[Cynical]

The arms are mainly to support the bed when it is extended. The bolt and washer stack up ride in the channel so the arms automatically extend with the bed. If the bolt were to come out, it would not keep you from opening or closing, you would just have to move the arm manually. I personally would not sleep on the bed without the arm being attached, but that is just me not wanting to risk ending up on the ground at 3 AM.


My 2001 currently does not have any plastic side pieces to keep the bolt in place, but they stay in the groove just fine. The plastic is just there to keep the bed from "lifting" up off the arms easily. I did order the strips and plan to install at some point, but right now, I can easily lift the bed up off the arms allowing me access to make some repairs without having to pull the whole bed frame out.


Hope that helps some and you can figure out what is going on. It also helps to lube up all pivot points of the arms, the bed rails, and make sure you pull/push the bed as straight as possible if it seems tight.