Bed Joint, What to do?

[hotrod1]

The pic is where the front bed mounts to the side. I plan to use tubing to round the corners (BAM inspired) but I am still looking at that lip that comes off the bed side and bolts to the bed front (red arrow). It just looks like an after thought.

Any options or ideas? (I dont want to weld the bed front to the sides.) Pictures of what you have done?

[greystoke]

seems to me the rounded corner would fit up to the point of the lip, the lip is there for the bed front panel to bolt to. Maybe Kabwe can chime in.

[mr48chev]

I'd but the elbow into the seam so that the box could come apart if needed.


Also to allow for a bit of flex room. Every time I have welded things solid on a stepside bed it seems that I end up with cracks near some of the welds due to normal flexing of the bed when the truck negotiates the roads, driveways and entrance of parking lots.

You will have to find the correct radius elbow with the correct diameter tube. I'd check with suppliers of tubing for headers for that. Speedway has a pretty good selection of bends to choose from including this combo one http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Combo-...Inch,4563.html.

[hotrod1]

Thanks for the idea.

The question still remains on how to get rid of that lip (red arrow) and have another way to hold the top of the beds together.

[mr48chev]

You might round it off smoothly or maybe take a bit of the top of it off so that it doesn't show unless you are looking straight down on it.

The other option is to trim that piece down and run the corner tube around to the back tube and weld it in. If the frame is stiff enough you shouldn't have a problem with it.