Couple quick questions

[James Morse]

1. '97 doesn't have the rear doors which the '99 does, they are pretty nice as long as the latches and seals are good. So when I get something out of the back, every darn time when I sit down the seat is in the wrong place forward/back and/or it is at the wrong tilt. Am I doing something wrong? Is there a way I can make it go back the same? That's a pet peeve of mine and sure wish I had the rear doors on the '97 (I don't have many complaints about the truck! But that's one.)
2. Lots of times I just want a few little things in the bed and I don't like stuff floating around loose, light stuff could potentially fly out, plus, if stuff moves around and makes a clunk, right away I am asking myself what is that noise, is something breaking/hitting etc. The tie downs are too high, I just want to strap or bungee stuff down to the bed so it doesn't move. So far the only thing I came up with is you'd have to install L-track on the bottom of the bed, 2, or maybe 3 parallel strips down its length. You could do a few short strips in the parts where the fenders aren't, but it wouldn't give you the versatility. What I don't like about the idea is I'd have to drill into the bed and put some bolts through or screws or something and you want it mounted pretty ruggedlyAnyway, I'm open to ideas. I guess if it's something truly useful I don't mind making it permanent but I want to think through the downsides of doing it. I guess I'd have to make holes through the mat, and I wouldn't be able to take it out to dry the bed if it gets wet under it. Those mats are cheap so no biggie to replace, but if you wanted to go back stock you have a bunch of holes in the bed, yuck. So the idea is kind of half baked as of yet. All I know is what I'm doing now aint working. There are configurations where I can fit things to fill the bed so things don't move around but normally I don't need but a few things and I need a way to quickly and easily take stuff in and out and have it secure without it being a big deal and the jury rig crap I was doing doesn't cut it, I need tie-down spots down low where it'll pin stuff to the bed.
This is what I was looking at but maybe there are better ideas. L-Track System | L-Track Tie Downs | Airline Track & Straps | USCC (uscargocontrol.com)

 

[Uncle Gump]

1. The way it is... we all have to deal with it in a two door Super Cab.

2. Put a tool box in the back

 

[RonD]

No on #1, the seat back will always return to its most upright angle after its been folded forward to access behind the seat

You could utilize the current bed bolts to hold a metal cross bar with tie downs at the ends, put bed mat over it, maybe notch the mat on the sides for tie down
Or install the "L-Track" at the ends of the cross bars, just use a wider piece of flat steel or weld a piece on each end parallel to bed sides

You can also get "Bed poles" they go across the bed and are held in place by compression against the sides, not for extreme weights but work well to keep smaller stuff in place
Examples here: https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/1407-10-tools-to-manage-your-pickups-cargo-in-control/

 

[James Morse]

Aluminum chairs don't fit in tool box (which I have). Even if they did, I have metal detector, shovel, axe, misc tie downs, small adz, fire extinguisher, fishing gear, bunch of other stuff, and probably will put a lot of mechanic tools in there although not sure what I could fix off road, but just seems like it would make sense though I'm always trying to keep weight low where I can (my theory is less weight is better as long as there's some).
I think maybe you hit on something - simply something like a shower curtain rod with non-skid rubber ends cups, that screws out then jam it in there, you could put it low and either pin stuff in or strap to them. For light stuff like I'm talking about. That wouldn't require any mods, are removable, and should be cheap. The liner locks are cool but I don't have liner in that truck. I'm pretty sure it did have it at one time based on wear spots. I think maybe it interfered with clamping in the tool box so they took it out.
I guess you could attach tie downs low on the sides but I hate jumping to stuff where I have to be cutting into the truck.
Thanks.
See tool box here. The dealer manager was like "tool box - $1,000 right there" and I was like "nah you can get them on ebay $50. I think they are somewhere in between. Haggling. I have to say in spite of that it causes some limitations, I really love the tool box. You can fit 2 gallon water jugs on each side/under it so I usually do that when going out. I don't know why they have it angled like that but it still has a ton of space in there.

 

[James Morse]

Oh and thanks for the other tip about using the existing bed bolts that's a great idea.

 

[Roert42]

1. I think the older trucks had a quick release on the back of the seat where the seal would slide all the way forward and tilt in one motion, then when you push it back it would go back to the same spot. Like a separate mechanism then the regular adjuster. I think my brothers '97 is this way.

2. A lot of the plastic drop in bed liners have slots in them to hold a 2x6 board to allow you to place things close to the tailgate and not have them slide around too much.

Before I put the cap on I had a headache rack I build so I could use bungee cords to hold stuff in place. Would lean my chairs or fishing rods up against the bulkhead and tie it down with a bungee cord.

 

[Ranger850]

Heres what one guy did to his '22 Frontier.

Adding Factory Utili-Track rails to the '22 Bed Floor

Here is a quick “Here's how I did it with lots of pictures” on my install of Bed Floor Utili-track Rails. Most likely for ‘cost’ reasons Nissan decided to eliminate the Bed Floor Utili-track in the 2022 Frontiers. I personally used the bed floor rails frequently when tying things down as well...

www.clubfrontier.org

 

[James Morse]

Heres what one guy did to his '22 Frontier.

Pretty cool! I might have put them further apart but he must have had his own reasons. Do you think he's using the existing bed bolts there?
It looks like the side ones are just thru the liner? That wouldn't be very sturdy maybe it was done differently but you can't have bolts sticking out the side of the truck.
That's that L-rail stuff like they use in air cargo securing it's really nice.

1. I think the older trucks had a quick release on the back of the seat where the seal would slide all the way forward and tilt in one motion, then when you push it back it would go back to the same spot. Like a separate mechanism then the regular adjuster. I think my brothers '97 is this way.

Well that would be an answer to a prayer. I don't see it on mine. I have buckets, and electric lumbar inflator button. It's a situation where I wouldn't mind having power seats but they're kind of slow plus I know the things that go wrong with them then it's a nightmare. But they could have been optioned, then you'd have memory to get it to its sweet spot, but I guess I'd rather mess with it given the choice of power seats or not.
Liners are nice. But if the tool box clamps prevent it, I'd rather have the tool box. Have to compromise one way or the other. No tool box is like having no pockets in your jeans.
Caps are nice but I like to be able to reach into the bed. Not saying I'd never have one but doesn't work for me right now. There's also all kinds of racks and you could attach things on the sides but then you get into less visibility in back and kind of not my taste right now again not saying I'd never do it.
Thanks.

 

[Curious Hound]

For tiedowns, you could add some near the bottom of the sidewalls so that they are mostly out if the way. I think I saw someone here do that recently. Or maybe it was someone at the Fall Adventure. It's really great to see other people's rigs at these events and be able to ask how or why they did something. A picture is worth a thousand words. But seeing it in person and being able to converse about things is soooo much better.

 

[Roert42]

Caps are nice but I like to be able to reach into the bed. Not saying I'd never have one but doesn't work for me right now. There's also all kinds of racks and you could attach things on the sides but then you get into less visibility in back and kind of not my taste right now again not saying I'd never do it.

I've never really like caps either, but I needed a way to transport a bunch of tools around for a few months without just leaving them in the back of the truck exposed. The cap was $300, vs buying a Van.

Depending on the design of the rack, visibility could be better or worse. I made the rack with louvers, spaced out far enough I could see fine. Would have been even better if I used round rods across instead.


Never was a fan of the cross bed box since they take up too much bed space. I have a job box I put in the back when I need it. When I still had the rack on the back I considered a box that mounts on the bed side so I wouldn't really loose any bed space and nothing would be in the way of the rack.

 

[RobbieD]

On one my trucks years ago I used the existing bed bolts to put in some D-ring tie downs like this:

that I had scavenged from a used U-Haul box truck.

(no. it wasn't a rental; it was being converted into a camper for a customer owner)

They worked great, and and I had nothing in them (just removed the bed bolts and reinstalled them with the tie down).

Now if I could just remember where in the hell I've stashed them in my Packrat's Precious Piles of Plunder Paradise.

 

[Curious Hound]

On one my trucks years ago I used the existing bed bolts to put in some D-ring tie downs like this:
View attachment 100284
that I had scavenged from a used U-Haul box truck.

(no. it wasn't a rental; it was being converted into a camper for a customer owner)

They worked great, and and I had nothing in them (just removed the bed bolts and reinstalled them with the tie down).

Now if I could just remember where in the hell I've stashed them in my Packrat's Precious Piles of Plunder Paradise.

You filed them under "S" for "Securing Cargo".

 

[James Morse]

The bed bolts have a permanently mounted nut part, am I right about that? In other words if I take them out I won't have a loose nut falling down?

 

[Curious Hound]

The bed bolts have a permanently mounted nut part, am I right about that? In other words if I take them out I won't have a loose nut falling down?

It's a nut fastened to a clip that slides over the edge of the frame rail. So, yes. The nut should not fall away when the bolt is removed. This, of course, varies with age and rustiness of the vehicle.

 

[Roert42]

stock is something like this.

Aftermarket versions are sometimes like this, where the nut is trapped in the clip.