Has anyone removed the bed on their 2017? Did you run into any problems? I've read a lot of posts on the subject, but none of them apply to the aluminum 2017. Most of the comments are about how the bolts are difficult to remove. I would hope that wouldn't be a problem on a new truck. One difference I've noticed on my 2017, there is no access to the nuts used on the middle two supports, as the frame is boxed. Where you can get to the nut (front and rear supports), it appears the nut is attached to the frame. I'm concerned if something goes wrong where you have no access, it's going to be a real mess to fix. My ultimate goal is to replace the stock bed with an aluminum flatbed, mounting it using the same holes.

Thanks,
John

 

Attached is the bed removal from the 2017 Service Manual. Hopefully it will help some.
.

 

H20Camper,

Thanks. I saw your response, and replied on the other thread about new bed bolts, https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post17733687.

I can see I have a few details to work out before I break out the tools.

 

I did it by myself and I don't have any problem .I don't replace the bolts because I didn't know at that time and the dealer was no help ether.

 

I was able to remove the bed without any issues. However, I did have trouble trying to attach the flatbed with regular 1/2" bolts. There is a "pocket" that holds the special Ford nuts from turning when you tighten the bolt from the top. The pocket makes it impossible to use a wrench on a nut. The nut will fit, but no wrench. The solution is to use an oscillating tool with a metal blade, and the pocket can be easily cut out from the frame.

 

Any pics of the process or of the flatbed? It has crossed my mind to do the same on my truck.

 

TTY bolts for a pickup bed?
Have to remove the bumper?

That's just silly.

 

Here are a few pictures. I still have lots to do. I'm working on a 10" wide backpack box for behind the cab, and under-body boxes for below the deck. Although I used a gantry to remove the bed, it could be done easily with 4 people. It's really not much weight, just the bulk that's an issue.

 

I'm not familiar with "TTY" bolts. What's interesting about the 8 bolts holding the bed, they're tri-lobular. The "nuts" that are used don't have threads. The bolt cuts the threads as you tighten it. Even more annoying, they're single use. The bolts are $3.50 each, and the nuts $3.90. Personally, if I were to reinstall the bed, I would probably reuse the nuts and bolts. The flatbed required longer bolts, so I used grade 8, 1/2" bolts.

The service manual said to remove the bumper. I can't remember, but it might have been possible to do it without removing it. I figured it was one more thing out of the way I might bump while removing the bed.

 

Nice job on the deck. Will you have provisions for a hitch on the bed? I have been tossing this flatbed thing around lately to help with off-camber issues when boondocking with 5th wheel. Keep up the pictures if you can. Thank-you.

 

TTY = torque to yield. Essentially the bolts are a one-time-use only item because they are torqued until they actually stretch to a point where they cannot be used a second time. The manual instructions clearly state in more than one area to discard the bolts and get new ones. Since they are trilobal, they are probably not TTY, but still being one time use, that's annoying.

 

I didn't plan on a hitch in the bed. I'm going to build a cab height shell, with lift up doors on the sides. At least that's the plan right now. The frame has provisions to accept a B & W Turn-Over Ball setup, right from the factory. I had their 5th wheel hitch about 7 years ago, and it was pretty nice. Expensive, but nice. I just looked at your profile, and see you have a 2017 F350. Assuming it's a 4x4, a flatbed would really help with the 5th wheel. A good friend has a 2016, which is a couple of inches lower than ours. He has clearance issues, even after flipping the axles on the 5th wheel. Dumping the fleet bed, and going with a flatbed, would definitely cure the problem.

 

I've been side-tracked with some other tasks, but there has been some progress. All of the marker lights have been hooked up. There are five amber and one red on each side. The rear has one red at each end, and three in the center indicating a vehicle over 80" wide. I'm working on hooking up six white lights mounted on the underside of the rim, that shine down at the ground. The wiring on the white LEDs is a little complicated. I installed a SPDT switch in the dash that can control whether they are switched on by an upfitter switch, or the tail light/marker circuit. I'll switch it to the tail light/marker position when I'm going to be locking the truck. When I use the keyless remote to unlock the truck, those white LEDs will come on with the tail light/marker lights, helping you see around the vehicle. The upfitter switch position will let me turn them on and off as required, when working outside the truck.

I have also mocked-up the under-body boxes. I'm getting a little impatient now, so I've decided to buy the boxes, rather than build them.




Here's another picture of the mock-up:

 

You cut a hole in your frame? Couldn't you have just used a metric bolt with the factory captured nut? All the threaded fasteners on these trucks are metric.

 

The factory captured nut is one time use. If you follow that rule, you would need to use a metric tri-lobular bolt, as a new nut has no threads. I needed longer bolts, so I couldn't use another factory bolt., and I couldn't source longer ones. Reusing just the nuts. The thread cut into the nuts was a little funky. I'm not sure it was completely to spec. When I ran a regular metric bolt into it, it didn't go in very easy. My guess is that tri-lobular bolts don't cut what would be considered normal thread clearance. I would bet that may be one reason why they are single use.

I didn't cut a hole in the frame, just removed the 16ga flange that holds the nut. I should have included these pictures earlier.



I don't know why this picture went sideways.