Bull Ring Tie-downs

I have a bakflip F1 tonneau cover and it states you can put up to 400lbs evenly distributed on top of the cover (thanks @Inquiringone !). So long story short I recently had a situation where the bed was full of family stuff on a trip and we needed the cover down due to rain. I needed to pickup a large boxed item on this trip And had to basically unload and reload a bunch of items in order to fit the item under the cover. Since the boxed item was waterproof I was thinking that it would be great if I could just strap it to the top of the cover and call it a day. Unfortunately there’s no way to access the bed tie downs with the cover closed. So after some searching and with some help from an Amazon gift card from my secret Santa (@TundraLuv ) I purchased these...
Bull Ring 4025 - Flush, Truck Bed Tie Downs for 2015-20 F 150/2017-20 Super Duty - 1-Pair

$30 Bull Ring Retractable Truck Bed Tie Down Anchors for Ford F150 2015-24, Super Duty 2017-24, Raptor 2017-24 – Flush Fit, Easy Install, (2 Pack)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LZ4Z1CL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_NvHbGb3QE70Z4

They worked out great! The fit and finish is astounding and they are retractable so they don’t stick up above the bed line when not in use. They installed in about 10 minutes for all four corners and they are completely removable. Best of all there’s no drilling involved. They go into the bed stake pocket and can hold up to 1000 lbs.

thought I’d share in case anybody else was looking for a solution to tying down on top of their bed cover.

 

Much appreciated

 

Those are nice.

 

I was pleasantly surprised. For sure feels like a quality, well built product.

 

One of the first mods I do and already ordered for my 1794. I've done the ones that are flush, stainless and sit on top of the deck rail.

 

I was looking at buying these also but none were sold locally were I live, ended up with a tonneau cover also. Glad you like them thanks for sharing.

 

I have those on my F150. I need to get a pair for my 05 DC.

 

Love these things. So much easier than trying to hook the straps low down in the bed.

 

Did you have to cut the plastic pocket hole covers to install these or were the pocket hole covers on your truck made to be removed without cutting them?

 

They just pop out.

 

They pop out really really easy. They are a very thin plastic. Some models of deck rail don’t have the cut out and you have to use a router bit. Check your truck. You will either see the outline of the plastic insert or you won’t. That will dictate which model of bull ring you buy. Here’s the fit chart from the website.

 

Thank you!

 

I've had Bull Rings at all 4 corners for 3 years now. Work wonderfully. And after 3 years of being in the weather they show NO signs of having been in the weather. I'm a total fan.

And they seem to have gotten very popular. $35 a pair in the link in the OP. I paid $24 three years ago.

 

Wife bought a giant floating island for summer fun… time for some bull rings…

 

Those straps on the paint are driving me crazy.

 

That was a one time emergency thing, hopefully never to be replicated. kept the ratchets away from the paint though and the straps weren’t rubbing too bad. Haven’t noticed any damage yet.

 

I was able to pry the sides of the cover up enough to see where the pockets were, you can also look inside the bed and see a bolt hole where the pocket will be.
Once located i drilled a pilot hole in the plastic just to mark it, then finished the cut out with a drywall zip tool bit and traced the pocket opening. I did put a little tape on the tip of the bit to minimize scratching the pocket too much. Worked pretty well.
The Bull Rings themselves are nice but I couldn’t find an option for a 2020 crewmax with the black plastic type finish that matches the plastic rail cover. All I could find were the black chrome flush ones, and I don’t love the shiny look, wish it matched the side rails and my lomax cover better, but it’s not that bad.
I noticed the double cabs have the option for the black plastic type “classic” finish but not the crewmax.
One other note with these model, there is a fine line between too tight and too lose, too tight and the pull the plastic cap down creating a dent or dip in the plastic rail cap and too loose is obviously not good either.
Thinking of maybe adding some sort of plastic or rubber gasket/spacer to keep them level with the rest of the side rail but still allow you to crank them down tight.

 

Thanks OP and jlarkin... I want one of these "lillypad" things, but didn't want to eat up all my bed space. Didn't think about strapping it to the tonneau cover.

I have the Toyota factory tri-fold, does anyone know the weight limitation? I couldn't imagine even adding 100 pounds to it, but would be good to know in advance.

EDIT: 2021 TRD Pro does not appear to have the scribed cut out area for the box. Will have to investigate further. Damn.

 

I was getting ready to drop some coin on a couple of sets of these until I found out that they do not work on a '21 Tundy according to the company. Damn

 

Thanks. Saved me from cutting the pillar holes. Wonder why they don't work.

 

The Lomax cover I have says 400lbs of evenly distributed weight, the float isn’t that heavy. Cranking down the ratchet straps too much might cause some flex in the cover but if it becomes a problem I was thinking of adding some sort of support under the center of the cover, depending on what I’m traveling with under the cover, (maybe a few suitcases or something).

As for the 2021’s, are you saying there are no cut outs or lines marked on the plastic bed caps? Or are you saying there are no stake pockets at all? My 2020 didn’t have any cutouts or lines drawn on the plastic for the pocket holes, it still works as long as you have the stake pockets and use something to trim the plastic caps.

 

Yeah, the bed sides are covered in a plastic cap, I may have to look into what it takes to get that cap off to see if the stake holes are there. It sure feels like it when I press down, but don't want to drill a hole and then have to live with that. The manufacturer excludes the 2021 model, I figured it was because the pocket locations aren't easy to find so they didn't want morons just drilling into their beds and then complaining.

I need to see what it takes to get those bed caps off to see what is under there first.

 

Is it possible their sizing chart was created before the 2021 model was released?

 

The site Flush Fit Retractable Tie-Down Anchors | 2014 & Up Toyota Tundra | Regular Cab | Double Cab | (bullringusa.com) specifically calls out the 2021 models for some not having the stake pockets. Why some trims would and would not is an oddity. I plan to find out at some point.

 

I see. The plastic rail cap just pops out with a trim tool. lift it as much as you can and use the trim tool to depress the clips at various locations.

 

I have a 20 crewmax and I had my lomax cover siderails already installed so I didn’t want to take the plastic rail caps all the way off to cut out the stake pockets. If you pry up on the outside edges you should be able to see under the rail cap to verify if/where the stake pockets are. I didn’t even need trim tools to do this. Also, inside the bed, near the 4 corners I have a small hole in the stake pocket, looks like it would be for a 1/2” bolt to secure something in the stake pocket. If you have these 4 holes I would assume you have stake pockets and that’s where they are located.

 

Sorry to revive a semi-old thread, but I have a quick question. Are the bed rail caps and/or stake pockets different on the 07-13 vs 14+? Wondering why the "flush fit" ones aren't listed as compatible for the 07-13 crowd?

 

Agree with other comments here, ‘21 TRD Pro does not have the pre-cut/identified positions to install the bull rings. Is this something I would have to cut in order to install?

 

I have a 2018 Platinum and I had to cut mine out for the bull rings

 

Anything below the top surface I need to watch out for?