47-55.1 Bed/tailgate finish questions

[8man]

Talking to a painter yesterday and he said I needed to do 3 things to the bed.

1. Since I'm putting lights in the roll in back, he said I need to cap the fronts and the ends of the tailgate. Is there a weld in cap that someone makes or do I just make some?

2. There is a gap between the stake pocket and the roll at the top of the bed side. He said to fill it by welding in some metal to make them solid. Is this something useful?

3. On the tailgate, on the outside, they roll the metal over toward the outside and spot weld it. This leaves a small line where he says the paint will crack. He said to weld up the gap and finish it off so it won't ever be a problem. Is there some validity to that?

Thanks.

[mr48chev]

I'd have to see the particular roll pan you are running. Then we wake Martin up and get his opinion.

I'd bet that 85% of the guys on here who have roll pans do not have a panel on the back side to box them in. I see his point as that might be a spot that catches road crud that might be kicked up or mud or water if you drive it in the wet. Good sealed tail light housings should survive fine though.

Capping the ends may be just a suggestion to give it more fit and finish and in the end turn out a nicer looking job. Same with the tail gate. A bit of welding and slicking it off might go a long way on the fit and finish end.

[8man]

Thanks Mr48. Now to make some round patches.

The "bed roll" I was talking about is the roll at the top of the bed. Where the bed pocket runs up the outside of the bedside and it spot welded on, at the top it stops short of the bed roll. This is where he was suggesting I weld up the gap.

The other "seam" is on the outside of the tailgate. Where they rolled the steel over and spot welded it back to itself to make the roll for the hinges or at the top for the rounded top. He was suggesting I weld those two seams solid.

[NorCalGal]

I think on the tailgate seam he’s trying to have you weld up the ends to try and keep moisture from getting into the seam and rusting. That’s a hard call, sometimes the lack of air flow can sometimes cause things to stay moist and rust too.
I think with the gap on the bed pockets to the bed roll maybe he’s concerned about strength or stability of the roll.