Now that we are running 285/75r18 tires on the F150 it was time to get a matching full size spare. Well the wheel matches and tire size matches what is on the truck but its a different brand tire than the rest. Instead of trying to squeeze it up under the bed we looked for a simple way to secure the spare in the bed and be able to fit it under the bed cover.
We decided to try out the N-Fab Universal Bed Mounted Rapid Tire Strap. The kit comes with the Y-Strap and three tie down hooks along with plates with nuts welded on them to go under the bed.
Now Im not going to tell you exactly where to drill the holes. You will want to confirm the location by looking under the bed and making sure you wont hit any wires, hoses or other braces. Things can vary by year and model so Ill just give a couple tips to help you.
First I noticed that the hook plates wont fit flat between the ribs in the F150 bed. So you will need longer bolts. I took the bolts to the hardware store and got some that were half an inch longer. I also got some washers to take up space under the hook plate since it wouldnt fit flush with the bed in between the ribs. My local Ace Hardware had some washers that were about a 1/4" thick and about 1.5" diameter that worked perfect. You can get fancy and use a strip of metal and drill it for the bolts to go through if you want. But you will want something under the hook plates to space it up a little so it dosnt get pinched between the ribs of the bed.
Now the instructions say to mount the hook plates with the mounting holes under the spare tire. This would not work for the forward 2 plates for me because in the position I have my spare tire the bolts would go into a support brace under the bed. I mounted my hook plates with the holes pointing away from the spare tire. This let me drill the holes in the bed between two support braces under the bed so I can get the nut plate flat underneath the bed.
You can put your tire in a different location to allow the hooks to be bolted under the spare tire if you choose a different location than what I did. I had to put mine in this exact spot to allow clearance for my Undercover Swing Cases to open and enough room to get my MaxTrax traction boards off the mount.
So after you measure 3 times and drill once you can mount the hook plates. You will need a friend to hold the plates under the bed while the bolts get started from above.
If you have a bed mat like my Rough Country bed mat you will now need to cut some holes for the hook plates to poke through. I did this by first marking the location, drilling a starter hole and then a jigsaw to make the cut.
You can mount the Y strap and hooks whichever direction you want, I chose to put the ratchet end towards the tailgate to have more room to get to it.
N-Fab makes these straps in Blue, Black, and Red. I'll add the links below to where you can find them on our website.