I had to remove the bed on my 1987 Ranger (2.0, manual). The old hardware was rusted so I bought a new set from RockAuto. I installed them and two of the bolts got tight before they were mounted flush. Like an idiot rather then backing them out I got out the breaker bar, and would up stripping the heads. I chalked it up to some bad hardware plus my impatience.
I ordered a new set, and before I begin to cut the old ones off and start over, I figured I would make sure these had no issues. I have gone through 1/2 of the bolts and tried running each one through all 8 of the nuts - not one will pass all of the way through. Am I missing something? Are they not supposed to goo all of the way through? Because if they don't then the bed is not secure to the frame - it can bounce around and the bolt heads are exposed.

 

There should only be 6 bolts on 1987 bed, up to 2007 I think, so may be the wrong set
Like this: https://www.lmctruck.com/media/secti...1698447-1x.png

2 long bolts at the front
4 short ones at the back

The shoulder lengths(no threads) seem too long on the pictured bolts
There is a hard or soft washer used between bed and frame, but its not that thick

The nuts clip on so nut is under pre-drilled holes in the frame so bolt passes thru the frame
Seen here, back 4 clips/nuts: https://www.ranger-forums.com/attach...s-s5030038.jpg

Except for the 2 longer bolts there should be enough room for bolts to go in all the way UNLESS the shoulders are too long

If someone was doing a Body Lift they would use longer bolts with spacers between bed and frame, may be you got a set for for doing that