Hey all looking for a bit of insight or help.

I bought my F150 to get my motorcycle to and from the track. The stock tiedown points work when I am carrying only one motorcycle, however when I throw two back there it gets a bit tricky. I have a couple of freinds that have drilled into their truck bed to add a tie down point. I was interested in doing this myself but it seemed rather complicated getting access to where I need.

Has anyone added a tie down to their truck bed. I want mine to be in the center of the bed and align with the stock tie down points.

TIA

 

i used a bed buddy....

also bought the extender, so can carry three dirtbikes.

it was good for what you are describing.

the one I have has a tie down right in the middle/center of the bed which makes loading/unloading two bikes easier without the straps having the cross.

http://www.ccrsport.com/ccr-sport-be...ack-p-529.html

 

My 5.5 foot bed came with four tie down points from the factory - all down low (two in front and two in back). I have a bed extender from the factory which blocks access to the two in the back. I have a tool box that sits on the bed rails that effectively blocks access to the two in the front. So, I went to the dealership and bought four more and installed them up high. Take one of the bolts out of one of the factory tie-down points, go to a hardware store, and find a matching one. They are self-tapping bolts meaning you don't have to use a drill first. Line up where you want the new tie down points and install them! I don't have a picture with me today but will post one later if I remember.

 

You have a few options.

-You could drill into the bed for another tie-down as noted above.

-You could try these: http://www.autoanything.com/hitch-be...A4560A0A0.aspx They're basically cleats that are movable and clamp onto to the lip of the bed. That way you wouldn't have to drill any holes. I don't have them though, so I can't vouch for how secure they really are. The reviews seem pretty good.

-You could try these: http://www.autoanything.com/hitch-be...A4436A0A0.aspx They sit into the stake hole pockets. On a 5.5 ft bed for our trucks, the hole is in the metal, but you'll have to cut a hole in the plastic cover for these to work. There are several threads about it, many guys have done it. Gotta be really careful with the cutting though so it doesn't look like a hack job.

-You could get a cargo management system with sliding/adjustable tie downs. You'd have to drill into the bed for this.

You've got several options, just gotta decide what's best for you price-wise, whether you want to drill into the bed, and if so, how many holes do you want to drill.

 

@KGSLoan How sturdy is that bed buddy. I have friends on the Sportbike Forums that have said they will start to bend on the edges as you tie down the bike...

@seadoons... how well do those self tapping bolts hold? My concern would be that they would tear right out once you put a few hundred pounds of force on them. Is there a retention system in place so that you dont have to had a nut in the back?

 

From my build thread:
https://www.f150forum.com/f38/ultima...hauler-100362/


For the Moto hauling portion I went with a Line-X bed liner and a Bed Buddy tie down system.







I installed the BedBuddy upside down so that if I ever get a Tonneau cover (Truxedo lo Pro or Extang Solid Tri Fold) the center tie-down loop will not interfere.




I would have liked to have mounted the BedBuddy 2" lower, but the design of the bed did not allow it. The area under the lip is not level enough and the space between the bed and the cab on these new trucks is so tight that it would have been impossible to reach that low to get the nuts and washers on the bolts.



I did a quick test w/ a tire and it seems to still work fine.

21" tire:


You can see there is still a gap between the tire and the bulk head. This s good since it means all the weight is on the Bedbuddy and not on the thin sheet metal of the bed.




Here is a 19" tire:






The 19" tire is getting close to the limit. I'm not sure it would work well on a 17" tire when mounted that high.

 

Since I have the 6.5' bed I have 6 anchor points on each side of the bed that are supposed to be used to install the Ford OEM CMS (Cargo Management System). I do not like the look or the cost of the CMS, but still wanted to have a few more tie down points in the bed of the truck.







Here I got a bit carried way w/ the Loctite



I tapped out the 12 existing mounting holes w/ an 8mm tap. (These do not come pre tapped from the factory), purchased some Versa-Tie tiedown tracks and cut and drilled it to fit.

The idea was to have about a 6" strip that would tire two holes together providing a bit more strength for a single tie down point.

Warning!

I do not think these anchor points can hold much weight. When pulling on the ring w/ a finger i can see the wall of the bed flex significantly. This is probably why the mounting points are not threaded from the factory. Ford only wants you to use them w/ the CMS system which uses all 6 bolt holes and the whole length of the bed rail ( the CMS mounts under the lip of the bed rail) to distribute a loads weight!

Ford CMS System:



Versa Tie Section:







If the side of the bed was flatter one might have been ale to install one long track down the side of the bed wall.


I will eventually get around to installing some full length tracks in the bed of the truck and might even put some on the inside lip of the bed rail.

If anyone has instaled a track type tiedown system in their truck please post up some pictures to give me some idea of the best way and places to install the tracks.

 

Versa Tie System installed in the bed of the truck. Not too hard, just have to be careful about whats underneath.

 

Thanks for the detailed pics dabart. I also have the 6.5 bed and got it Rhino lined.. It looks like I will be investing in the bed buddy. Ill also be mounting it upside down.

Once of my concerns was the spacing. I dont want pressure being applied to the bed and it looks like the buddy absorbs most of it.

 

It works great. Ideally it would be mounted a few inches lower, but it's too hard to get to the backside because of the bed / cab spacing.

I have since mounted a Truxedo Lo-Pro Tonneau cover which is wonderful. I can simply roll it up and load the bikes w/ out any issues.