Bed bolts

[laserjock]

Anybody know if the superduty bed bolts will work on our trucks? I can't find a set specific to these truck and the so-called kit I got from LMC was a hand full of cheap carriage bolts. If they had been expensive I would be really pissed. Honestly I pulled them out of the box and said, what are these for?

I like the superduty bolts because I can install them myself with the captured clips nuts. I just don't know what the length and diameter are and can't seem to find it.

 

[ifrythings]

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1363036-how-hard-to-pull-the-bed.html

Read through this thread, user Vadis has a link to Dorman bed bolts on amazon

 

[laserjock]

Seeing the pic of them side by side says they should work. Thanks!

 

[ericwade381]

I got my bed bolts from Lowes

 

[G. Mann]

So, after reading everyones posting, I still don't find who to go to to get the 97 and up bed bolts with the frame clips. I really like those, would like to have a couple sets.

For those who have a little welding talent to make a tool, and a cherry picker, this tool makes bed removal a one man job..

There is someone selling them [for a pretty big price] but would be pretty simple to fab up your own. Could even make it break down to store easy..

Picture is worth a thousand words.. so here is "thousand words".

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[laserjock]

Yea, those are pretty neat. I made my own out of 2x4s. Picked it right off with the cherry picker.

As for the bolts, I'd like to have the right thing. Yea, I could use anything that will fit. The grade 2 carriage bolts scare the crap out of me though. I think I'll order a set and try them and let you guys know.

 

[junk]

I really like those Dorman Superduty bed bolts with the kept nut plate. I may have to get a set of those next time a box comes off. The factory bolts in my beds are not rusty, but the damn things will spin in the box making removal a real pain. The factorly locknuts wouldn't get anywhere close to tight before making the bolt spin.

Jeremy

 

[CDX825]

I made the mistake of ordering bed bolts from lmc truck as well. All you get it a bunch of cheap carriage bolts. Never again

 

[franklin2]

I read the other thread in the link and all the posts in this thread, and I don't see anyone mentioning the reason the original bolts are made with that weird shoulder they have.

In the locations where the bolts go through the bed, they also go through the braces welded to the underside of the bed. The shoulder looks like it's slightly shorter than the height of the brace. I believe they cranked down on these bolts at the factory till the shoulder contacted the top of the frame. This gave the correct tension to hold the bed to the frame without collapsing the brace.

I too have used regular bolts, and had no problems so far. But it's something to think about, I would not crank down on the regular bolts too hard, you might collapse the bed brace. I never looked at it really, but it may be possible to slip a piece of pipe inside the braces if you were concerned about it. I wonder if the later model bolts that were mentioned in the other post have sleeves made into the braces? Or maybe that's why the speed nuts "weld" themselves like was mentioned. Maybe they torque them just enough not to collapse the braces, and then they lock themselves in place.

A couple of trucks I have owned had banging noises in the bed area when going over bumps. I found someone had dropped something in the bed, collapsing the brace under the bed a little bit, and then it would bang on the frame as I went over bumps. The regular bolts actually fix this problem. Or you could add a washer on top of the frame.

 

[laserjock]

Good perspective. Hadn't thought about the function of the shoulder.

 

[G. Mann]

All the beds I've looked at closely had a sleeve in the hole for the bed bolt. The wide area head clamps down on that sleeve which is welded in place in the channel that runs cross frame on the bed and that makes for full clamping action.

If you've had a bed that the channel was crushed then that sleeve has gone missing for some reason, I believe.

I have a bed installed with regular hex head bolts with wide area fender washers under them. It works, but sure as hell, every time I'm sliding something in the bed it catches on those hex heads, which stick up just enough above the bed runners to catch.. I hate them, would love to put the nice stock ford bolts with the Torx head in, but can't find a source..

Anyone come up with a source for the Stock bolts and the clip nuts for the bottom? Regular nuts are a pain in the ass and take two people to get the bed off... regular Ford bolts and it's a one man job with a cherry picker and the bed lift tool.

 

[franklin2]

Anyone come up with a source for the Stock bolts and the clip nuts for the bottom?

That's what they were talking about, using stock late model bolts. They are more like a button head that takes a torx bit to tighten. You can't use the stock early bolts with the speed nuts of course, they are smooth on top with no way to turn them and they lock into the bed.

What I did on one of the trucks I owned was used 1/2-13 carriage bolts, bought huge washers that fit around the square part of the bolt under the head and covered the big hole in the bed, but before I installed the bolt I put it on a bench grinder and ground two flats on the rounded part of the bolt so I could put a adjustable wrench on it to hold it from turning. It still takes two people though.