Where might these bolts reside, and what are they screwed though? My truck is behaving rather poorly as of late, and I've been smelling gas fumes. I think I need to put a new pump and regulator in my tank. Possibly even replace the tank.

On a truck that's never had the bed removed, or tank removed, would it still be easier to undo these bolts on the bed? I've never set my eyes on these bolts. I'm not sure where they would be.

I'm not afraid of cutting off the tank straps either. I have a car hoist at my disposal if that helps make things easier.

 

Just crawl under your truck and you will see them going up through the frame and into the bed. There are 4 on each side. There will be just a hole on the bottom of the frame rail to stick a socket through and then you will see the bolt heads going through the top rail into the bed. I have done it both ways and this is WAY easier. The last one before this one had a 5th wheel hitch so this method wasn't an option and it was a major PITA! Not only are you wrestling that big tank, but the fuel lines get pulled in directions they weren't meant to be pulled. I ended up breaking one of the ends of the lines and had to remove the entire fuel line to have a new end crimped on. It caused me to have the truck down almost 2 full days. The truck in the picture was back on the road in 3 hours.

You will also have to remove either the hoses from the gas filler (there are 2 - one is a vent) or just unbolt the filler assembly from the bed (easier) and there will be a wiring harness going up to the taillights it is just one plug that needs to be disconnected.