Bed rail tiedowns on a flareside?
10-17-2008, 09:20 PM
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Bed rail tiedowns on a flareside?
I was at the local Home dePot and saw some retractable tiedowns that are made to fit in the little popout squares on the bed rails of most trucks. So I ran outside and...I don't have the pops. I have an 03 flareside. Well, I'm wondering if there might be punchouts in the steel underneath, where I could cut the plastic and install some tiedowns.
So has anyone looked under the bed rail caps on a flareside? Or come up with another method for creating tie points? I REALLY want the retractable ones, so workarounds for those would be first choice.
So has anyone looked under the bed rail caps on a flareside? Or come up with another method for creating tie points? I REALLY want the retractable ones, so workarounds for those would be first choice.
10-20-2008, 02:57 PM
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I hear ya! I was surprised there were only four points in the bed to tie things down to. Anyone even know how to take the rails off? That way we could investigate on our own also?
10-20-2008, 08:56 PM
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tractorsupply.com has trailer tie downs that bolt up to the stock bed tie down locations. They have a swivel eyelet that gives more flexibilty than than pos stock ones. I had a set of the pop ups and thought they were garbage. They moved around on me and when I would tighten the screws, they broke. I was not impressed to say the least. I will try to post a pic, but the ones I got from TSC were about $8 and look and work great. I tie my motorcycle down with a 5k ratchet strap and have never had any issue with them.
10-21-2008, 10:29 AM
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y'know... i'm wondering if they're just double sided tape that hold hem on. The Street Scene Smooth Bed Caps come with factory approved double sided tape. I find it odd that if they go on with snaps, or bolts that aftermarket products would come with just tape.
Oh and MrB, you got pics?
Oh and MrB, you got pics?
Last edited by kungpao; 10-21-2008 at 10:31 AM.
10-21-2008, 04:36 PM
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They are indeed clipped on, I started prying at the rear with a plastic bike tire removal tool (excellent for removing interior panels too). It looks like if you were careful, you could trim out part of the fiberglass part of the quarterpanel (which the bed caps are clipped in to) and then cut corresponding holes in the caps. The steel isn't too far below so I bet you could drill holes there and get pretty solid. As far as the durability of the retractable ones, I'd really only be using them for bicycles, I wouldn't get close to testing their limits. If they really look like they wouldn't work out, I'd go for some standard fixed tiedowns. I'll look for some extra caps tonight and see if this could work. I'm getting a qp replaced so I don't mind screwing it up.