Bed Extender Lock

First Post for me. I just got the Lifestyle Package put on my White/Olive 2006. Has anyone come up with a way to lock the bed extender in the bed? I will be using it frequently but it bothers me that anyone can just come by and take it. If no one has looked into this already, I'll probably try to fab something from scratch.

Thanks for the help.

Good question. I'm interested in the answer. It Never crossed my mind that somebody would steal. duh! :o

I currently use a bike lock: it's a Kryptonite. Here is a link (http://www.kryptonitelock.com/inetisscripts/abtinetis.exe/PublicArticleDetails@public?artid=2706&atf=products_item&pgrp=20) to the model. Hope this helps and keep contributing.

Yea I got a craftsman bike type lock for mine.

I read in one post that a bed extender will fit with the hard (Honda)tonneau cover installed, despite what dealer told me. Can anyone confirm? :(

I read in one post that a bed extender will fit with the hard (Honda)tonneau cover installed, despite what dealer told me. Can anyone confirm? :(
There was a picture by someone on the forum of a bed extender under the cover. It does fit but it isn't as useful as it would be in the front position because of the amount of the cover that has to be lifted to reach it.

First Post for me. I just got the Lifestyle Package put on my White/Olive 2006. Has anyone come up with a way to lock the bed extender in the bed? I will be using it frequently but it bothers me that anyone can just come by and take it. If no one has looked into this already, I'll probably try to fab something from scratch.

I too found this to be an interesting flaw in design. The release clips for the extender should have allowed for a simple lock to be installed. But like others, I am considering just throwing a bike lock on it.

I drive my Ridgeline every day into Jersey City, NJ a place with a pretty high stolen car rate. I put a bike lock on my bed extender but don't think anyone would steal it, what's it worth to them if they don't have a Ridge?

Congratulations SCM and enjoy the ride.
Welcome to the family of "ROC HEADS", we're glad you're here!!
J.C. :) <-----welcoming comittee :D

I drive my Ridgeline every day into Jersey City, NJ a place with a pretty high stolen car rate. I put a bike lock on my bed extender but don't think anyone would steal it, what's it worth to them if they don't have a Ridge?

There are people out there that will steal something "just because". Hey if you don't have a RL I'm sure you can sell it at a flee market somewhere...ever heard of fleeBay?

Hey Everyone:

I'm seriously considering purchasing a bed extender so I can haul my lawn mower and some bigger items. Is the extender easy to remove? How hard is the installation? Should I just let the dealer handle it? If I choose to simply tie down my mower, and put wood chocks behind the wheels so it won't roll, would I even NEED the extender? Also does it fit under the ReTrax Tonneau cover?


Thanks.

I'm doing mine right now. So far it took about 10 minutes to put the extender together. Five minutes to unscrew the two forward tie down brackets and replace them with the included forward mount brackets. Really easy stuff.

The instructions say you slide the extender sections together and adjust them make the outer dimension equal to 50 inches. Just get it close to 50" and leave the 6 T-20 screws slightly loose. Once you get the two forward brackets installed, you can just use them as a guide to make the extender frame fit evenly between the brackets. Then tighten the 6 T-20 screws.

You need a Torx T-20 and T-50 for this job. I had to buy a set of three Torx bits that included the T-50 as a "Brake Kit" from PepBoys as they were sold out of the T-50 singlely. ($10.99 for the "kit", but a single one would have been about $4. That's ok, I like having tools I might need down the road!) I already had a T-20 so I could hack my TiVo :D

I'll be installing the rear mount brackets in a few minutes. I'll take some more shots.

Ok, so I am done. Maybe an hour elapsed, start to finish. The rear brackets go on very easily. You definately need that 3mm allen wrench. If you try an SAE size that is close in size, you will strip the allen screws. First picture is after the left side bracket is installed.

Next shot shows the first "ding" in my Ridgeline! Actually the dimple is the center punch dot for drilling the hole for the snap. I used a small 1/8 inch drill first. The instructions say to use a piece of tape for a depth guide. Good suggestion, however it is pretty easy to wing it. Another thing to look at in this picture is how close the drill chuck comes to the corner of the tailgate. You might need to angle the drill slightly to avoid marking up your nice tailgate. You are only drilling a guide hole at this point anyway. The material you are drilling though is only about 1/8 inch thick.

Just remember this: You will only be drilling through the composite material -- NO Metal. Just go easy and slow. Stop as soon as it pops through.

Next shot, I used a 5/16 inch drill bit for the next pass. Instructions say use an 8mm drill bit...well, 5/16" is very close to that and I figure the Wellnut was designed using SAE sizes anyway.. Perfect fit. Again, just go slow. It drills just like a hot knive in butter.

This next shot is of the left side of the tail gate, after the 5/16" hole is drilled. The Wellnut is ready to pop in. Tighten with a #2 phillips screwdriver so it is just snug...no need to go overboard.

The next shot is the snap after installation, followed by a picture of the right hand side hole ready for the other Wellnut.

Nice Butt shot. That's all folks.

Isn't the bed extender bracket supposed to go on top of the front lower tie down hook? The pic above shows it installed below the hook.

I wondered if anybody would notice that. I decided to do it the other way as the extender bracket was longer on the bolt hole axis so I am figuring that the tie-down bracket would have a better bedding surface this way. Doing it as directed would mean the bed extender bracket would be flying off the ends of the tiedown bracket. I figure that the tiedown is still limited in strength to the shear strength of the two bolts, so a "washer thickness" due to the extender bracket being on the bottom isn't going to make much difference anyway.

(I am always reengineering things...I rarely do as directed! :D ) Ya'll do it as you see fit.