Best way to transport five interior doors with Tacoma Double Cab Short Bed

Hello,

I've got a 2018 Tacoma double cab short bed, going to be moving five interior doors which measure 80" in length and 33" in width, obviously that's longer than my 5' bed so I'm planning on laying them in the bed with the tailgate down, question is what's the best way to strap them in so they don't fly out or are damaged in the process?

Thank you!

 

Tail gait up. Stack them and strap down.

 

Down pressure will help and you could always attach straps to the D-rings (or bed stiffeners if you have them) and run them around the ends to the attachment points at the front. Just put some sort of padding between them and any points of contact

 

Vertically, long side up. A bit of dunnage between each one, and then cargo straps in an 'X' across the top, using the four bed 'D' rings and one around the ends using the tail-gate latch rings on the bed-sides.

 

At least one strap across the top to hold down and at least one criss-cross from the rear to keep it in. Like so:

 

Last year right after the lockdown started, we decided to take the time to paint and replace all of the doors and baseboard in our house. We bought 13 of those primed hollow-core interior doors from Home depot. Like @TrdSurgie said, tailgate up and strapped across the front and back of bed to wedge them down to the tailgate. The triangle it makes prevents them from sliding out the back. If you want the tailgate down, you'll want a strap or two to crisscross the backs to prevent the middle ones from sliding out.

 

I never understood the logic of the tailgate up? With it down you have nearly the entire door supported across the bed floor and tailgate. With it up you have all weight on a tiny portion of the front of the bottom door and another small spot where it hits the tailgate. The rest of it is unsupported. Makes no sense to me.

Quick strap across the front and two x'd across the back. Pull on one and say that's not going anywhere and drive off.

 

It also puts force on the one piece contacting the tailgate and can cause damage. Even a small bump can cause enough force to put a 'crease' in the wood grain resting on the edge of the tailgate cap. Tucking a moving blanket in there might help, but then that's an extra step. Tailgate down is safer and provides much more flat support for the pieces.

Also, NEVER forget the ceremonial ritual of "that's not going anywhere" or the cargo gods will be angry with you.

 

It'll be fine. Do it however, just strap the stuff down so it doesn'tgo flying. I routinely do tail gate up without any problems.

 

Are these pre-hung or just slabs ?

 

^^ This, for sure, plus 2 more straps from front D-ring across to the other side rear D-ring.

 

Order the doors for home delivery; have the spouse (or a semi-responsible child if you happen to have one of those around) stay home to receive the door delivery; take your Taco out for a fun adventure.

 

This is the most important part really.

 

I always forget about tiedowns on the rails. But this is what I was trying to describe.

 

Hitch-Mounted Truck Bed Extender is a great addition. Tailgate down, helps keep the weight off the tailgate.

To give you an idea, I have an LB but needed to transport 12' boards.

$81 Foldable Truck Bed Extender - 400lb Hitch Mount Heavy Duty Steel Bed Extender for Ladder, Canoe, Kayak, Pipes, Lumber

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WRC2F3R

Snapped the picture after unloading. 8' board just for a visual, but like the way thing folds and stores in a small footprint.

 

It depends on what you're carrying. With something like these doors that could be damaged by the top of the tailgate it probably is better down. But with other, heavier objects you don't have to take the time to strap anything down. The weight of what you're carrying will force it toward the front of the bed. If I'm carrying lumber or plywood the gate is up.

Also, there are lots of damaged tailgates from folks forgetting they are down and backing into stuff. Keeping the gate up also raises the cargo you're carrying above the height of other cars whose distracted drivers may rear end your load sticking out the back. Driving with the gate down is a last resort for me.

And it doesn't make much difference in my Tacoma. Bed is 5' with the gate up, only 6' down. My F150 is 5.5' down, but 8' down. That is enough difference to matter.

 

I'm thinking you are loading prehungs , due to the 33'' flip flop them cardboard in between so they don't collapse the pile or use the front box clip dunnage 2x4 hinge side towards the bottom at an angle against the 2x4s and strap the other end to the adjustable rail hook. It will be at about a 22` angle. Safer way to get home with out damage to the units.
I hauled a house package in a low profile box van this way 300 miles no issues could not stand them up.

 

just remember, with all the cameras around, how you finish this big job, will make you either a hero or a big zero..



Seriously though, I would do it tailgate down. The bed and the tail gate will take an even load through out, which isn't much

 

Tail gate down. I'll add though, when you run the strap run it under the load first then wrap it around on top. That way the load won't shift.