Methods and apparatus for supporting vehicle components

A vehicle assembly for use with a vehicle that includes a cargo compartment, the vehicle assembly comprising:

• an assembly of vehicle components that are exposed to an exterior of the vehicle, the assembly of vehicle components including a tail light, a tail light cover, and a fender;
• a bed bottom that defines a bottom surface of the vehicle cargo compartment;
• a pair of bed sidewalls that are disposed at opposite sides of the bed bottom, one of the bed sidewalls including a support section that defines a first aperture that is disposed to be contiguous with a corresponding second aperture defined in the tail light cover;
• and
• connectors that directly connect each of the fender, tail light, and tail light cover to one of the bed sidewalls, the connectors including a first connector that extends through the first and second apertures to thereby directly connect the one bed sidewall to the tail light cover.

A method of assembling a vehicle bed system for use with a vehicle that includes a cargo compartment, a tail light, a tail light cover, and a fender, the method comprising:

• defining a bottom surface of the vehicle cargo compartment with a bed bottom;
• disposing a pair of bed sidewalls at opposite sides of the bed bottom;
• defining a first aperture with a support section of one of the bed sidewalls;
• defining a corresponding second aperture in the tail light cover;
• disposing the second aperture to be contiguous with the first aperture;
• and
• directly connecting each of the fender, tail light, and tail light cover to one of the bed sidewalls by extending a first connector through the first and second apertures.