American Expedition Vehicles Brute Bed - Manual (Page 5)

Page 5 of 7
B. INSTALLATION OF THE BRUTE BED
OVERVIEW
DO NOT MOUNT THE TAILGATE TO THE BED UNTIL THE BED HAS BEEN MOUNTED, AND
THE ENTIRE BODY ALIGNED AND BOLTED DOWN INTO FINAL POSITION.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Insert the six rubber bed mounts. Use the two supplied in the Brute Hardware pack along
with the four rear most stock body mounts as shown.
2. Place the bed onto the frame, be especially careful at the rear of the bed where it fits
around the rear crossmember. Roughly align the unit by eye.
3. Run a piece of heavy utility string along the bodyline on both sides of the vehicle from the
rear corner of the bed onto the door line and up as far as the cowl. This will allow you to
stand at the front of the vehicle and “Gunsight” the bodyline down the side to align the
cab and bed. This is a time consuming process as you will have to adjust the bed and
the closeout separately to achieve perfect results. We typically allow for two hours for
this process. Use a jack and block of wood to lift the rear of the cab if necessary. You
may have to use large washers between the body mounts and the body in order to level
everything out.
4. Once you have everything in alignment, weld the rear body mounts to the cab. Bolt the
body mount and isolator to the body and weld in place.
5. Install the 3” spacers into the middle body mounts. Tighten all body mounts.
6. Install the Ground strap from the exhaust hanger bolt to the bed crossmember directly
above the middle exhaust hanger.
7. Install the latches and cables onto the tailgate. The inside portion of the latch must be
trimmed approximately 0.5” in order to fit into the inner portion of the tailgate. Bolt the
cables on so that the “ear” on the cable ends directs the cable to fold downward when the
gate is closed. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN THE CABLE BOLTS. THEY MUST BE ABLE
TO SWING FREELY.
8. Install the rubber bumpers into the tailgate tabs on the bed.