Modern bed tie down anchors

[j_cst_10]

My journey started when I needed to pick up a Cummins 6cyl diesel and didn't want to trust a poorly secured load for my 1hr+ trip back to my house.

I purchased these factory style Silverado cargo anchors which essentially are an oversized toggle bolt. Super heavy duty but the profile of the top plate was meant to fit into a stamped pocket and not against flat sheet metal.

As a side note the profile does nest very nicely in between the ridges in the bed floor. I have one extra set and plan to put them in the bed floor at the top of the bed to anchor a motorcycle or anything else that can be pulled into the bed header panel.

[j_cst_10]

In order to make these toggles work in the bedside I took apart the clamp and reversed the bracket (note the backwards lettering). I then test fit everything into a piece of scrap sheet metal and noticed the clamp ran out of travel and would not secure tightly with the bracket reversed.

I had to remove the plastic cage that keeps the toggle from rotating when installing them to gain the necessary travel. Not too big of a deal and they can easily be installed without it with some patience.

There are metal tabs that hold the plastic cage in place in the bracket that can be bent back and forth and broke off since the cage won’t be used anyway.
Because the bracket is inversed, I needed to make a small spacer so the bolt fit nicely.

[j_cst_10]

Made a template and used a body saw to cut some small ovals in the bedside. I typically hate cutting and modifying original sheet metal, but my vision for the truck is stock appearing while still being a useful vehicle so I had to bend some rules.

Once I figured out how to make it all work, installation was easy. I have 2 sets in the bed side and will have one set at the front of the bed in the floor. Very heavy duty and can be removed if they get in the way of whatever is in the back.
Be aware that there are cheapo versions of these clamps everywhere. I found some OEM ones on Ebay that claims they are price reduced because of improper plating on the toggle.

[j_cst_10]

Final product

[j_cst_10]

And pictures are all sideways but you get the idea.

[yuccales]

Much cleaner looking then my old school Eye bolts!

[j_cst_10]

Yeah I've had trucks with eye bolts as well haha. They work for most things but I wanted something with a large amount of surface area that wouldn't deform the bed easy or pull out.