Side Bed Tie Downs Bull Ring

Mike-1000 · May 29, 2014

This is a review of the Bull Ring side bed tie downs. These are advertised for the '07-'13 GMT900 trucks and I installed these on a '13 2500 HD. I don't know if they work on the '14s and up.

You can find them about everywhere but I bought these from Realtruck. You can do some shopping around and they retail anywhere from $27- $32 for a pair. Realtruck will give you a 15% discount if you buy two sets or more. If you buy them direct, Bull Ring will throw in the 9th tie down if you buy 4 pair. Expect to spend around $140 for 5 pair if you want all you need for a long bed.

The claim to fame with these is that they pull out for use and push back in when not in use. When pulled out they will click into place and stay extended. They don't exactly sit flush with the bed (when closed) but they do hang out less than the factory rings. These rings are stainless and are rated at 1000 lbs which is about twice what the actual side bed is rated for.

Installation is straight forward and there's a you tube video out there if you need it. Pretty simple procedure with instructions on the packaging also.

Here's the packaging

Here's a view of the open item with the screw removed. The metal plate in the middle (and everything behind it) goes inside the side wall. The screw goes through everything and pinches the ring to the bed side.

To install you need to remove the plastic inserts that are covering the mounting holes. A thin screwdriver will work or a safer (to the paint) method might be a plastic interior upholstery tool. If you don't want to save the covers just stab them with a small straight screwdriver and pop them out.

I found I needed to remove the screw completely to install. It's a little tricky to hold everything in place and get the screw started but after dropping the screw a few times I finally got the hang of it.

Here's one installed with the ring pulled out

Now pushed in. You can see the whole unit still hangs out about 3/8"-1/2" when closed.

When open, the ring is large enough inside that you can easily get a 1/2" diameter rod through it. That should be large enough for any hook on the end of a cargo strap. You might notice that once installed these do run at an angle. My guess is that this is so gravity helps keep them in the closed position. I haven't found the angle to be a problem.

I bought 2 pair initially. After a few months of use, I bought three more pair for my long bed. I think they seem very sturdy and don't know how you could break one without breaking something else first. I really like that they push in and are pretty much out of the way.

I don't have any affiliation with either of the companies mentioned above...I just really like these tie downs.

Mike

b_faulk75 · November 2, 2014

Bought 3 sets of these for my 14cc from real truck after reading lots of good reviews. I found they will not work with a spray in Bedliner. The extra thickness of the bed with the bedliner applied makes it near impossible to install these.They are made with a very tight tolerance to fit in the holes on the bed. I was able to get one installed but I had to file and modify the mount and cut a small section of Bedliner out around the cargo pocket openeing. Decided not to do this to any other pockets. Real truck was awesome about the return process. Sent these back and got some deezee brand hooks that work perfectly with the Bedliner and much easier to install.

Whiskey Bent · November 4, 2014

Bought 3 sets of these for my 14cc from real truck after reading lots of good reviews. I found they will not work with a spray in Bedliner. The extra thickness of the bed with the bedliner applied makes it near impossible to install these.They are made with a very tight tolerance to fit in the holes on the bed. I was able to get one installed but I had to file and modify the mount and cut a small section of Bedliner out around the cargo pocket openeing. Decided not to do this to any other pockets. Real truck was awesome about the return process. Sent these back and got some deezee brand hooks that work perfectly with the Bedliner and much easier to install.

I assume that if these were installed before the Berliner was sprayed it would be ok???