HitchMate Cargo Stabilizer Bar

Great product. Really well constructed.

Product is a pretty beefy accessory. I have no doubt it will last as long as I needed it too

Es funcional para llevar mercancía grande para que no se mueva en el platón

Took no time to install. Have had no issues of it moving during driving. Easy to remove and reinstall as well.

This is a true Heavy Duty Cargo Stabilizer Bar and it's all metal except for the rubber pads which are molded completely around metal supports. Each pad rotates freely on a pivot bolt. The rack (geared horizontal section) is also heavy duty metal with its terminus firmly thru-bolted to the inner tube. The small silver "lever" located on the side of the housing holding the geared handle is basically a spring-loaded "catch" to prevent the handle from moving once secured. The inner tube appears to be coated with some type of translucent gold colored coating, possibly to make it resistant to corrosion. The outer tube and rack are painted black and while the rack and the handle assembly appear not to be a powder coated finish, it seems to be a good coat. The outer tube appears to be powder coated. Will this damage your truck bed? The shortest width bed this can handle once latched is 59-1/2 inches, so if your bed is narrower than this then the answer to your question is definitely yes. The force this unit can apply if one isn't paying attention and just applying brute force is sufficient to possibly force the sides outward. Once a tooth is selected the inner tube will travel 1-1/8 inches outward during the full-engagement/lever catch process. So divide this by 2, and thus the deflection toward each side wall is 9/16 inches. Each "tooth" you move the inner bar inward results in a minus 1/4 inch total length. So, if your bed width is 64 inches and you extend the bar to 64 inches and close the handle the final length installed will be 65-1/8 inches. Move the inner bar inward to catch the next tooth reduces that engaged total length to 64-7/8 inches, and so on. So you can adjust how much tension you put on your bed sidewalls. My suggestion is have someone assist the first time this bar is used. Place it in one of the desired locations in the bed and install it with the amount of tension to firmly secure the bar. Then while it is installed, measure 1-1/8 inches away from the end of the floating portion of the toothed rack (the part that floats above the outer tube) and use colored vinyl electrical tape to place one wrap around the outer tube such that the edge of the tape is aligned with the aforementioned measurement. To check proper placement of the tape, release the handle and slowly swing it open, and as the bar shortens the end of the rack should line up with that tape's edge. If not, try again. For subsequent uses, just slide out the inner tube until the end of the rack aligns with the tape's edge and close the handle. You can repeat this process for multiple fit locations. Due to its weight, it is a bit awkward for one person to install, however it can be done and the trick is to find its balance point with length about where it's needed, lift it into place and secure handle.