Bed Molle Comparisons? Pros & cons.

For what it's worth, I own several items from Victory now and have been very please with what I've got. The bed molle panels are on my list to buy this year and I'll be going with them again.

 

I will try not to get too carried away with an entire build thread here but just to follow up on my earlier posts. The weather was finally warm enough that my fingers didn't fall off in my garage trying to get this done.

What you'll see is how I cobbled this together to work with my extang tonneau which lowers the molle panels by almost the exact amount of the supplied brackets from Victory 4x4. However the "standoff" distance of the cleat rail mounts were not as deep as the brackets so I chunked some 1x1 plastic (cause it was available) and bought some M6x45mm bolts and we were off to the races.
Notes/Findings;

• One picture I included is what the high lift panel looks like with the carriage bolt thrown in it just to see. I don't own a high lift as of now so I opted to leave the bolts out for now.
• Another note, the standoffs I made interfere with the drain tubes near the cab on the tonneau top rails, I didn't take a picture of it but I was able to shoe horn everything together.
• I tried to notch out an area for the cutout above the storage pocket, since I use 2x4s to make a platform over the fenders, I didn't cut deep enough so I am debating if that's worth cutting deeper or not. In hindsight, I should have just...not done this.
• I ran into one bolt seized, naturally the 2nd to last bolt, that I had to really get creative to free up.

Overall I am happy with it, could be happier with my own mediocre craftsmanship. I definitely didn't expect to have to reinvent the wheel but this is pretty typical for me to over-commit to an idea without fully vetting it.

 

Sounds like me. Thanks for sharing.

 

Are there any alternatives that you guys have found to save a little $? I really like both the Cali and victory but just don’t have the money right now..

Thanks!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD3KMCHycKk

 

@ragofabrication has them too

 

To any of you 2019/2020 owners who've installed the Cali Raised REAR molle panels, did you end up drilling into the bed on the driver's side for the two bottom attachment points? If so, what fastener hardware did you use? My panel on that side is pretty sturdy even though it's only attached to the bed rail on the top, but there IS a slight amount of play along that bottom edge. I'm considering bolting it to the bed.

 

When I installed mine I was going to drill holes but I decided to hold off in case I want to modify that spot for attachments of some kind in the future. I did use a 3M non-mechanical fastener just in case that side would vibrate against the bed plus it filled the gap between the bed and panel nicely. I also used some nut covers on the forward sections so the exposed threads wouldn't snag on anything.

 

You know, that's a great idea! And, I just happen to have some laying around. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

Hey thanks for the tip on this. I used 3M dual lock to mount a CaliRaised molle panel on the driver side bottom and it seems relatively solid so far. I was just about to drill some holes for nutserts, but that isn't ideal as it needs washers to prevent pulling through the plastic bed material and it leaves holes. So far so good...

 

I got the CaliRaised molle bed panels, which I generally like. The one glaring issue was the poor QA/QC for their bed nuts...the threads were totally FUBAR. Add that to their poor communication and customer service and I had to purchase substitute bed nuts so I could finish the install and use the panels.

 

I have their panels on both sides of the bed and recently purchased the front bed panel as well and didn't have any issues with the bolts or rail nuts.

I will say that as a 2019 owner I did not like that the driver's side panel is exactly the same as the passenger as there is no attachment point for the tail portion of the panel. The passenger side uses the OEM bolts for the storage bin to hold the Molle panel however there is no storage bin on the driver side, so the panel is sort of left unsecured at the rear. I ended up drilling into the bed and threaded a bolt through, then also placed another rubber stopper behind the area so it would not move. Seems to work ok. It was advertised as being compatible with the 2019 so I figured they would have a system for the different set up but no.

Overall I do like having the panels as it adds a huge amount of options for organization. I would buy them again.

 

I recently purchased and installed the Cali bedside Molle system on my 2017 TRD-OR and they installed perfectly on my rig. The Cali Molle quality, at least for me is top notch for sure...

 

Aside from the obvious how do you specifically intend to use them?

The reason I ask is because 90% of what people have attached to these can be stored in the cab or left at home. Seriously, most of the stuff is there more for aesthetics than use.

 

Brilliant, I’ll put a container full of gasoline and a 3 foot axe in the back seat with my kids. I wouldn’t want to be accused of doing it for aesthetics by someone on TW.

 

LOL, maybe just keep them in your garage...like literally everyone else. That axe and traction boards have never even been used..

You do you man.

 

You and Gavin Newsom should hang out. You both seem to know what it best for everyone. I use that stuff all the time. Took that photo during the install when it was new.

 

Life is way too short, make sure you spend as much time as possible on the internet arguing with strangers...

 

Heh, I was actually just asking what the OP's use for it was to maybe help him save a few bucks, too bad you are so insecure that you had to take offense and respond. sad.

LOL but like I said man you do you. Best of luck to ya.

 

I guess I got a bad batch of hardware. And their customer service is a bit...absent. I was able to get a set of 4 substitute bed nuts and hardware...nicer ones...via Amazon in a couple of days to address the issue since I couldn't get a response from Cali Raised.

But yes, the panels themselves are great. Looking forward to putting them to use.