Extra bed tie downs, drop in bed liner, and bed mat.....a couple tips and tricks

[jpv74]

Hello all. I think I finally have something that might....just might.....be of some value to share to the forum. I will share the info in a very jumbled post because that's the way my brain works. So I purchased the Ford drop in bed liner and a Rough Country bed mat. I read several threads about additional tie downs and watched a YouTube vid or two.
First tip.....When installing the drop in bed liner you use the hole saw to cut out access points to mount bed accessories and tie downs. Many folks will use the Home Depot method suggested by Ford and add extra tie downs that way. I am not committed to the Home Depot version yet. For now I am just adding additional D rings that will be used for " light duty ". Whats the tip you say??? Keep the hole saw cut outs from when you install the bed liner because they make perfect plastic stand-offs that you can install your D rings over vs installing directly on the bed paint. Someone in this forum had suggested Pringles lids for the same affect. See pic

Second tip.......Well I have a plastic drop in liner and a bed mat so that's what makes this scenario work. If someone has already suggested this I apologize in advance. Dont use those wimpy tie downs for the two that are on the floor near the cab....use beefy tie downs from Home Depot. Normally they would stick up too much and get in the way but the bed mat creates a 1/2 spacer so it works perfectly. See pic of tie down.

Sorry I dont have pics of these installed...it started to rain so I will follow up with installed pics later.

My initial thought is not to use the Ford Home Depot sliding eye bolt DIY project......my plan is to install a 32" heavy aluminum strip across all of the exposed holes and my D rings will be installed on top of the aluminum. The aluminum strip will cover up the hole saw holes and possibly add a little strength to the D rings.....I said possibly.

I am also adding the additional OEM style tie downs in the rear of the bed near the tail gate. My XL came with the lower ones but not the upper. I am sure u guys have covered this here before but I got the info from a YouTuber to use a 6mm tap for the top mount holes and a M6 bolt and this worked very easily and was a no brainer. I have yet to finish the install of the beefy D rings on the floor of the bed but I hear those are not as easy to tap.

I should mention....these beefy D rings will need to be drilled out just a little bit so the floor holes line up.

If you are installing a drop in bed liner and see this post maybe pm me and I will give you a bunch of tips....I dont want to bore everyone with anymore ramble......But for me...I could not find the Penda instructions for the bed liner. I saw instructions for everything else but not the bed liner. So the items that I missed was to make cut outs for the power ports in the bed on both sides. Also a few additional holes where the sliding cleats go. This oversight made me proficient in installing and removing the side panels.

I also installed the storage cubbies on both sides and cut the bed liner for it as well.

I told you guys this was gunna be a jumbled ramble. More pics coming soon.

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[jpv74]

Note.....The D ring you see in the pic with the tap is just one of the wimpy ones. The one in the red packaging is beefy. Its hard to tell in the pics.

 

[icegradner]

No issue with the OEM D-rings on the floor here, basically have the same load rating. Seems like a waste of money. Unless you mean your truck didn't come with D-rings there.

 

[jpv74]

Ya mine is the base XL.......I wasnt talking about in comparison to the OEM ones that come with those fancy Mavericks. So for cheapo's like me we are scrambling to DIY all the things our XL's didnt come with. I think the OEM ones that you have are sold by Ford for crazy money.....did I hear $80??? The ones that I got from Home Depot are about twice the beef of the OEM's and cost $5 each. But hey for the record I am not knocking the OEM rings....I would love to have had those installed from the factory. Here is a better pic to give folks a feel of the size.

 

[Paul Newton]

Hello all. I think I finally have something that might....just might.....be of some value to share to the forum. I will share the info in a very jumbled post because that's the way my brain works. So I purchased the Ford drop in bed liner and a Rough Country bed mat. I read several threads about additional tie downs and watched a YouTube vid or two.
First tip.....When installing the drop in bed liner you use the hole saw to cut out access points to mount bed accessories and tie downs. Many folks will use the Home Depot method suggested by Ford and add extra tie downs that way. I am not committed to the Home Depot version yet. For now I am just adding additional D rings that will be used for " light duty ". Whats the tip you say??? Keep the hole saw cut outs from when you install the bed liner because they make perfect plastic stand-offs that you can install your D rings over vs installing directly on the bed paint. Someone in this forum had suggested Pringles lids for the same affect. See pic

Second tip.......Well I have a plastic drop in liner and a bed mat so that's what makes this scenario work. If someone has already suggested this I apologize in advance. Dont use those wimpy tie downs for the two that are on the floor near the cab....use beefy tie downs from Home Depot. Normally they would stick up too much and get in the way but the bed mat creates a 1/2 spacer so it works perfectly. See pic of tie down.

Sorry I dont have pics of these installed...it started to rain so I will follow up with installed pics later.

My initial thought is not to use the Ford Home Depot sliding eye bolt DIY project......my plan is to install a 32" heavy aluminum strip across all of the exposed holes and my D rings will be installed on top of the aluminum. The aluminum strip will cover up the hole saw holes and possibly add a little strength to the D rings.....I said possibly.

I am also adding the additional OEM style tie downs in the rear of the bed near the tail gate. My XL came with the lower ones but not the upper. I am sure u guys have covered this here before but I got the info from a YouTuber to use a 6mm tap for the top mount holes and a M6 bolt and this worked very easily and was a no brainer. I have yet to finish the install of the beefy D rings on the floor of the bed but I hear those are not as easy to tap.

I should mention....these beefy D rings will need to be drilled out just a little bit so the floor holes line up.

If you are installing a drop in bed liner and see this post maybe pm me and I will give you a bunch of tips....I dont want to bore everyone with anymore ramble......But for me...I could not find the Penda instructions for the bed liner. I saw instructions for everything else but not the bed liner. So the items that I missed was to make cut outs for the power ports in the bed on both sides. Also a few additional holes where the sliding cleats go. This oversight made me proficient in installing and removing the side panels.

I also installed the storage cubbies on both sides and cut the bed liner for it as well.

I told you guys this was gunna be a jumbled ramble. More pics coming soon.

Ok I’m

 

[Paul Newton]

Hello all. I think I finally have something that might....just might.....be of some value to share to the forum. I will share the info in a very jumbled post because that's the way my brain works. So I purchased the Ford drop in bed liner and a Rough Country bed mat. I read several threads about additional tie downs and watched a YouTube vid or two.
First tip.....When installing the drop in bed liner you use the hole saw to cut out access points to mount bed accessories and tie downs. Many folks will use the Home Depot method suggested by Ford and add extra tie downs that way. I am not committed to the Home Depot version yet. For now I am just adding additional D rings that will be used for " light duty ". Whats the tip you say??? Keep the hole saw cut outs from when you install the bed liner because they make perfect plastic stand-offs that you can install your D rings over vs installing directly on the bed paint. Someone in this forum had suggested Pringles lids for the same affect. See pic

Second tip.......Well I have a plastic drop in liner and a bed mat so that's what makes this scenario work. If someone has already suggested this I apologize in advance. Dont use those wimpy tie downs for the two that are on the floor near the cab....use beefy tie downs from Home Depot. Normally they would stick up too much and get in the way but the bed mat creates a 1/2 spacer so it works perfectly. See pic of tie down.

Sorry I dont have pics of these installed...it started to rain so I will follow up with installed pics later.

My initial thought is not to use the Ford Home Depot sliding eye bolt DIY project......my plan is to install a 32" heavy aluminum strip across all of the exposed holes and my D rings will be installed on top of the aluminum. The aluminum strip will cover up the hole saw holes and possibly add a little strength to the D rings.....I said possibly.

I am also adding the additional OEM style tie downs in the rear of the bed near the tail gate. My XL came with the lower ones but not the upper. I am sure u guys have covered this here before but I got the info from a YouTuber to use a 6mm tap for the top mount holes and a M6 bolt and this worked very easily and was a no brainer. I have yet to finish the install of the beefy D rings on the floor of the bed but I hear those are not as easy to tap.

I should mention....these beefy D rings will need to be drilled out just a little bit so the floor holes line up.

If you are installing a drop in bed liner and see this post maybe pm me and I will give you a bunch of tips....I dont want to bore everyone with anymore ramble......But for me...I could not find the Penda instructions for the bed liner. I saw instructions for everything else but not the bed liner. So the items that I missed was to make cut outs for the power ports in the bed on both sides. Also a few additional holes where the sliding cleats go. This oversight made me proficient in installing and removing the side panels.

I also installed the storage cubbies on both sides and cut the bed liner for it as well.

I told you guys this was gunna be a jumbled ramble. More pics coming soon.

What is the center to center hole spacing for these husky anchors?

 

[jpv74]

What is the center to center hole spacing for these husky anchors?

Without me having to get out of my chair I will answer your question by saying they almost line up perfect but will need a little bit of filing. It will take you all of two minutes.

 

[icegradner]

Ya mine is the base XL.......I wasnt talking about in comparison to the OEM ones that come with those fancy Mavericks.

Sorry, didn't see anything in the post saying this was about an XL, it kind of came across as if you were replacing the OEM ones. Only noticed you have an XL in your profile this morning. Just remember, just like the Maverick vs an F-150, bigger isn't always better.

Of course I wouldn't have paid for the Ford ones if they were not in the package I got either.

 

[jpv74]

Ok since I posted about these I thought I should send measurements. Like I said yesterday it started raining so I didnt get mine installed. I just set them on top of the holes to see if they would work. Here are some pics for you. The silver brace is from the tie downs that the Youtube video guy used. Im too lazy to link you to his vid. Keep in mind the holes in the black brace are much larger.

 

[jpv74]

Sorry, didn't see anything in the post saying this was about an XL, it kind of came across as if you were replacing the OEM ones. Only noticed you have an XL in your profile this morning. Just remember, just like the Maverick vs an F-150, bigger isn't always better.

Of course I wouldn't have paid for the Ford ones if they were not in the package I got either.

Ya but these look really cool!

 

[Joliet Mike]

Ok since I posted about these I thought I should send measurements. Like I said yesterday it started raining so I didnt get mine installed. I just set them on top of the holes to see if they would work. Here are some pics for you. The silver brace is from the tie downs that the Youtube video guy used. Im too lazy to link you to his vid. Keep in mind the holes in the black brace are much larger.

if you measure from the top of the top square to the top of of the bottom square hole that equals center-to-center. That really helps when holes are much larger.

 

[jpv74]

if you measure from the top of the top square to the top of of the bottom square hole that equals center-to-center. That really helps when holes are much larger.

Cool tip

 

[jpv74]

Just need to enlarge the hole a little with a round file....

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