- Joined
- September 1, 2002
- Messages
- 14,243
- Reaction score
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- City, State
- Lake View Terrace, CA
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '91 Navajo '99 X '19 Rngr
Ever since I first bought my Explorer I have always used my cargo area tie down points. But they are never in the right place it seems. The ones that are near the rear seats are by far the worst, why could ford not put them closer to the seats?
So I came up with a new idea, E-Track. What is E-Track you may ask, well if you have ever seen the inside of most cargo related trailers. you'll see this stuff lined on the walls mostly. The track is very cheap, so it just makes sence. So Let take a look at how it goes in, how it works, and how it looks.
Needed for this project
E-Track (10 ft piece in painted or Galvinized) $17.50
40 1" x7/16" grade 5 bolts, locking nuts and washers(x2) $7.00
2 7/16" Wrenchs
Drill with 7/16" bit.
A cute looking assistant is also quite handy
So this is what we start with
First remove the carpet and padding then you'll need to take out those old pesky factory tie down hooks. At this point it's a good idea to sweep out or vacume out your work area. There could be a good amount of dirt under there.
Then you want to mark your holes to drill. I took my 10' piece of E-track and cut it down to two 38" pieces, which also gave me some extra for another project. (Be very carefull where you put the track, there are boxed supports that run under the floor. You want to mount the E-track so it straddles this. That way your bolts will be on both sides of the boxed part under the cargo area.) I but a bolt every other hole, but if you really want you could do every hole. Then you'll find out how the beadlock guys feel Once the holes are marked go ahead and driil your holes. Lay down the track to make sure your holes line up and then put in your bolts and washers. ( I only used grade 5 bolts, because you want the bolts to break if there is a problem. Using grade 8's wold just rip them thru the floor if there was a issue.) Now go ahead and put the washers and locking nuts on on and torqe it down. (At this point it's helpfull to have a cute assistant help you.)
One issue I had was that there is a gap where the bolts go on the back half of the track. This is because the back half is designed like a truck bed, with channels. You can use some sort of spacers if you like but I chose to just leave it. (It's a cargo area, and your not putting cars back there so it should be fine.)
Once the the bolts are all torqued down, you'll need to put your carpet back in. Put it back in to make a patern to cut for the track to be exsposed. Once cut, put it back in and your done.
There are many different kinds of spring fiiting available for the track. I chose ones with a bit of webing on them. They have a 1000lbs. recomended ratting and 3000lbs break rating. I will now be able to tie down everything in the cargo area.
So I came up with a new idea, E-Track. What is E-Track you may ask, well if you have ever seen the inside of most cargo related trailers. you'll see this stuff lined on the walls mostly. The track is very cheap, so it just makes sence. So Let take a look at how it goes in, how it works, and how it looks.Needed for this project
E-Track (10 ft piece in painted or Galvinized) $17.50
40 1" x7/16" grade 5 bolts, locking nuts and washers(x2) $7.00
2 7/16" Wrenchs
Drill with 7/16" bit.
A cute looking assistant is also quite handy
So this is what we start with
First remove the carpet and padding then you'll need to take out those old pesky factory tie down hooks. At this point it's a good idea to sweep out or vacume out your work area. There could be a good amount of dirt under there.
Then you want to mark your holes to drill. I took my 10' piece of E-track and cut it down to two 38" pieces, which also gave me some extra for another project. (Be very carefull where you put the track, there are boxed supports that run under the floor. You want to mount the E-track so it straddles this. That way your bolts will be on both sides of the boxed part under the cargo area.) I but a bolt every other hole, but if you really want you could do every hole. Then you'll find out how the beadlock guys feel
Once the holes are marked go ahead and driil your holes. Lay down the track to make sure your holes line up and then put in your bolts and washers. ( I only used grade 5 bolts, because you want the bolts to break if there is a problem. Using grade 8's wold just rip them thru the floor if there was a issue.) Now go ahead and put the washers and locking nuts on on and torqe it down. (At this point it's helpfull to have a cute assistant help you.) One issue I had was that there is a gap where the bolts go on the back half of the track. This is because the back half is designed like a truck bed, with channels. You can use some sort of spacers if you like but I chose to just leave it. (It's a cargo area, and your not putting cars back there so it should be fine.)
Once the the bolts are all torqued down, you'll need to put your carpet back in. Put it back in to make a patern to cut for the track to be exsposed. Once cut, put it back in and your done.
There are many different kinds of spring fiiting available for the track. I chose ones with a bit of webing on them. They have a 1000lbs. recomended ratting and 3000lbs break rating. I will now be able to tie down everything in the cargo area.
