I just traded up my sport trac to an F-150 SCAB Flareside and missed the bed extender so much I bought one off of a 2003. The fit is just right, but there are no pre-drilled holes anywhere on the post that you mount it to. The guy I bought it from is the sales manager from my local dealership (should that raise an eyebrow?) and even he was surprised to see the lack of mounting holes.

What I have are the 2 mounting pins with washers. If all I had to do was drill a couple of holes and tap some threads I would be happy. What I'm wondering is whether or not that would be strong enough over time to handle it. I dont know if its going to be thick enough to get a good enough "bite" to prevent any wobble. I took the taillight off and there doesnt appear to be enough room to get a nut on the back. Has anyone else out there had to do this? Also...I installed a drop in (I know I know, but I like them better than spray-ins) and was wondering if I should bolt through it or cut a hole out for it? Any ideas?

 

So your bed doesn't have any holes drilled or your bed liner doesn't have a hole drilled?

 

I put one in my regular cab 6.5 foot bed but did not need to drill.


https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...+extender+part


Unlike a SuperCab my truck did not have any place for the extender pivot bolts to screw into, but the six holes (three to a side) were there.
So I used nuts and big honking washers to hold the pivot bolts in place.
You need to remove the tail lights, an easy job, and then there is plenty of room behind the bed wall.


After six months or so of daily use, removing it a couple times, I am very happy with it. Works great as a cargo cage keeping stuff at the tail gate area and is a snap to remove.
Chris

 

My bed itself doesn't have any holes drilled. None. The bedliner doesnt either (of course) and I'm assuming its just the thin sheet metal no more than 2-3 mm thick which might be enough for 1 or 2 threads.

I took the taillight off and there is no easy access to where the pivot bolt would go. (its a flareside) I would probably just drill through the bedliner too, but I dont know if that would help to add and strength to the mount or just weaken it as it shifts around throughout the years. This is probably one case where the aftremarket would be easier!

 

My 04 had oversized holes and the pivot pins needed the nuts on the back to be installed. On my 06 the pivot pin holes have metal bushings in them so I tapped threads into them to match the threads on te pivot pins. I went ahead and intstalled the bolt on the back too, just to be certain they can't pull out.

 

Just to clarify, the "metal bushings" are what they call an extruded nut. The pivot pin bolts are specially designed to tap these extruded nuts as they are installed, so there is no need to pre-tap them. Unfortunately, those weld-nuts are only included on the 5.5 ft. bed. If you have one of the other bed lengths, you just have the oversized clearance hole (except, apparently for the Flareside, which I'm not that familiar with).


Scott

 

I ordered a new fx4 2007 and ask the dealer to order it with the extension and the say they don't offer the extender on the flareside models. So i guess that's why you don't the holes.

 

I need a bed extender if anyone has one they are willing to sell also?

 

I have a bed extender that was for a Sport Trac. Fits perfect inside the bed of my 05 F150 Flareside. Just need to find a way to mount it. Are the pivot bolts for a F150 the same for a Sport Trac?