Took a pic of the bolt that the latch latches to and the plate that the bolts thread into. The bolt isn't even half inch probably 3/8. If there is any confusion you can still use the arms with the bed bolted down you just can't dump the entire bed. Plate, the two holes on the side of the big one are the nuts the bolts go in to, you can see the manual latch in front of the hole for the ball: 
Rust spot in the middle of that pipe is where the manual latch makes contact: 
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What is the best bale bed for the money?
