I want to be judicious and fair in writing this review--then I want to qualify my comments and…read moreconclude this review with reason and fairness. First, my most recent experiences were with a CM Tradesman Deluxe replacement bed. Design? Second to none. Welding and fabrication--unrivaled by Bradford or Eby or Knapheid--check spelling since I am not writing about them. Side boxes, headache rack and hauling/towing and quality of workmanship are just amazing and anyone who owns or has owned a CM bed knows this already. So why didn't I give CM 5-stars? Here is why and then I will conclude with reason and fairness. These beds are virtually impossible to repair if needed. The main top plate of the actual bed and box around the gooseneck was thin, warped and when you walked on it, just didn't feel solid. Boxes and latches and hardware all came loose, required constant adjusting and to prevent rattling down the road with each bump, I often had to slam and push on the side boxes to get them to shut tight enough to prevent constant "old truck" rattles and noises. The installer of my bed, lightly under-braced the front brace just under the headache rack and the Interstates which are pretty much negligent in maintenance caused the passenger side to begin to bow which ruined the headache rack lines to cab and window lines--you could see the bed was bent. Purely cosmetic and non-structural but the bed was installed in 2013 on a 09-2012 Ford F-350 Crew Cab 4x4 dually truck with matching Ranch Hand bumper replacement. The truck looked, ran and handled perfectly but the bed, detracted from its looks and at trade-in cost me a low appraisal. The lights needed replacement twice on a 3-1/2 year old truck and the 7-pin trailer wiring was wrong and had to be rewired after sifting through the rat's nest of wires that were left dangling by the faulty Installer. Now with that being written "Faulty Installer" I have qualified my criticisms not of CM the manufacturer, but of CM that lacks a footprint on the East Coast or pretty much anywhere else other than Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. Yes there are CM dealers all over the place, but each location offers wildly varying pricing, may or may not be properly trained in installations necessities and often have NO repair capabilities if an existing bed needs tweaking or re-bracing or any kind of back-end re-working. I just spent a month with my insurance company attempting to repair the bowing slightly, brace on the front of my bed, which would have cost me $9.600.00 to replace and NOT one frame or big rig shop would touch it--just to remove it and assess minor support beam re-supports was over $1800.00 before any new steel was recommended, which made the repair estimate (if you can get a place to even commit to an estimate) a T&M or time and materials open-check requirement. In Texas, I was quoted $6900.00 plus installation of $1200.00. In Maryland I was quoted $8000.00 plus $1800.00 for installation. Now for the conclusion in reason and fairness--here it goes. The CM Warranty is horrendous and contradicts the company's website claiming itself to be the "Industry Leader" in weight and pulling strength, which when you read the warranty contradicts and disqualifies those statements. Why? If CM were so tough and the #1 in load and pulling ratings, then why does it only carry a 1-year warranty applicable not to the vehicle it was installed upon, but only to the original purchaser? This is where in my opinion CM as the manufacturer of the best looking, strongest in class and best priced bed on the market loses its appeal. First the truck is what matters--not the original buyer. The buyer is not lugging the bed on his or her back and they aren't pulling a rickshaw. So the bed warranty should be based on the vehicle, miles and overall use. Secondly, the 1-year warranty is almost a self-inflicted wound, because is simply does not support by qualifications, the depth and scope of CM's quality manufacturing--it actually contradicts it. My bed was only on my truck maybe 3 1/2 years. In that time, running empty and without pulling a trailer the weight of the bed and negligent interstates, just bounced the back end of my Ford truck so violently I could watch the bed hopping around in my rear-view mirror. I cannot blame CM for interstate or political negligence. But I can fault a Warranty that is NOT reflective of the company's own qualifications. Additionally if used car lots are going to offer CM equipped vehicles for sale to the public, the public deserves to know that CM beds are just NOT fixable in comparison to replacement costs. So CM ought to work to expand its foot print to more of America than just the above mentioned states where they are most commonly seen. In my case, I purchased my vehicle from an eBay Seller in South Texas and had 0-recourse after the interstates beat my bed to death during a 8,000 mile trip to look at ranch lands out west.
