Bed dump kit anyone?

Have an '06 w/ TRD off-road package.

Have a couple of horses. Been hauling manure to the compost site once a month, but its a real PITFA to shovel out the manure in the bed.

Buddy mentioned he saw a truck bed dump kit for an F150 a while back. Was wondering if anyone has seem something similar, bolt on, for the Tacoma?

Sure would make it easier to dump manure at the compost center.

Yes, I could buy a dump trailer... however, with a corolla, matrix, tacoma, john deere tractor, horse trailer, generator trailer, landscape trailer, and a general-pupose 20' trailer in the driveway already, I really don't have space for another trailer.

So, a dump kit for the tacoma seems like a reasonable investment.

Anyone? Did a quick search, didn't see any discussion, and don't see anything on google, so I'm guessing there is no such animal.

 

http://www.loadhandler.com/

 

thats pretty cool!! nice and easy setup

 

A bed dump is actually a very cool idea.
And although I dont know of any "kit", it wouldnt be very difficult to make.

The bed is held down by 6 bolts. What you will want to do is take it off and flip it upside down. Use some, probably 2"x4" steel angle and lay it on the bottom side of the bed such that the short side is against the bed, and when placed back on the truck, the long side would fit on the inside edge of the frame.

Mark these off and grab your router, because you will want to set them into the bed base by slightly more than the thickness of the metal. Bolt those new frames onto the bed, grab another piece as the front cross, and weld it in between the two existing rails at a point as close as possible to the front of the bed, but where there is 4" of clearance straight across the truck to fit it.

For the rear cross piece, you will need to make it such that it can hinge. The hinge needs to be located at the very back of the bed. Use the long side of an angle to reach backward over the truck frame's rear cross member, and weld it like such into the new bed frame. You may need to add a plate over the rear cross member. Install some nice heavy hinges at suitable location.

Also note: it may be helpful to modify the bumper mounts such that the bumper will attach to the bed frame rather than the truck frame, otherwise dumping could land the tailgate on the bumper.

At this point, you should have a hinging bed. A couple of locator pins near the front will help to keep the bed aligned when bringing it down.

You will need a hydraulic cylinder or two. With two, you can run them right along the truck frame, but you will need a volume equalizer to keep them even. With one, you would need to build something across the truck frame low down to mount the bottom of the cylinder. I suggest using two narrower cylinders rather than one fat one.

Finally, a 12v hydraulic power pack. Must be reversable. In theory, you could run this off the power steering pump, but in practice, it is probably better to use a separate pump. You may be able to salvage an old snow plow pump.

 

Good point! It must be reinforced.

In fact, even a steel bed needs to be reinforced for this application.

I would also like to point out that doing something like this would not require extreme angles. 16" of extension should be more than enough, especially given how slick these beds are.

 

For reasons previously posted, I'd prefer not to have another trailer sitting in the driveway. It's getting close to redneckville now as it is with what I have in there.

I make the trip to the composting center once a month, more or less, about once every 4 weeks. I usually fill the bed, sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more, depending on how much crap I have (literally). The truck generally doesn't have a problem with the load. The load handler may be an option, it is certainly cheap enough to give it a try. Would be alot easier to press a button and watch the crap dump out though

 

That load handler thing works pretty decent. A buddy of mine has one and I've used it on occasion.

 

Sell the horses and horse trailer. Problem solved.

Really though, I have a local guy that rents a dump trailer for $20 for a half day. Maybe you have that option locally too???

 

For $100 I'd try the load handler. It would work well with the slippery beds Toyota has.

Curious---... I wonder how the Load Handler would work with a Rhino Shield treated bed?

 

I wouldn't waste my money. For $10, buy tarp and line the bed...

With a bed treatment, I can't see the load handler working well.

 

knucklehead i am following your directions. should i worry about the gas filler hose or am i good to go?