What are bed spacers and do I need them?
• In many vehicles, the bed of the vehicle rests on the frame without being physically connected, as at a real body or bed mount bracket. This typically happens under the rear wheel well, where it would be difficult to add a support bracket to the frame to attach the bed to. Instead, the bed rail (on both pickups and also on many full-bodied vehicles like 4Runners) simply rests on the frame rail. In cases where the bed is heavily loaded and tries to sag, that point of contact will support the load in the bed without it bending in the middle. This is mainly useful if you carry heavy, unsupported loads, such as sand, gravel, sod, etc. If you instead carry loads like a motorcycle, lumber or other cargo capable of supporting itself in the middle, then the bed is less likely to sag. When a body lift is installed and the bed is raised above the frame, this contact point no longer is effective. This a “bed spacer” can be attached to the frame to provide a raised point of contact for the bed.
