sometimes the simplest things can be so... (spare tire vs. bed wood bolts....)

[jocko]

So,
My truck was missing the long, loosely mounted bolt that slips through the lower frame rail in the bottom of the c-channel to hold the passenger side of the spare tire retainer up. i.e. it's the first thing you loosen (the spare tire nut on the end of the bolt I'm talkin about) when you drop the spare.

So, I got the replacement bolt with the rectangular head on it. And I believe I've now discovered that these bolts were inserted on the assembly line PRIOR to bed installation. There is physically no way to get that long (about 10-12") through the hole in the c-channel because of the angle forced by the presence of the bed floor.

So, no problem, right? I'm lucky to have a wood bed, so figured I'd just remove that one slat above the frame rail so I could drop the bolt thru and then bolt the slat back down. So, went to remove the two adjoining bed wood slats that retain the wood and, lo and behold, every single square nut is stripped. Why in the #$%^&* they ever used square nuts is beyond me, however, they did. Dumb.

So, now the dilemma is, short of REMOVING THE BED or torching off the bed wood retainer bolts, which I really don't want to do, or throw the spare in my passenger seat (kinda kidding). I do not want to put it in the bed. I would really like to put the stock passenger side retention strap bolt in place. Gotta run out for awhile, so thought I'd throw this up here and let it simmer and maybe save myself some time staring blankly at the bottom of my truck cursing GM for the great design.

So, I've GOT to be missing something here. Simply can't be this hard to throw the loose swinging bolt into the c-channel hole... I'd wager someone else has run into this, and I'm just not firing on all cylinders this morning apparently so thought I'd ask the simplest question on the planet - how do I get that friggin bolt in that friggin hole!?! It's funny the silly little things that seem to pop up on these old beaters.

Just wondering if I'm somehow missing something very simple. Thanks for your help.