I want to mount my cross over truck box without drilling holes in my side rails. Does anyone have experience with J-hooks or other products?

http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...Id=10573740627

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...4142_200314142

 

All of the truck boxes we sell at work (Tractor Supply Co) come with the J hooks. We sell a ton of them and haven't had any complaints yet. We used to sell the kit like that one from Northern Tool, but quit because no one was wanting to pay the extra for them. I have some old clamps on my toolbox that work great, but I have no idea were I got them. IMO I think the J hooks work just fine, and if I bought another box today that is all I would use. If you were real concerned you could put them at the front and back side of the box.

 

My tool box is also mounted with j hooks. It has been sitting there for 180k and is still as solid as the first day and I have never had to retighten them.

 

So j-hooks work well, but where can I get them?

 

My brother has a tool box mounted with J-hooks and his Dakota. It doesn't come loose ever and he is not easy on his truck at all. It'll takea good beating offroad and not come loose.
matt

 

My tool box is mounted with j-hooks. You can get them at any hardware store, make sure you get lock nuts or use some lock-tight though. Mine keep coming loose until I put lock-tight on them, hasn't moved sine.

 

Agreed. Like Cummins66, I used to work at TSC. We developed this way of securing boxes down at the request of customers just like you. I think that since most box manufacturers are using the J-hooks. Make sure that you get some that are big enough to handle the weight that will be in your box, but small enough (in the J part) so that you will be able to hook right under the lip of your bed and still be able to get them up through the box.

 

The toolboxes with J-hooks work great! Just remember one thing...don't over tighten the bolts...it could bend the lip of your bed. One thing that I did was I bought some of that plastic dip(not sure of it correct name) that is used to coat tool handles, you can find it at Walmart, Westlakes, etc... It covers the end of the J bolt and won't rub any paint off the truck rails, plus helps cushion. Hope that helps.

 

I work for Tractor Supply Co and while our store never carried anything from a company named Northern Tool, we did carry a set from Daws/Better Built (who knows, could be the same company as Northern). I bought them when they first came out for $20 and loved them.

Since then, we, and AutoZone & Advanced Auto, have stopped carrying them because most people just opt for 50 cent J-Hooks.

However, after looking for several weeks, I finally found a set for my new truck at Lowes. Same kit.

The kit works by using plastic pieces to clamp to the bed rails. These won't scratch like J-Hooks and won't force you to drill holes in the bed.

I HIGHLY recommend them.

 

One truck has J hooks and they work all right. The other has the clam shells and I prefer them. The clamshells came from Home depot. I bent my bed rail up pretty good with the J hooks trying to get them tight enough to keep the box from moving. Once they finally seated right they do hold just fine. It all boils down to preference.