Removing wood bed & installing steel?

[ianjenkins]

Is it possible to install a steel bed after a wood bed has been removed? I like the look of a wood bed but it isn't very functional for hauling. I'd like to install a steel floor and shoot it with linex or rino bed lining.

Has anyone done this? Do you have some pictures.

By the way, I removed the wood bed last night. I found the best way to get the bolts off was to tighten them down with an air ratchet until they snapped off. They wouldn't loosen up with all the rust on em. The bolts that stripped or spun in the socket had to be ground off. I went through an entire wheel by the end of the night.

[Longhorn Man]

Do install a stock type floor, you'd also have to replace the front wall too. Other than that, it is all good. Many people go from steel to wood.

How is a wooden floor not very functional for hauling?

[Class of 69]

You will need to remove all the wood floor crossmembers also, as the steel floor has them attached, as well as the rear most sill is different. I am changing from steel to wood, and just bought a wood floor box to restore the wood in, rather than change every thing but the sides! Where are you located? I will be selling my complete, rust free but dented ,LWB steel floor box later this summer. I plan on useing my wood floor box in my tree, and brush removal business, and have no doubts about the wood floor holding up. I will be installing the original southern yellow pine wood in mine to save cost, and concern for damage. The wood is very dense, and hard.

[Longhorn Man]

69, thanks for correcting me. I was under the impression it was just the front wall. ^5

[wxman1]

My metal bed is rusty and wavy and needs
to be replaced. I was told by someone
that had done the conversion that the
only pieces that you HAD to change were
the front wall and the wheel tubs. From
one of the previous posts it seems you
have to change nearly everything?

Jim M.
Mt Juliet,TN

[1971 Cheyenne]

I'm pretty sue of the fact that you don't have to change the wheel tubs??? I do know though that you have to get wood bed crossmembers as it was said before that the steel bed corssmembers are attached to the floor. So am i right in assuming that when you change over to wood, you have to get the wood, the steel strips, the wood bed crossmembers, and the wood bed front panel?

I'm pretty sure that i read somewhere that you can reuse the bedsides, the wheel tubs, and the tailgate.


someone please tell me if i am totally i am totally wrong.

[Riveted1]

Back to the original question, what needs to be changed out to go from a wood floor to steel? It wasn't very clear to me.....

[neonlarry]

I did it on mine, it was a big job, but not really hard. You will need a new front panel (or make a spacer for it like I did) and you will need to replace the splash shields that go at the back of the wheel opening. You will have to completely disasemble the bed to do the swap. You pretty much just take the whole thing apart, and bolt the sides, wheel wells, and the front panel to the wood floor. So again, you will need a front panel, a metal floor, and the splash shields to do the job. Most lwb beds have at least 1 side damaged beyond repair, so if you are thinking about buying a whole new bed, you will probaby have to take it apart anyway. I had to rpelace one of my bedsides anyway, so that is part of why I did it the way I did.

[neonlarry]

One thing I forget, when you take the bed off, DO NOT put it on sawhorses. I found out the hard way. lol At least it didn't really hurt anything, too bad, but it still wasnt fun.

[Longhorn Man]

I'm almost afraid to ask....
What happened?

[Richard Dobson]

I have just disassembled a steel bed to put in a wood floor. The steel floor has all the cross sills welded to it escept the rear sill is a stand alone unit for a steel bed and is different from a wood one due to the fact that the wood is 3/4 thick. You will need a rear sill for a steel floor. The tubs are O.K. The front bed panel is different also, you'll need one for a steel floor. There will be minor hardware (screws, etc.) changes. The large offset washers are no longer needed. I preassembled the wood bed upside down on my garage floor with the bedslides resting on padded 2X4's. This is not be the proper method for a steel floor due to the weight. You may want to put the steel floor on saw horses and put the bedsides on in the upright position making sure to have extra help to insure that everything stays stable. Make sure that everything is squared up, check for squareness from bedsides to the floor bottom, measure from bedside to bedside in a X pattern at the stake pockets to insure squareness. I would pre fit everything first if you are going to apply fresh paint.