also has wheels!

The one I have is model 1819XXL, named the Sportsman's Trunk. However, they have a new one, model 1919. The new one is a little sturdier (you can now sit on it, if you want/need to), has better wheels, no metal that can rust, and also has a oring gasket in the lid that makes it water-tight.

I've seen the new ones locally at Sportsman's Warehouse and Wally-world. I could find the older models at some (not all) Home Depot stores. It might be a little less expensive than the Stanley, too.

Thanks! I will look for those bins too. I like sturdy!

The bed and bolts in my 2009 Taco are holding up fine. I make sure to rinse the gate after every dive, but still a bit concerned about salt water infiltrating there.

Toyota makes a rubber mat for Taco beds, I highly recommend it. Otherwise everything slides around like a skating rink.

Or...you could avoid the isue entirely and buy an F250/350 in deisel and never worry about it again. AND!!! Have a lot more room to boot...hehehe

Hah! Fun fact - I almost bought an F350 about 20 years ago, but decided it was too big. I think this Tacoma is not much smaller. It's definitely a challenge to park.