Question about tie downs for FWC

[randygirl]

I have a 2006 GMC Duramax with the 6.5 ft bed. I have a 2002 Hawk. Confused where to drill the holes in the bed for the tie downs. What kind of angle should the turnbuckles be at? Is there a standard amount of inches the holes should be from the sides of the bed? Getting a new truck is great, except for this kind of stuff!! Thanks for the help

 

[RC Pilot Jim]

Ask Brenda at the FWC factory brenda@fourwh.com. They should have a diagram to help you.

 

[kmcintyre]

I had that same question when I bought my Eagle. FWC and ATC had 2 different answers. Good luck

 

[Beach]

I emailed FWC for that info. They emailed me the measurements with a diagram the same day..

 

[BillM]

I never liked the factory eyebolt install. On my Nissan I used a plate underneath the bed and a U-channel on top. I also upgraded to forged turnbuckles and grade 8 bolts at the camper. Have had no problem after several years and thousands of miles of rough roads. You might also need a reinforcment plate on the inside at the camper attachment point, 4wheel does this now but I'm not sure about in 02.

-BillM


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[Tomas Tierra]

No reinforcement plates on '02 FWC's... Have some made up! The failure is not pretty.

BillM.. I like that method!

 

[randygirl]

Good idea BillM. I have often wondered about this.

 

[ntsqd]

I used some forged eyebolts for the anchor to the bed.

A little over $5 each and 1,300 lbs (vertical) capacity each: http://www.mcmaster.com/#eyebolts/=tzdxvp Even discounting for an slightly angled pull I guessimated that to be roughly a 4X Safety Factor.

Made some 4"x4"X1/8" plates from cold rolled steel for under the bed and used flanged all metal lock-nuts (~$8/50) to secure them.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#hex-locknuts/=tze0cv

 

[Tomas Tierra]

I used similar to above, but stainless. Pricey to say the least,done once.. They are on their third Toyota, third FWC

TT

 

[BillM]

The problem with the eyebolts has not been their strength but rather the strength of the sheet metal of the bed they are attached to. The eyebolt is pulled to the side which stresses the sheet metal and any small movement will lead to fatigue and failure. Think of bending a beer can back and forth until it fails. If you only drive on pavement it may not be an issue but if you frequent rough roads beware.

 

[ntsqd]

Which is why the eye-bolts that I chose above have a shoulder on them, why I put a doubling plate under the bed, and why I used an all-metal type prevailing torque lock-nut. All to keep the wiggles from being possible. At this point I do not feel that a doubling plate on top of the bed is necessary, but a large OD hardened flat washer (soft hardware store garbage need not apply) under the shoulder of the eye-bolt wouldn't hurt.

I also oriented the eye-bolts such that the plane bisecting the "donut" portion of the eye-bolt is inline with the direction of pull of the turn-buckles. In my case the angle from vertical is pretty small, so the reduction in leverage is also small. With a large angle the reduction would be proportionately bigger.

FWIW I think that these are the turn-buckles that I used:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#3001t53/=u7ei5z

 

[kmacafee]

NTSQD

I am a new Eagle owner and have only put the camper on/off the truck a few times. I agree that the turnbuckles I have are inadequate and looked at the ones you link to on McMaster's site before I saw your post.

Given the small space to work with when attaching the turnbuckles, how are you getting the clevis pin in there - by feel? Or are you simply leaving the jaw ends attached and separating them at the body?

Any help for a newbie would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Kevin

 

[deethe]

here's where my tiedowns are in my 2006 silverado 6.5' bed.
about 45deg forward and back to cover braking and accelaration forces and then to the side to clear the bed.

my e-tracks were in prior to the tiedowns and didn't interfere with the factory backing plates.

 

[ntsqd]

Kevin,
I only just saw this, sorry for the delay. Our Phoenix is different in where the turn-buckles can be attached to and we have a 6.5' camper in an 8' bed, so my install was considerably simpler.

I would go with installing the pins by feel, starting with the upper one as I think that trying to start the threads will be more difficult given the access. The pins can be a dominate hand with a supporting hand as necessary where the threads will require two dominate hands and I suspect that access is such that this won't be easy to do.

 

[kmacafee]

Thom

No worries and thanks.

 

[kmacafee]

A quick follow up question -- I want to update the eyebolts and it easily accessible on the passenger side under the sofa. But on the driver's side, it all seems buried beneath cabinetry. I have poked around in there and don't see an easy way of getting to the hardware. Has anyone figured a way around this or does it involve taking the cabinets apart?

Cheers