[andyh1956]

several years ago i had to repair a later model ford pickup that had been hit in the front left corner head on. the ford was sitting still at the time of the wreck. the force of the impact aganst the frame had the bed sitting funky on the truck. to my amazement there were NO bolts thru the top of the bed down to the frame. when looking from the bottom i saw c channels of thin metal running crossways to the bottom of the bed welded at the top of the c to the bottom of the bed. these were then bolted to the frame at the bottom of the c with small bolts. these would be the eqv. of the cross sills on our trucks. they had bent when the frame traveled rearward from the front impact & that is why the bed was sitting funky. i had to remove the bed & invert it to straighten the c channels. if the bed had been secured as chevy built our beds then i don't think it would have ever moved. when i was doing this job i remembered a ford comercial where they picked up a ford pickup by the bed & touted how strong the bed bolts were. what a crock! i personaly like my stuff to be as strong as possible so i will bolt thru the cross sill when i do my bed. regardless how you do yours don't forget to post some photos of your handi work!
andy