Make your own Maverick bed tie-downs: DIY bed side rail tutorial by Ford

[ArizonaLouie]

I have L track on order also, now I just need the truck to be delivered.

Me too!!!!

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[houselog442]

Thanks!

links are borked you have to trim them i fixed it:

amazon.com/Eowpower-5Pcs-Stainless-Steel-32mm/dp/B074K53HRB

thank you for doing that. I didn’t know this site does that with links. One other thing to consider as I mentioned before; you should get some stainless steel locked or flat washers at 5/16 because the eye bolts will not all tighten at the same position so the washers on some of them may even That out. I used two of them so all the bolts would be horizontal.

 

[Edge Haley]

I just put the M8 x 32mm eyebolts in today and they fit extremely well. The only issues is the bolts will tighten at different spots so some look like the hole part will be horizontal and so vertical. One thing I did to even this was to put some thin washers (5/16 will work for these). These eyebolts are not found in stores but I found them on amazon.

I’ll probably will be wrong on this BUT: The reason for one single eye-bolt such as with a ratched strap could damage the bed body work. By putting the eye-bolts on a “rail” (as in the link above) is to disburse that stress. I have already purchased tie down brackets with a 400 lb load limit on each bracket, hoping & assuming these brackets will break away before damaging body work.

The “rail” is held to the bed side body work with 4 bolts that disburse that stress across the whole width of the bed that then has the eye-bolts attached to the “rail” protecting the body work (to a degree). Don’t have my Maverick yet so have not been able to see the strength of the bed sides where your eye-bolts are screwed in to get a feel as to their strength…but from experience I have used ratchet straps that can put 100’s of pounds of pressure on a single eye-bolt, especially with shifting cargo such as a "motorcycle"... and pull/bend/ distort the attached bed body work….that is not easy to fix.

Another big advantage of using a rail is the versatility of being able to move the attachment RINGS to different locations for different size cargo

 

[houselog442]

I’ll probably will be wrong on this BUT: The reason Ford and others suggest installing a rail to attach eye-bolts to is to disburse the stress on one single eye-bolt such as with a ratched strap could damage the bed body work. By putting the eye-bolts on a “rail” (as in the link above) is to disburse that stress. The “rail” is held to the bed side body work with 6 to 9 bolts that disburse that stress pressure across the whole width of the bed that then has the eye-bolts attached to the “rail” protecting the body work (to a degree). Don’t have my Maverick yet so have not been able to see the strength of the bed sides where your eye-bolts are screwed in. To get a feel as to their strength…but from experience I have used ratchet straps that can put 100’s of pounds of pressure on an single eye-bolt.

fortunately, I am only strapping a very light weight cooler and to only one of them, the other side is strapped to one of those rings that are near the bottom of the bed in back. I am spreading the load to two different types of bolts in here to protect that.

 

[Edge Haley]

fortunately, I am only strapping a very light weight cooler and to only one of them, the other side is strapped to one of those rings that are near the bottom of the bed in back. I am spreading the load to two different types of bolts in here to protect that.

Light loads should not cause you a problem….someone on this site has already damaged their bed by over tightening a strap Holding down furniture that shifted when braking.

 

[PortlandME]

I’ll probably will be wrong on this BUT: The reason Ford and others suggest installing a rail to attach eye-bolts to is to disburse the stress on one single eye-bolt such as with a ratched strap could damage the bed body work. By putting the eye-bolts on a “rail” (as in the link above) is to disburse that stress. The “rail” is held to the bed side body work with 6 to 9 bolts that disburse that stress pressure across the whole width of the bed that then has the eye-bolts attached to the “rail” protecting the body work (to a degree). Don’t have my Maverick yet so have not been able to see the strength of the bed sides where your eye-bolts are screwed in. To get a feel as to their strength…but from experience I have used ratchet straps that can put 100’s of pounds of pressure on a single eye-bolt And pull/bend/distort the attached bed body work….that is not easy to fix.

Why wouldn’t that same concern apply to the factory “bottle opener” and d-ring tie down points? Or do you think those are placed into reinforced parts of the bed?

 

[PortlandME]

Light loads should not cause you a problem….someone on this site has already damaged their bed by over tightening a strap Holding down furniture that shifted when braking.

Do you have a link to that thread/post? I’ve searched and can’t find it.

 

[deadeye]

I just put the M8 x 32mm eyebolts in today and they fit extremely well. The only issues is the bolts will tighten at different spots so some look like the hole part will be horizontal and so vertical. One thing I did to even this was to put some thin washers (5/16 will work for these). These eyebolts are not found in stores but I found them on amazon.

I was also wondering why we need a rail to slide things, when 4 -6 tie down locations on each side offers plenty of options for tie downs. I love this idea if you just want some tie downs!

For me, however, I think I will still install rails. The primary function for me will be to ensure a good attachment of a bed rack and/or tonneau cover to some unistrut sliding nuts inside the unistrut track. The secondary function will be to place some tie downs if for some reason the ones in front or rear are not enough.

 

[houselog442]

I was also wondering why we need a rail to slide things, when 4 -6 tie down locations on each side offers plenty of options for tie downs. I love this idea if you just want some tie downs!

For me, however, I think I will still install rails. The primary function for me will be to ensure a good attachment of a bed rack and/or tonneau cover to some unistrut sliding nuts inside the unistrut track. The secondary function will be to place some tie downs if for some reason the ones in front or rear are not enough.

Some people on here had mentioned that those eyebolts alone might not be a great idea if you are strapping really heavy items and cause damage to the bed, but I only strap my cooler to it.

 

[houselog442]

I was also wondering why we need a rail to slide things, when 4 -6 tie down locations on each side offers plenty of options for tie downs. I love this idea if you just want some tie downs!

For me, however, I think I will still install rails. The primary function for me will be to ensure a good attachment of a bed rack and/or tonneau cover to some unistrut sliding nuts inside the unistrut track. The secondary function will be to place some tie downs if for some reason the ones in front or rear are not enough.

I just went with eyebolts instead of rails because I knew I was only going to strap a light weight cooler in and maybe something else in a pinch. What gets me in this process is that Ford‘s videos on these bolt holes were incorrect because they said to use M6 bolts when they are M8 x 32. I am glad i did not order the wrong bolts just on the video alone. Try one bolt out first to see if it fits right.

 

[dviousdave]

There is 4x M8's and also 2x M6 holes forward of that for a factory tie down bracket (not sure if this is a standard or optional one).

The DIY video says to cut extrusions to 30", but the photos i see with factory accessory rails are almost the whole length of the bed (longer than 30") and use the whole length of the inset area for the rails. Also the DIY video shows a square extrusion that sits proud of the recessed area, but the Ford one is a shallower depth that fits right in that recessed area almost flush.

So my plan is to remove the front 2x tie downs use all 6 bolt holes for a DIY full length accessory rail that takes advantage of the whole recessed area (like the fancy factory option ones). Why have a static tie down at the front, when I can always slide one up there on my custom rails. Also I want to find some extrusion that is about the height of the depression so its close to flush like the factory ones.

This FlexBed marketing graphic shows the F and E holes in the depression for the accessory rails. However its a bit inaccurate as it only shows 2x DIY threaded holes per side(F), and it shows the (E) holes for the tie downs at the front of the bed, but they are shown above the rail depression area, which does not match the actual photos where tie downs are bolted down in the depression/rail area.

https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North America/US/product/2022/maverick/pdf/2022-Ford-Maverick-FLEXBED-Graphic.pdf

Deadeye - Did you go through with your plan? If so; have any pics?

 

[danzez]

Is anyone else having a hard time finding M8-1.0 25mm button head bolts? Amazon, Fastenel, and the big box stores - Home Depot and Lowes - have all failed me. Closest I can find from Home Depot is this Hex bolt. But, I am not sure if the head will be too big for the US Cargo L-track rail I ordered - https://www.uscargocontrol.com/products/Airline-Track-48-Piece

 

[rth121]

Anyone have links to a DIY bed rail system? Seems difficult to find stuff in Home Depot lately...

 

[73bluebronco]

Is anyone else having a hard time finding M8-1.0 25mm button head bolts? Amazon, Fastenel, and the big box stores - Home Depot and Lowes - have all failed me. Closest I can find from Home Depot is this Hex bolt. But, I am not sure if the head will be too big for the US Cargo L-track rail I ordered - https://www.uscargocontrol.com/products/Airline-Track-48-Piece

Ace is the place.... seriously, Ace Hardware is my go to place when it comes to finding bolts.

(Added info: if Ace doesn't work there is always this https://belmetric.com/socket-produc...2jAC9E-kZezbu3M2hoCKiUQAvD_BwE&sku=SF8X25TXSS)

 

[danzez]

Ace is the place.... seriously, Ace Hardware is my go to place when it comes to finding bolts.

(Added info: if Ace doesn't work there is always this https://belmetric.com/socket-produc...2jAC9E-kZezbu3M2hoCKiUQAvD_BwE&sku=SF8X25TXSS)

Thank you Jeremie! That is very helpful information. I have an Ace Hardware a couple towns over from me. I will definitely be stopping tomorrow as my tie down rails are slated to be delivered in the afternoon.

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