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I want to add tie down hooks on top of my bed rails.
I see stuff on JC Whitney, and other sources, and they all say "no drilling required".
Are all hooks installed by putting a rubber block in the hole and compressing it? Does that work well? It seems pretty cheezy to me. I have no objections to drilling if it is a good system.
So, what do you like? I have a plastic bed cap on the rails already, it's only like 1/8th" thick, I figure it's not a problem. Any thoughts on this, too?
I use a completely different style, It is a Bull ring style, and fully captive. Made by Keeper, it sits flush with the bed rail and pops up when needed. These have an aluminum retainer that uses two small fasteners to attach inside of the stake pocket. They work like a J hook and get tighther with tension on the bolts. Kind of tough to get into our older and smaller stake pockets.
They look like OEM stuff, and work fairly well for things that are higher than the bed rail. For anything bed rail heigth, they are terrible and do not offer an help.
I have located some mounting points right into the bottom of the bed on the inside of course, and these work the best. SInce the rope or strap can be secured to the lowest point of the bed, nothing moves. Even for loads higher than the bed rail, they still work. I dont often use my bed rail mounted points any longer, and since they do not get used too often they require a little maintenance to keep them moving free again. AFter a bit of age, they dont slide as well as they did when they were new.
What is the trouble with fitting them in our smaller stake holes? Is it just a matter of being hard to manipulate into place or do they have to be modified?
Also, I really appreciate your point about being at bed height. I hadn't thought about how poor the leverage would be.
Did you put some sort of flush type mounts on your bed floor? Is it tough keeping them clean ( so they keep working?).
I deal with quite a bit of mud on a weekly basis, so mine probably see quita a bit more abuse than a regular daily driver, so pleas take my point of view with a grain of salt, and consider that our applications may be slightly different.
Ok, the stake pockets in or trucks have less of a lip inside where the skin meets and the tie down points are designed for a pocket with a slightly different shape. With slight modifications they work, and fit well, so this is not a deal breaker by any means.
Leverage on the load. Yes, there is a huge difference between the anchor points in the bottom of the bed and the rail. For the reasons I explained above, some items that dont meet the rail heigth cant be tied down.
The aftermarket has tons of tie downs that can be mounted flush with the floor, or even off to the side. I went to the salvage yard and got some from an f150. These were small sheet metal cleats similar to what is used on a boat and bolt right to the corners of the bed. These provide a decent anchor point for reasonable loads, and because of where they are located stay out of the way, so things dont get hung up on them.
Notice we have a large square section on the rear of the bed where the tailgate hardware gets bolted to This is fairly thick material and provide a decent anchor point.
For the front, its pretty easy to find a reasonable location.
These anchor points just require a slightly longer rope or tie down. Keeps things clean too.
I use a completely different style, It is a Bull ring style, and fully captive. Made by Keeper, it sits flush with the bed rail and pops up when needed. These have an aluminum retainer that uses two small fasteners to attach inside of the stake pocket. They work like a J hook and get tighther with tension on the bolts. Kind of tough to get into our older and smaller stake pockets.
They look like OEM stuff, and work fairly well for things that are higher than the bed rail. For anything bed rail heigth, they are terrible and do not offer an help.
I have located some mounting points right into the bottom of the bed on the inside of course, and these work the best. SInce the rope or strap can be secured to the lowest point of the bed, nothing moves. Even for loads higher than the bed rail, they still work. I dont often use my bed rail mounted points any longer, and since they do not get used too often they require a little maintenance to keep them moving free again. AFter a bit of age, they dont slide as well as they did when they were new.
Hey 75F350 just coming across this post and really like those Keeper retractables. I got a 77 F150 so probably similar bed pockets. Do you remember what Keepers you bought? I thought on saw on the threads 98-14 was similar enough.
I use long plasticized like rubber bed rail protection from Pacer (21-107 details in pic). I recently redid it along with new bed sides, but the holes from way back in the '80's were still in the underlying thicker inner bed side lips, so I reused them after careful measuring / drilling. I had also used the same Pacer product way back as I would sometimes put my shell on, the protection covers the stake holes which I like being covered. Those holes were where I had 6 bolts holding the shell on, and when removed I filled them with 6 chrome tie downs. I gave away the OEM bed rails long ago as I had no use for them.
Then I did the measuring to redrill the 6 holes and reinstall my tie downs. I put the tie down studs in lock tite to firmly attach to the chrome loop base, but used washers and nylon-lock nuts underneath so if I turn them in use, they stay snug. I hauled a heavy 100 year old long but narrow stand up player piano over 100 miles tied to these 6 tie downs one night mostly over county roads and state roads, no interstate. At home, I backed up a steep hill to my basement door for unloading. I used a new long rope, not ****** straps with ratchets. Tie downs never budged. I didn't reuse the rectangle plastic bases that came with these tiedowns though, instead I cut new ones the fill the voids in the bottom of them for a cleaner look.
This picture shows 10 along the bed rail tops and two more on the bumper ... but I only have 6 on the bed rails and 2 on the bumper. It was just a visual test to see how 10 would look, 4 are just sitting on the rail ... no holes.
This was just yesterday, shows up close, and I added two hand assists for my safety climbing in / out off the tailgate. I had the extra eyebolts and just used them as occasionally they may come in handy. The hand holds are not intended for tying to.
My stake pockets are sealed off up top so rain will not be able to run down over hidden parts like my rear fender inner arches to then run down to the joint at the fender lip inner side. Stake pockets remain, but they are totally hidden. I came close to having them covered by metal welded over each when I put new bed sides on, but I didn't.
The Pacer Rail Guard is something I first put on in the later 1980s, it has set in sun, rain, etc ever since. I was going to reuse the old stuff as it still looks good and is pliable, but I was going to need to buy tape to reapply it, and I stumbled on a eBay offering for the very kit number I needed for about what new double sided tape was going to cost. It is a little better looking than the old stuff, but only until I apply some 303 to the old. It is a tough product.
I think I'm gonna put some slightly smaller aluminum handles in place, those just look a bit wide. I forgot I have another set exactly like the ones for door pulls and cab entry assists.
Last edited by tbear853; Oct 9, 2023 at 12:08 AM.
Reason: maybe smaller would be better?
Hah thanks for calling out the last time 79F350 was active. I forget about that feature.
That Amazon link is like the Keepers he mentioned and I found. I do REALLY like those lie flat hooks too—saw that same thread too! They make some non-OEM ones but now I got a new item to watch on eBay and my list for pick-n-pull/the local junkyard.
I use long plasticized like rubber bed rail protection from Pacer (21-107 details in pic). I recently redid it along with new bed sides, but the holes from way back in the '80's were still in the underlying thicker inner bed side lips, so I reused them after careful measuring / drilling. I had also used the same Pacer product way back as I would sometimes put my shell on, the protection covers the stake holes which I like being covered. Those holes were where I had 6 bolts holding the shell on, and when removed I filled them with 6 chrome tie downs. I gave away the OEM bed rails long ago as I had no use for them.
Then I did the measuring to redrill the 6 holes and reinstall my tie downs. I put the tie down studs in lock tite to firmly attach to the chrome loop base, but used washers and nylon-lock nuts underneath so if I turn them in use, they stay snug. I hauled a heavy 100 year old long but narrow stand up player piano over 100 miles tied to these 6 tie downs one night mostly over county roads and state roads, no interstate. At home, I backed up a steep hill to my basement door for unloading. I used a new long rope, not ****** straps with ratchets. Tie downs never budged. I didn't reuse the rectangle plastic bases that came with these tiedowns though, instead I cut new ones the fill the voids in the bottom of them for a cleaner look.
This picture shows 10 along the bed rail tops and two more on the bumper ... but I only have 6 on the bed rails and 2 on the bumper. It was just a visual test to see how 10 would look, 4 are just sitting on the rail ... no holes.
This was just yesterday, shows up close, and I added two hand assists for my safety climbing in / out off the tailgate. I had the extra eyebolts and just used them as occasionally they may come in handy. The hand holds are not intended for tying to.
My stake pockets are sealed off up top so rain will not be able to run down over hidden parts like my rear fender inner arches to then run down to the joint at the fender lip inner side. Stake pockets remain, but they are totally hidden. I came close to having them covered by metal welded over each when I put new bed sides on, but I didn't.
The Pacer Rail Guard is something I first put on in the later 1980s, it has set in sun, rain, etc ever since. I was going to reuse the old stuff as it still looks good and is pliable, but I was going to need to buy tape to reapply it, and I stumbled on a eBay offering for the very kit number I needed for about what new double sided tape was going to cost. It is a little better looking than the old stuff, but only until I apply some 303 to the old. It is a tough product.
Thanks for sharing tbear! Really good to know especially as I been neglecting the actual bed and hadn't thought too much of protection for the thing that probably needs it even more as the years and rainy seasons come and go. I'll add this to the wish list too!
Thanks for sharing tbear! Really good to know especially as I been neglecting the actual bed and hadn't thought too much of protection for the thing that probably needs it even more as the years and rainy seasons come and go. I'll add this to the wish list too!
I think I'm gonna put some slightly smaller aluminum handles in place, those just look a bit wide.
I did too.
I like these better, they are just enough to grab.
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