Has anyone successfully bought a Ranger RAPTOR Bed Reinforcement Kit AKA J- braces from AUSTRALIA?

[John E Davies]

I prefer not to do it myself, I am now old enough that I just don’t want to deal with the hassle. There is a local auto collision center that I have used for decades, they will sometimes do small jobs for me (and charge time and material) if I let them fit it into a gap in their schedule when they get a slow down. Normally they just do insurance work, but I will ask them to do the J braces for me. If they won’t, I will do it myself, I am an ex-aircraft tech and have the skills and tools .I don’t trust my local Ford dealer, they do not even have a body shop, so some lightly trained oil changer might do the work poorly. Either of my possible solutions will certainly result in a higher quality ending…

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

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[Jason B]

Hey John

Thanks a lot for this link. I wrote to these guys and they responded to me very quickly, and confirmed as recently as about an hour ago that they have the part in stock. I’ve gone ahead and place the order and looking forward to finally getting it here in North America.

I’ve been trying since March both on my own and through my dealer, to get this part and without success. So thank you very much for tracking this down and posting on the forum.

now to figure out if I’m gonna trust someone at the dealership, who’s never done one of these to cut my truck, or if I’m gonna do it myself. What decision have you come to in that regard John?

cheers

It looks like in can be done by anyone mechanically inclined.
The only problem doing it yourself is that there will be no warranty for future bed issues.

 

[John E Davies]

The only problem doing it yourself is that there will be no warranty for future bed issues.

Did you see that in writing? It’s the first I have heard of it. I fail to see how the installation method would affect any future bed warranty claim IF this were done correctly and according to the instructions. Just like routine maintenance by a non-dealer shop or the owner, those do not void a warranty. Please clarify.

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[Jason B]

I just assumed it was like many Ford add-ons.
The site only says, "Dealer installation is recommended.", not that it's required.

 

[John E Davies]

I received my J Brace kit today, ordered on July 08, received on August 20, it came to my door “Signature Required” by USPS. That was a lot longer than I expected. The part was NOT on the shelf, it had to come from the Ford distributor, which added a week, then there were long delays at each depot. It was not delayed long at US customs though, just a day or two.

Now I just need to locate an installer, hopefully my long time Auto Body Collision Center will do me a favor, if I ask them to work it into their existing jobs. They sometimes get slowdowns and are willing to do small stuff for me.

EDIT: got it scheduled, will update this page when done….

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[FossIsleBC]

I received my J Brace kit today, ordered on July 08, received on August 20, it came to my door “Signature Required” by USPS. That was a lot longer than I expected. The part was NOT on the shelf, it had to come from the Ford distributor, which added a week, then there were long delays at each depot. It was not delayed long at US customs though, just a day or two.

Now I just need to locate an installer, hopefully my long time Auto Body Collision Center will do me a favor, if I ask them to work it into their existing jobs. They sometimes get slowdowns and are willing to do small stuff for me.

EDIT: got it scheduled, will update this page when done….

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

nice. Mine cleared customs this morning and should be delivered in the next 48 hours
Did it come with good instructions John?

 

[JackpotRR]

Edit 08/06/24. I just now got this email from Ford USA: “This item is out of stock with no estimated time of arrival.”

Edit 08/06/24 as per an email with Jake, australianonlinecarparts.com has 9 kits in stock as of this date..

Part number VN1WZ 2627726 B (it is the same P/N here as in Australia).

Please post a link and details such as shipping cost and shipping time - Ford USA cancelled my order without any notice after two months of waiting. There are many Australia sources. The prices listed (including shipping cost) are in Australia dollars, the exchange rate is AUS$1.00 equals US$0.65.

https://www.australianonlinecarparts.com.au/canopy-j-brace-kit-for-ford-vn1wz-2627726-b

EDIT THEY WILL SHIP FOR US$42.32 (to Spokane). I JUST PLACED AN ORDER, COST WAS US$221 TOTAL by Paypal (and no 10% Washington sales tax, that saved half the shipping cost). I did confirm by email that the part was in stock, it might be a good idea to double check with them before ordering.

Add to cart, then you select your country from a long drop down menu. Prices do not convert to US$. You will see that from your payment provider (such as Paypal).

Thanks for any more sources.

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

thanks for the link....just ordered these for my new RR using Paypal from that site......don't need them but want them just to be safe as this truck will be a keeper for many years!

 

[John E Davies]

Did it come with good instructions John?

Yes, a stack of printed pages as shown above, very clear step by step. If they were not in a dozen languages, it would be way more compact. Fortunately the English parts are right at the top of each page. I showed them to my shop, plus several before and after pics from this forum, and my guy said no worries.

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[FossIsleBC]

I received my J Brace kit today, ordered on July 08, received on August 20, it came to my door “Signature Required” by USPS. That was a lot longer than I expected. The part was NOT on the shelf, it had to come from the Ford distributor, which added a week, then there were long delays at each depot. It was not delayed long at US customs though, just a day or two.

Now I just need to locate an installer, hopefully my long time Auto Body Collision Center will do me a favor, if I ask them to work it into their existing jobs. They sometimes get slowdowns and are willing to do small stuff for me.

EDIT: got it scheduled, will update this page when done….

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

For anyone thinking of ordering from Australia as John suggests, can confirm I did and it arrived at my home in Canada today, complete and well packaged. Ordered on 7 August and delivered 21 August, so pretty happy with that.
A big thanks to @John E Davies for tracking this supplier down. I dealt with the same "Jake" he did, and Jake is very responsive and helpful. Pleasant company to deal with, and would do business with them again.

 

[John E Davies]

FYI, pics of the braces up close. They are very complicated, my guess is they wanted to make them extremely rigid in all directions without too much weight. If I were making them, I would just bend up some 1/2” steel plate, and they would weigh 10 pounds each…. These are maybe 2 lbs each, I haven’t weighed one.

John Davies
Spokane WA USA

 

[Blue Ridge Raptor]

I just got a reply from Jake that the braces are in stock and ready to ship. Can someone that ordered from “down under” confirm the correct P/N for the Ranger Raptor is VN1WZ2627726B, not “A”?
Thanks,
Tim

 

[FossIsleBC]

I just got a reply from Jake that the braces are in stock and ready to ship. Can someone that ordered from “down under” confirm the correct P/N for the Ranger Raptor is VN1WZ2627726B, not “A”?
Thanks,
Tim

Correct Tim. Here’s a screenshot from the ford Website with the part number for the Raptor- specific braces

 

[OddEntity]

Has anyone that ordered the braces from Australia had them installed?
I'm wondering if there are any minor differences between the AUS/NA parts.

 

[GR8-Ride]

Has anyone that ordered the braces from Australia had them installed?
I'm wondering if there are any minor differences between the AUS/NA parts.

The Ford P/Ns are identical, so I would be highly surprised if there are any differences between the AU part and the NA part.

I just ordered a set from Australia yesterday, so I'm looking forward to those arriving and getting them installed by the end of September.

 

[JackpotRR]

Has anyone that ordered the braces from Australia had them installed?
I'm wondering if there are any minor differences between the AUS/NA parts.

I just received mine a couple days ago....

Paid Australian Online Car Parts Pty LTD with Visa- $228.27 USD PayPal's Conversion Rate: 1 USD = 1.4223 AUD Converted From: $228.27 USD Converted To: $324.67 AUD This rate includes a currency conversion spread.

This charge will appear on your credit card statement as "PAYPAL *AUSTONLINEC"

Here's what I paid including shipping to Southern California....it only took about a week or so and shipped in an original OEM Ford box. I just called the 2 local Ford dealerships and both of the service dept. have not heard of these or have installed them....I told them the price on the Ford website for install was $224 but wanted their price for installation....I also told them I HAD to buy them out of the country because they're sold out all over the US....which is lame!!.....I hope the dealership that I bought my RR from gives me a good deal on install......waiting to hear back with a price

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