Cali Raised Molle Panels fitment

Installed these panels last weekend. Not sure how I feel about they how they installed. The corner hits the wheel well, making the rubber stopper irrelevant. And I needed spacers at the back tie down, which I don't think I like. The installation videos I came across all show that these panels should be flush against the back tie-down with no spacers needed.

To add to that, I was sent a lot of incorrect hardware and ended up making a few trips to HD to get spacers, the screw for the rubber bumper, and then new longer bolts for the back tie-down (after I had to add those spacers).

Anyone else run into this, or did I just mess this up? I don't see how I could have, with how the front bolts only have one position they can be tightened down.

 

From the pics it looks sharp, and a clean installation.

 

Looks good actually as is.

 

Thanks guys, appreciate it. I did shoot an email to CR, but in the end I know I will like having them in under the tonneau cover regardless of a couple of issues

 

How thick is your spray in bedliner? If those spacers are sitting on top of your bed liner, it looks like it would cause the panels to sit further back toward your wheel well, specifically the front spacers that extend the tie down point outwards.

 

I had to cut the liner out around the hooks , so none of the spacers are on any bedliner. I hit those spots with black rustoleum so I didn't have bare metal showing. None of the install videos showed the need for spacers at the tie-down hook next to the tailgate. The spacers used at the hook next to the retrax canister are the ones that were used in the installation video.

 

Ah I see, I have my orientation all wrong.

In that case, then it definitely looks like the panels were designed to be flush against the bed without the spacers at the tie down points. What is interfering to prevent you from being able to omit the spacers?

 

If I took those spacers away and tried to push the panel down flush on the truck, the holes won't line up. They'd be more to the right of where they should be.

 

I'm wondering if the '21 beds are slightly different and that's why these panels don't fit quite right. I know I keep referring to the installation video, but in that video he dropped the backing plates for the 1/2" bolts into the channels under the rail cap, and the plates fell into a ledge or something where he could leave them until he was ready to work with them. There was no way for me to do that, my backing plates would have dropped straight through down to the ground if I was not holding them with a pair of pliers.

 

I’d be surprised, but you’d need to do a side by side comparison of pictures and measurements to be sure.

Somebody here is likely to help if you need.

 

Dammit, your Molle panels are making me lose sleep.

1 what bed do you have, and are you sure you have the correct panels for your bed?

2. I don’t like you having to use the stand-offs/spacers. They weaken the lashing points/tie downs, and I’m sure you’re not thrilled.

3. your front attachment looks fixed, with no option to alter the position unless you pulled the panels and made the mounting holes slotted. You shouldn’t have to do that.

Your rearmost mount has some flexibility via a slotted mounting hole. It appears that if you could move the panel rearward, you could lose the stand offs (maybe).


I can’t tell how the center joint is held together, but it doesn’t look like there is any adjustment possible.


I have to guess that they simply sent you the wrong panels, or wrong partial panels. Have you measured and contacted the vendor?

I wish you luck. I have looked hard at those panels a couple of times and thought about springing for them.

 

You are 100% where I am with this.

To your Point #1: I have a 2021 Crewmax SR5. Unless I have been completely in the dark, there is only the 5.5' bed option. I did go back to my order and check to make sure I ordered for the 2021.

Point #2: This is my biggest problem with the whole thing. That anchor point is weakened. That bothers me as much as the aesthetic.

Point #3: Correct. Those bolts are fixed. There is another brass 1/2" bolt at the same height as the one in the picture, hidden behind my retrax cannister. There is no play, so I cannot slide it back to make the anchor point flush, even though there is a slot for the back 1/2" bolt.

There is nothing attaching the panels to the truck in the middle, just a rubber bumper that doesn't even hit the wall of the truck because the corner of the panel hits the wheel well first. It completely messed up the lines and symmetry of how it should look.

I did email the vendor this evening. We will see what, if anything comes of it. Thank you for the good wishes.

 

Hey man, I just put on this MOLLE panel a couple of weeks ago. I too have a 2021 CM with a bedliner. There are a few things with your install that need to be correct to achieve the better fitment.

1. the small spacers you used for your tailgate cleats need to be removed and used on the large gold bolts, behind the panel and between the bed. This will allow the whole panel to be moved further back toward the tailgate. There is no spacer requirements on these cleats.

2.The cleats towards the cab can be left in their original factory locations, the long spacers should be placed between the cleat and the panel, and bolted down so the panel is "over" the cleat.

Wish i could put a pic but firefox is being weird at the moment.

 

Here are some pics of my install. Fits perfectly.

 

I appreciate you sending these pictures. This exactly what I'm after. The thing is, I did use the short spacers provided for the gold bolts. The spacers you see at the tailgate side cleat are spacers I had to go to Home Depot to purchase. I also had to purchase my own hardware for the rubber stopper.

 

I gotcha. So i think if you take off those spacers at the rear cleats, loosen the gold bolts and the front cleat, you can slide everything back some. Then i would put the cleat near the cab back to its original spot and put the panel over it, using the spacers. This will still give you the strength on the front cleat and you can still put hooks and straps through it.

 

The problem is, the bolts at the cab side cleat are fixed. Loosening them doesn't allow me to slide the panel back. Which begs the question, why are the gold bolts slotted?? I feel like I'm going crazy. Maybe I just leave the cab side cleat loose. I can't use any of that panel anyways due to the retrax cannister.

 

I gotta say man, this is really weird. I cant explain why your panels dont reach flush to the tailgate cleats. There is only 1 bed for a CM in 2021 I am pretty sure. Im interested to hear what the company says about your pics.

What is the TSS model that you have? Could that be the difference?

 

Just the TSS offroad package. Did you follow the video installation on their page? He dropped those backer plates for the gold bolts down into the channels and then came back to screw into them later. There was no way I could do that, my plates would have fallen straight to the ground. That's part of the reason I was wondering if the bed was different, but if you had no issue then I'm stumped.

 

Is there a Cali Raised Rep on this forum that might be able to help? I'm sending some pics to their support email, but this thread might be the best reference

 

I did have that issue as well, there was no pockets on my truck either, i had to use a basin wrench to hold the nuts to screw the bolts in. I didnt have pliers long enough. They probably hollowed out the area for cost savings on the 21 I followed the video exactly.

 

I guess we can try this…

@Caliraisedled

 

I saw that after I posted, but noticed they haven't really been active since November.

Talked to a girl named Amber yesterday, emailed my pictures and a link to this thread today. We will see if anything comes of it.

 

Alright everyone, Im coming back here with my head held in shame. The holes for the cab side cleat are in fact slotted, making the panels able to slide back to where I need them. I get this thing corrected this weekend.

I cant explain my idiocy, I have no idea why I was convinced they were fixed and the panels didnt slide back. My only defense is that I was a couple of whiskeys deep by the end of it. Sorry fellas, ya boi is a moron.

Side note, the Cali Raised support team was wonderful.

 

If only all problems could be solved after the whiskey wears off.....

 

Im gonna bring this thread back to life for a second.....I had the EXACT same issue you had. In fact i still "have" the issue. A lot of trips to the hardware store and bullshit. The panels still have the spacers like the first couple pictures you showed. In fact i had to get under the truck and drill some of the OEM threads out to be able to get proper fitting hardware. Needless to say im not thrilled with the fitment, as i wish they were flush, but they feel super solid so im not too worried.


I did however notice that the panels kind of bend back and forth right in the middle. Are you experiencing any noise from them? one of mine are bowed in a bit and they tap on the bed to the point i put some window trim weatherstrip stuff on the edge to keep it from being annoying. Wondering if im the only one experiencing that...

 

@Caliraisedled Nolan?

 

So I ended up being wrong about the panels not being slotted at the front cleat, I was able to loosen all bolts and slide the panels back so the panels lie flush at the back cleat, thus eliminating the need for spaces at the rear cleat like in my pictures. So that was nice. But I did still have the frustration of multiple trips for my own hardware because they sent the wrong stuff.

Yes the middle has a bit of give, but I have not experienced any noise because of it. No part of the panel should be hitting your bed or wheel well. The rubber bumper in the middle of the panels should be the only point of contact right there. Shoot a couple of pictures if you have a chance.

 

This is the driver side. 0 chance it sits flush and 0 chance to create more space via adjustment. Called Cali raised and they will be forwarding it to the guys who make the panels in Texas for a possible warranty claim.

 

For reference this is my passenger side. I can fit my fingers in between the space and it doesn’t rattle. Not sure if it’s a good enough picture to tell but there is a clear gap between the molle and the bedside.