Watt-maker

I had a little extra time and some scrap material so I figured I would build these. I used the holes for the cargo management rails. These holes almost seemed to bug me, like they were calling for me to do something.

The holes were not threaded but were the perfect size for a 8mm x 1.0 tap.

Watt-maker

Sorry, not sure why they didn't show up.

I used 2"x.25" flat strap and 3"x.25" C channel.



Welded and primed for paint.

Watt-maker

Painted and ready for install.





Installed.

Flyin525

Very nice!

Tie downs are one thing I miss about my Nissan frontier. It had sliding tie downs on the bed rails and bed floor. Not a huge deal, but I wish my new f150 had more.

RDFTS

iTrader: (1)

I like it!

sharper4

I got these cleats from Extang but they only have 500 lbs capacity. I bet yours hold WAY more weight. Nice job with it - they look great.

Greg Owen

I did something a little different that offers variable tiedown locations. I also tapped the holes and used half-slot strut channel that I had laying around. The channel comes in two sizes. I used a piece of the larger size on the rear two holes and the front passenger side holes; and a piece of the smaller size on the front drivers side holes (painted black in the pics below). Then took a 5' length to span the length of all three sets of holes. The smaller pieces "shimmed out" mounting points so that the 5' piece would fit flat.

Now I have eye-bolts that I can loosen, move to a desired location, and tighten again.

'05 F-150

nice job well done

204fx4

I've been looking for a better option for tie downs, and finally see something that works! How are you guys fastening the new tie downs to the bed side?

Watt-maker

Greg- Nice job! Your setup is what I really wanted to build but I didn't have the right material. Being the penny-pincher that I am, I didn't want to buy material just for this. However, if I come across some I will probably swap these tie downs out.

The next thing I want to add is lights inside the bed with a pin switch and a toggle switch to shut them off when I have to leave the tailgate down.


204fx4- I used the existing holes in the bed that are usually used for the OEM rail system. On my truck they were not threaded but they were the perfect size for a 8mm x 1.0 tap. I will pull the bed sides in before I bend these. The bed is kinda weak at these locations. Greg Owen's setup probably doesn't flex the bed as much as mine does.