so we all know that certain things about Ford's are not lets say so super duty..... after eight years of trying to keep my truck as clean and rust free as i can i had to remove the bed today because it has to go to the body shop Monday morning so they can reskin the passenger side bed side because the spot welds cracked in the front. Its the long story why the bed was skined so dont ask please. Anyways the body shop owner said it was ok if i removed the bed and brought it to them since im rust painting and cleaning some small parts on the frame while the bed is geting fixed next week. So since the JUNK bed bolts SUCK ive been spraying them with PB Blaster for over a week, after five broken SnapOn T50 sockets i was forced to get the cutting torch out. But first i had to remove the fuel skid plate which yes all four uclips broke when i tried to remove the bolts, then i had to drop the fuel tank where both band clamps broke in half from rust then i cut the 3/4" vent for the filling neck trying to pull it off the bedside nipple!!!! then tying to fit the tank between the stupid tank straps that dont move out of the way enough i got my dam hand stuck between the tank and frame! So then i had to CAREFULLY cut the nuts off the bed bolts without cutting or damaging my frame rails, o did i mention i removed all the brake, fuel, and wire harness off the frameYEA THAT WAS FUN! so now i have a showroom clean eight year old truck that i didnt think was that bad that has bed supports that look like swiss cheese! So now i gotta go to a metal shop Monday after work with measurements i took today and have the guy bend me heavy duty supports so i can remove the JUNK FORD ones and replace them with something that will last more then five years. Im so sick of these Ford's that are suppose to big bad work trucks that suck! I have family with Toyota, GM trucks that are way older then my 2004 and they look almost brand new under the body. I never though i would EVER say what im about to right now, but if or when i ever buy a new truck it WILL NOT be a Ford

 

ill post pictures tomorrow to show how clean i keep my undercarriage and how bad the bed really is

 

and more thing before i forget, the gas vent line which uses this super thin black rubber hose, all four pieces are completely rotted and one is so bad that when i bend it i can see into the hose. I guess it wasnt hurting the truck cuz it runs fine? I suppose im gonna buy some good hose from summit or jegs cuz Ford stuff is complete JUNK

 

Sorry to hear you're not happy with your truck. I remember when getting my '08 Line-X'd they couldn't get the bed bolts out, and the truck was less than a year old at the time. I don't think that means that they're junk, but that they are of higher grade than most bits that are available.

But seriously, everything rusts. These trucks aren't immune to that, but i haven't seen anything to indicate that everyone else does it better.

 

I had issues with the bed bolts on my trucks also and snapped many torx sockets. I ended up drilling the heads off a few of them. The bed bolts cold form the captured nuts that is the main why they seize fast quickly.

Dumb engineering is everywhere. I have been fixing up a tow motor I recently bought and there is a lot of engineering SNAFUs with it. Just the way it is.

 

Fords suck in some ways but not rust wise. They are better than most when it comes to rust imo

 

For 8 years sounds like she gave you great service. She was still working fine until what ever happened that you asked us not to ask you about the skins. Sounds like she would have still been of great service to you for along time to come even without having to send the bed out to get repaired. It sounds like you are more frustrated with the process of getting bolts off that have done their job for 8 years. Those bolts have stuck with you for 8 seasons of rain, heat maybe snow and salt. As far as the harness and tubes and clips they maintained their postions and have worked fine until you started pulling things off. I do not think that ford would have made these trucks to come apart so easy, given the abuse people do to them, other wise people would not still be buying them.
I am judging by all the MODs that you have on her, you really enjoy your truck and are just frustrated with having to pull her apart.

Ford like any other company has its faults. But to bash the super duty as not being so super duty and that ford sucks. You truck has most likely done everything that you have asked it to do for 8 years.

Once you get her fixed and put back together you might find that sparkle again for her.
After all its secondary parts. You did not mention about the engine and trans. So they must be good.

I am just trying to offer a different view of the situation.

One other thing you can not let your family who works for toyota and GM win ! Repair her and show them up !

 

I guess I'd be blaming the highway dept for all the salt they must use. Ford could make everything in the undercarriage out of stainless steel if you wanted to pay $20K more for it. The art to engineering is finding a balance between function and price. I'll bet if you looked at an identical truck that spent it's entire life in Arizona it would be in a lot better shape.

 

I'm glad it was the bed engineer you were hating. My uncle was an engineer on the cooling system for the Tritons... I was about to take it personal... ha ha ha ha

 

after getting the bed off and seeing just how cheap the bed supports are its just very dishearting. you can lift the rear of thebed andit swist almost 6inches! thats very cheap if you ask me.

 

and the bed was skined when it was 18 days old. Some scum parasite back into the rear passenger side and took off while i was in a dinner one night. Since the truck was 18 daysold my insurance had the bed side reskinned. Its been beautiful untill three weeks ago when i started hearing a banging and fund the front welds butsted down the side.The body shop took full responsibility and they are going to reskin the passenger side bed all over for free, so i ant reallycomplain. If this didnt happen i would have never found the rotted gas tank vent hoses.....

 

Both my 2008 F250 and 2011 F350 weighed in right around 8,000 lbs. In fact some F250s have less than 1,500 lbs payload because they weigh so much. None of the competing pickups weigh this much, and the bed is clearly designed to be solidly bolted to the frame, which gives it strength.

Why in the world do you need a stiffer bed? Does it not perform as designed when properly secured to the truck? Furthermore would you really want these things to get heavier? I wouldn't, and I think most buyers would agree with me.

 

Every auto maker has issues! Afterall, these are complicated machines with hundreds of parts. Step back, take a breather and realize that you own the best heavyduty pickup made, bar none! Are they perfect?...no, but it sure sounds like it's served you well up to this point! JMHO

 

The bed isn't made to function on its own. It isn't a stand alone part. You took it out of its design element or limits and are critiqueing it under the same criteria as if it were bolted to the truck.

There are many parts/products in this world that you could do the same thing as you're doing and call them crap.

 

agreed, the bed isnt a structual part, they can and should only make it so sturdy. to much is overkill and not needed. you cant expect a bed to act like a frame.