Drilling into the top of the bed’s sidewall

Well shit! To say that this is way more through than I was expecting is the understatement of the year. Thank you so much, appreciate the time that you put into this as well as the fact that you took apart your own bed panel covers to show what you're talking about. The level of responses on this thread make me understand why this is such a popular site as a Tacoma owner!

I'm super into the idea of Plusnuts and think that I will order some today. I went to a few places to try to find them stocked but nowhere that I went had them and I went on a goose chase trying to search inventory at Home Depot, Ace Hardware or places like Autozone. If there are stores that that carry parts like this lemme know, I don't want to be cashing in to Bezos so much...

The bolts that I am going to be using are 5/16" and I'm thinking of getting some of these:

$18 S31MG280 Steel PRE-BULBED Shank, Multi-Grip Rivet-NUT Gold ZINC Finish, 5/16-18 X .020-.280 Grip Range (Pack of 25)

https://www.amazon.com/S31MG280-PRE-BULBED-MULTI-GRIP-RIVET-NUT-020-280/dp/B010GQXPIQ?crid=2V7QQ5GZUAZL&keywords=plus+nut+5%2F16&qid=1662937090&s=industrial&sprefix=plus+nut+5%2F16%2Cindustrial%2C101&sr=1-2

As far as plus nut install goes, do I need any additional tools to be successful? I've seen rivet tools as well as tools that connect to a drill, but I am not sure what would be best and ideally I want to have a solid build and a few bucks left over by the time I'm done with this install. The information on the aforementioned nuts mention that you can install by hand or by power tool, but doesn't specify what is needed for install. Will I need a mandrel? Is it going to be problematic to introduce zinc to the drilled hole in my bed?

It's also worth a mention that if @RCI-Offroad is looking for someone to write functional instructions, they might want to reach out to this guy.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts, trouble shooting this seems much less daunting with you all weighing in

 

@LowSlowTaco No worries!

Check out how he installs the Plusnut at 1:30 here. A bolt and two washers are all you need!

 

Additional pictures for reference:

 

Gotcha! Already assembled the rack and measured, when I use the plus nuts to install ill take pics and give an update for anyone else looking to do something similar!

Here it is on my truck when I was using it to measure. Need it far enough away from the cab that I can put up a tent and not have the window poles attack the cab's paint. Sorry for the mediocre photos, I was a bit frustrated and it started raining so my endeavers were cut short. I have since taken everything off until I can confidently secure it, which I should be able to tackle this coming weekend. Stay tuned for updates! (This is without the attachment arms of the rack, but the top bars secure the length and I adjusted the width to fit the adapters. I have marked through the screw holes in the adapters for distances, but obviously this distance differs for each install and the function of the rack.)

 

Measure trice, drill once...

 

Would just be careful tightening the plusnut. That larger flange is good to get a secure hold but is also more surface area to tear up the underside of the bed if the insert starts to spin. It isn’t probably an issue in Colorado but I try and stay away from zinc plating. They don’t last long near the coast. Would see if they have a cadmium plated plus nut and use a zinc coated bolt so it corrodes instead of the insert.

 

Following keenly, would love to see how this turns out, depending on complexity I may try and do something similar!

 

I ended up having to drill into the rail. I agree, RCI did not provide clear instructions and should’ve just extended the adapters to mount into the rails. I did not provide any locking nuts and just drilled a smaller hole and screwed the bolts in. Might not be the best approach but it seems to be very sturdy…for now.

 

First off, very clean truck and great choice of rack system

After drilling the holes how did you get access to the part where you could bolt them in? I can obviously stick a bolt down through the top of the side panel, but I haven't known how to access the area that would allow me to put a nut on the bolt. Would be so curious to hear how you did it and if it was a process!

Thanks for the pics, looks great! Love the black bolts too, I did the same and it makes a big difference.

 

I don't think he has a nut on the bolt. It bolts into the sheet metal, similar to a self-tapping screw.

 

So I never tried to get access to the bolt because I wasn't worried about putting a nut on the bolt. I wanted to check the other day that it was still secure, so I removed my wheel liner and could see where the bolts were sticking through the side rail if I looked up between the bed space (if that makes any sense).

I just drilled a smaller hole than the bolt and used a wrench to tighten it. It took a lot of force and I was confident it was secured, especially with the tonneau cover providing some clamping action. I may go back later down the road and attempt to put a nut on the bolt but I would need an extremely long extender to reach it. I've had it like this for several months with my RTT and some offroad action and it seems to be holding well.

 

Oh you literally said that in the post, sorry! Got carried away looking at the set up I guess

I think I’m going to go ahead and try the plus nuts, so if you have issues with the set up then maybe plus nuts would be another viable solution down the road.

 

There's a thread in the 2nd gen forum where a guy used rivnuts to install L-track onto the bed rail. Because of all the holes in the rail, he attached the rivnuts to a washer then he had a large surface area to account for the holes. It was pretty genius. I'll see if I can find the thread.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwSzoDyjWA8

 

So these are just installed with a loose bolt into the sheet metal of the bed's top? I'm not sure I'd put weight on those....aren't they going to just work themselves loose with lateral stress? Also....I didn't know rci made bedrack brackets compatible with covers. Are you sure these are installed correctly?

 

^^ x2

 

i think it comes down to if you want a tonneau cover AND a bed rack, get another truck and put one system on each

 

Alright so after reading the comments I decided to give it another try and put a washer and nut on the bolt. I was able to get it to work by removing the wheel liner and reaching underneath. Gives me some peace of mind now. Below is a pic of where the bolt comes through the rail (where the wrench is).

 

How about the other bolts, accessible to do same?