Took the bed off of the 92 short bed. All 6 bolts just spun. It has 2 carriage bolts and 4 oval shank. The holes in the sheet metal are rounded out so even if I could get a factory bolt, it would spin and I don't have a way to weld the holes up. I have a few questions.
1-Do the bolts need to be grade 8? Some say no because the sheet metal of the bed would be weaker than the bolt anyway.
2- If I use the doorman kit (924-322) that other threads have suggested, will the straight shank of the bolt (without the square or oval shank under the head) allow the bed to shift since there would be so much clearance in the holes of the bed. I could make an oval washer to fit the holes in the bed but I don't want to waste time doing that if I don't need them
3- If the above bolts would work, is there any down side to just using a regular hex head bolt so that they could be removed easily? I have a bed mat so I'm not worried about the hex sticking up and catching on anything. They would be much cheaper than the $60 doorman bolts mentioned above. Again, my concern is the gap between the bolt diameter and the oval holes allowing the bed to shift. Maybe they hold down tight enough it will work fine? I have never taken a bed off before and didn't think it would be this big of a PITA. Such a weird bolt design.
Any help or opinion would be appreciated.

 

I believe that once you draw the bolts down there should not be any shifting. Maybe in a wreck but not under normal driving conditions. I can't see the need for making special washers unless you were going to weld them to the floor of the bed to recreate the original openings using the original style bolt.

 

The rounding of the holes is a common problem.
I also lost the two front holes due to rounding out. The only way to get the bolts out was to weld a hex nut on the head.
The OEM and replacement bolts, as well as many extended length body lift "kits" all use grade 5 bolts.
The small difference in price for grade 8 was worth it to me due to the grade 8 has a slightly better corrosion resistant finish.
I just used grade 8 - 1/2" hex bolts.
And as to any potential bed movement due to a round bolt in an oval hole, the lowest hole that goes through the sheet metal body brace on underside of the bed has a round hole in it. This will keep the bed located where it needs to be.

 

I just use Gr8 Galvanized Hex bolts. I *really* don't give a rat's patootie about the hex heads showing in the bed of the truck, and the next time I've got to pull the bed off, you can actually use a real wrench on them, instead of relying on the original carriage style bolts, a torx bit, or whatever else you might have there.

 

One more vote for hex head bolts here. Grade 5 is completely fine.

 

I just use grade 8 hex head bolts, a grade 8 washer, and then a larger fender washer under it to distribute the load a little bit. Even with all of that, the bolt head is still under the ribs of the bed floor so no worry about anything snagging on them when loading into the bed.