Bedcage Building Basics

Have you ever seen an off-road truck driving through your neighborhood and thought to yourself, Man, why did that guy cut all those holes in the bed, wasting a perfectly good hauler? Maybe you saw a truck that had its entire bed replaced with fiberglass fenders and half a rollcage, prompting you to think the owner must have lost his marbles. Although it's not a common practice nowadays for owners to re-engineer the back half of their trucks with custom framework, we're starting to see quite a few non-race trucks outfitted with custom-built off-road suspensions that require the removal of the factory bed. The crossover from full-blown race trucks to street trucks is happening, and the technology is steadily trickling down to the street level as more and more companies develop suspension kits for our street-driven trucks. Fab shops are popping up all across the map that are capable and willing to convert your box-stock truck into a full-blown off-road warrior if you are willing to cut up your rig.

A bedcage is the first step to crafting a long-travel, whoop-killing rear suspension system. In the most basic of terms, a bedcage is nothing more than a series of welded tubes that stiffen the back half of a chassis and provide mounting locations for longer shocks, as well as a fuel cell, tools, and anything else needed to survive off-road excursions. Construction of the 'cage requires moderate to expert welding and fabrication abilities. We took one of our project vehicles, a two-wheel-drive '03 Toyota Tundra, down to IMZZ Industries in Brea, California, to have the rear of the truck outfitted with fiberglass fenders from Trailer Products, a new set of Sway-A-Way bypass dampers, a set of Deaver race pack leaf springs, and a bedcage to tie it all together. Here's a look at what went into the creation of the 'cage and how all the different components fell into place.

1. Before beginning the process of constructing the rear bedcage, we took our truck to Deaver Spring Company to replace the stock leaf-spring rear suspension with a Deaver long-travel Race Pack. At this point in the game, we'd already outfitted the front of the truck with Trailer Products' fiberglass fenders and Camburg's long-travel suspension. The Race Pack gave the Tundra about 4 more inches of travel than the stock springs had.	2. The stock multileaf suspension is designed to progressively increase the spring rate as you load the back end of the truck with weight. It works well to carry weight, but is not responsive when speeding through the harsh, uneven terrain we prefer to play in. Deaver builds the race packs with more springs that will travel further upward and downward. The pack will still carry a moderate load, while providing better suspension action in the dirt.	3. With the new springs in place, we drove the truck to IMZZ Industries for the new bedcage. The bed was quickly removed, and the chassis was checked to see which unnecessary parts would need to be removed.
4. The exhaust system was cut off in front of the rearend to prevent the axle from slapping once the install was complete. The factory bumpstops were also removed from the outside of the framerails as well as the spare tire mount and crossmember.	5. The chassis was then hoisted into the air with a hydraulic lift, letting the suspension cycle downward until it reached full "droop." James then took several measurements to determine how much travel the rearend would cycle through with the new leaf springs. Once he knew how much travel was available, we ordered the appropriate-length dampers from Sway-A-Way and determined how tall the upper shock mounts needed to be. This also helped us determine how tall the bedcage needed to be built. In the end, this suspension would cycle through 16 inches of useable travel.	6. Construction began as James bent a length of 1-3/4-inch-thick DOM tubing in this slick M-Tech Supply electric tubing bender.
7. The perimeter of the bedcage was welded to the framerails and provided a sturdy base to attach the shock mounts, spare tire mounts, and new fiberglass bedsides. These tubes will only be as tall as the top of the bedrail.	8a,b&c. To brace the perimeter of the 'cage to the chassis, several shorter tubes were notched in the tubing notcher, fitted to the perimeter tubes, then MIG-welded into place.	8b
8c	9a&b. Although seemingly the last thing we should do, the bedsides were mocked up and mounted to the 'cage. Short tubes were bent to mirror the shape of the front and rear end of the bedsides, and then bolted to the fiberglass. The entire assembly was then mocked up in place along the chassis of the truck as measurements were taken for the 'cage mounts. The mounts are short, straight tubes welded in the shape of a triangle to hold the bedsides in place and prevent them from moving laterally or vertically.	9B
10a,b&c. Once we were satisfied with the placement of the bedsides, they were removed and the spare tire mounts were fabricated. The first tire was mounted between the framerails on a crossmember that is easily unbolted and removed. The second spare was mounted at an angle on the rear of the 'cage, and a pair of tubes was bent and welded in place between the trailer hitch and bedcage to serve as bumpers. A set of Beard Racing Trust Me Tie-Down ratcheting tie straps holds the tires in place for quick and easy removal.	10b	10c
11. Next, a pair of tubes was welded between the perimeter of the 'cage in the shape of an X. This X gives the 'cage lateral support. The new Sway-A-Way bypass dampers were mocked up above the axle so that James could design the upper mounts.	12 A,B&C. The lower shock mounts are a basic pair of tabs cut from 1/8-inch-thick steel plate, while the uppers are fabricated from several pieces of the same material. The upper mounts are also sleeved with 1/2-inch-round, 0.125-wall chromoly tubing for increased strength. Once completed, the parts formed a bulletproof upper shock mount.	12b
12c	13. Once the dampers were in place, the oil reservoirs were secured to the bedcage. The bedcage is now complete, sturdy, and makes an excellent platform to connect an in-cab rollcage to later on.	14a&b.The only thing left to do is add accessories such as light mounts, toolboxes, a jack, and whatever else may be needed to keep us up and running in the dirt. These trick diamond-tread tool boxes from Craftsman are the perfect size to mount on the outside of the 'cage, inside the bedsides. The boxes are divided and lockable, and are an excellent location to store towing accessories and tools
14b	15