Hi All,

I have always found the amount of locations to use ratchet straps for items in the bed limiting. My parents asked me to bring 2 kayaks down from WI to AK and thought this would be a good opportunity to retrofit in some tie down areas. I am not really interested in the ones that sit in the bed rails but would like to mount 4-6 within the side walls of the bed. The best route would be to bolt them to sides but I do not believe I will have access to do so. Will using metal screws be strong enough to be strapping items down?

Any other recommendations or examples of how I could get additional strap down points?

Thanks!
Patrick

 

Sheet metal screws will pull out. You can get a LOT of torque with a ratchet strap. Unless you are using 8 per tie-down.... even then, I wouldn't trust my several hundred dollar kayaks to 'em.

Could bolt them to the floor of the bed, but, that has other issues..... Unless you put them in the space that WOULDN'T be covered by a 4x8 sheet of plywood? I *think* there are tie-downs in the four corners already? I know I have two in the back... never needed any in front......

 

Yep, two more in the front, in the floor of the bed. I use mine pretty often.

If I were moving just kayaks, I'd use those four, side to side plus crossed corner-to-corner, and a load lock just stuck between the bed sides to hold the craft down as the second level of security. After that's set up it's just driving to the ferry.

 

The factory tie down points in the back are on the pillars next to the tailgate.
The front are in the floor of the bed.

When I bought my truck, I got MOPAR stake pocket tie downs (popup hooks).

After a recent repaint, I added bed rail tie downs... these I love... you can put a ring anywhere you want.

 

No one just uses bottom of the side rails? There's a nice little lip you can hook to if the hook is facing up. Can slide it up and down the bed to wherever you want.

 

For my spider net, yes... you can hook over the front rail of the bed also.
I never hooked a ratchet tie down directly to the rail... guess I thought it a bit weak for securing a load of any size.
However, after installing rivnuts through it, I now know it is double layer with about an 1/8" of bonding agent between the layers.

 

It is pretty stout. I guess you could bend it if you tried hard enough, like put a pipe on the ratchet or something. Mine has always been fine.

 

How do you stop the hook sliding along the rail?

 

I've got rails on both sides and across the tailgate, plus a strip in front and behind the wheel arch.






You can position rings in 1" increments.


The rails are bolted down every 4".

 

I don't. Never. Just won't damn do it. You're both a moron and an azzhole if you do, too. If you get into a wreck that way your load is going to kill people.