Patent ID: 7857352

Claim:
A system for installing a vehicle-body accessory on a corresponding vehicle body, the system comprising: a vehicle-body accessory having a first outer side configured to generally face away from the corresponding vehicle body and a second inner side configured to generally face toward the corresponding vehicle body; and an intermediate structural member having a first outer side configured to generally face and compliment at least a portion of the second inner side of the vehicle-body accessory and a second inner side configured to generally face and compliment a portion of the corresponding vehicle body, wherein one of the first outer side of the intermediate structural member and the second inner side of the intermediate structural member includes a plurality of discrete projections, each projection having a support surface, wherein the support surfaces of one or more subsets of the plurality of discrete projections generally lie within a common plane and are positioned to compliment one of the second inner side of the vehicle-body accessory and the portion of the corresponding vehicle body.