Looking for advice - wood bed 63 C20

[Asshat]

I pulled all the rails from the bed, in the process of doing the brakes. I’m not sure how far to finish the inside of the bed and how to go about it. The truck will not be painted for some time, so it’s going to remain with the patina finish.

I thought about wire brushing everything inside the bed, especially the rusty areas, then spraying with rust inhibitor. Maybe even giving the whole inside a coat of primer and white paint. I plan on getting a wood kit, but I have never done one of these beds before - not sure what I am getting myself into.

Would like some input from the experts. Might be a good time to replace the brake lines too.

Pretty sure I won’t be able to drive the truck without putting in the bed first.

[cwcarpenter98]

I would not recommend driving it without the bed wood. The bed wood acts like a spacer where it goes under the mounting flanges of the bed sides. I had a steel plate over the rotted out bed wood of my truck. The bed sides were extremely loose and shook all over the place until I replaced the wood.

For all the parts under the bed, if you wanted to, you could knock off the loose rust and spray it with some rust reformer. That's what I have been doing on some of my front sheet metal pieces until I strip the truck down completely for a full restoration. If you are leaving the outside of the bed as is, I would leave the visible parts of the inside as is. The parts that are not visible with the bed installed could be cleaned up and painted if desired.

If you are getting a wood bed kit, make sure you use an appropriate stain and or sealer to protect the wood. I basically just used a stain, so now 3 years later I need to re-stain it and actually seal it this time. The underside of the wood looks great still! Also, lay out the wood before you start bolting it down and make sure you know which board goes where. Might be easier for you to get new bed strips if yours are rusted. Mine have some rust issues, so I'll be getting new strips for it eventually

[jayoldschool]

Make your own wood, it's easy. Order new strips and bolts. Cross sills: pull them all and paint them with rust paint. I've done two beds, both off the truck. One flat and one standing up. It's easier to put together standing up. However, you need at least four guys to lift the finished bed onto the truck. The one I did flat, I simply left out the two center boards and used my engine hoist to lift it back in place. I'd still do another one standing up. Saves SO much time on the bolts.

[Asshat]

Originally Posted by jayoldschool

Make your own wood, it's easy. Order new strips and bolts. Cross sills: pull them all and paint them with rust paint. I've done two beds, both off the truck. One flat and one standing up. It's easier to put together standing up. However, you need at least four guys to lift the finished bed onto the truck. The one I did flat, I simply left out the two center boards and used my engine hoist to lift it back in place. I'd still do another one standing up. Saves SO much time on the bolts.

Any idea where to find the dimensions for all the boards?
What size board do I need to purchase?

Found this:
https://gmcpauls.com/47-72_BedWood_Info.htm

[roll_the_dice]

Originally Posted by Asshat

Any idea where to find the dimensions for all the boards?
What size board do I need to purchase?

Found this:
https://gmcpauls.com/47-72_BedWood_Info.htm

I am using the site you referenced...but it is also here about halfway down the first page I believe in the FAQ.

[The Rocknrod]

It shows the thickness on this page: https://gmcpauls.com/47-72_BedWood_Info.htm

[AcampoDave]

If you haul stuff and are looking for a more economical alternative....exterior grade plywood and paint make for a pretty tough bed.

[Asshat]

Is it really worth it to buy the wood and router it? Seems like it would still cost $300.

[Asshat]

Does the wood go under this area at the side of the bed?

[cwcarpenter98]

Yes, it does go under that area. It also goes under the wheel tub flanges and under the front flange of the bed sides. The wood sits above the header panel flange. If you are going to go with a wood kit, spend the money on a good, quality kit. I replaced mine with some cheaper stuff that I cut and routed myself, but if I were to buy a kit, it would be from Mar-K

[Asshat]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

Yes, it does go under that area. It also goes under the wheel tub flanges and under the front flange of the bed sides. The wood sits above the header panel flange. If you are going to go with a wood kit, spend the money on a good, quality kit. I replaced mine with some cheaper stuff that I cut and routed myself, but if I were to buy a kit, it would be from Mar-K

So that means I need to lift the bed, correct?

That’s probably what I’ll do, it’s just expensive. Wish there’s was a cheaper way to go.

[cwcarpenter98]

I was able to get the wood under the flanges without lifting the bed off the frame. I probably scratched up the wood some doing it that way though.

The cheapest route is doing everything yourself if you have all the woodworking tools to make it look factory

[Asshat]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

I was able to get the wood under the flanges without lifting the bed off the frame. I probably scratched up the wood some doing it that way though.

The cheapest route is doing everything yourself if you have all the woodworking tools to make it look factory

I am definitely not a carpenter, and I don’t have any woodworking tools. I’m probably better off going to MAR-K.

[jayoldschool]

You know someone that can help you. Everyone does. First set I did for me, made every cut on a radial arm saw in my neighbour's basement. Second set, did all the cuts on a table saw at the school shop. You don't need to router anything. Cut to length, cut to width, make the slot, cut the space next to the slot to height.



Second one I did:

[Asshat]

Originally Posted by jayoldschool

You know someone that can help you. Everyone does. First set I did for me, made every cut on a radial arm saw in my neighbour's basement. Second set, did all the cuts on a table saw at the school shop. You don't need to router anything. Cut to length, cut to width, make the slot, cut the space next to the slot to height.



Second one I did:

Looks nice!
What wood did you buy? Do you have a list?
I heard that having very flat boards and cutting everything precisely is important, otherwise you’ll have problems lining everything up.

[jayoldschool]

That was raw hickory from the sawmill. Planed to thickness. It was pretty heavy lifting that bed! First one I did was my truck that sits outside, I used TREX fascia boards. Perfect OEM thickness.

No list needed, you have all the info right there on GMC Paul's, that's the dimensions I used both times.

[Asshat]

Originally Posted by jayoldschool

That was raw hickory from the sawmill. Planed to thickness. It was pretty heavy lifting that bed! First one I did was my truck that sits outside, I used TREX fascia boards. Perfect OEM thickness.

No list needed, you have all the info right there on GMC Paul's, that's the dimensions I used both times.

OK - I made a Word-doc of that page, so I could format it to fit two pages printed. I can send that to anyone that interested.

Questions:

1. Would I need to have all the boards planed?

2. Any comments on this? Is it better to have the wear strips slightly higher?
The shallower the inside groove is, the higher the wear strips will ride above the bed wood. Originally, the top protrusions of the wear strips were just slightly higher than the bed wood. Some prefer to alter this dimension to raise or lower.

3. Is this critical? Has anyone done this; some pics of how it would look?
We also highly recommend that you add a groove running every 1' of board length from the C dimension to the outside edge of the D dimension allowing for the flow of water off the inset groove to allow trapped water in the groove easier drainage than only at ends of boards to greatly preserve the life of the boards.

[Asshat]

Originally Posted by jayoldschool

Make your own wood, it's easy. Order new strips and bolts. Cross sills: pull them all and paint them with rust paint. I've done two beds, both off the truck. One flat and one standing up. It's easier to put together standing up. However, you need at least four guys to lift the finished bed onto the truck. The one I did flat, I simply left out the two center boards and used my engine hoist to lift it back in place. I'd still do another one standing up. Saves SO much time on the bolts.

What did you mean by this?
The one I did flat, I simply left out the two center boards and used my engine hoist to lift it back in place.

Can I just set the bed on four jack stands with boards underneath?

I measured my bed and it looks like the board lengths should be 1/4” longer.

For the holes, are there dimensions? How do you get all these correct? Just use the metal strip as a guide?

[Asshat]

Seems the only way to go is with Pine, it is most economical. Each 10' piece is about $16.00; That's $160 just for the wood materials.

Red Oak is $4.11 per foot; that comes out to $411.00 for the lumber. In this case, I would be better off buying the Oak kit from one of the retailers.

The guy at Ganahl Lumber said the Poplar and Cherry is not stain grade, it is paint grade. And he did not recommend staining the Pine, since it has a wax coating.

Where do you guys get your lumber?

[cwcarpenter98]

I ended up getting mine from HomeDepot, but next time, I'll go to a higher quality lumber yard. Getting quality wood is key for a smooth floor. Some of my boards are a little warped and there's some knots visible in the wood

[Asshat]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

I ended up getting mine from HomeDepot, but next time, I'll go to a higher quality lumber yard. Getting quality wood is key for a smooth floor. Some of my boards are a little warped and there's some knots visible in the wood

I just saw some Whitewood at Home Depot; this is Pine, right?
It’s got a lot of knots, but that adds character.

Are there holes drilled in any of the boards?

[cwcarpenter98]

I think that's what I ended up getting. I won't be using it again for a bed though.

Yes, there are holes that you will have to drill

[Asshat]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

I think that's what I ended up getting. I won't be using it again for a bed though.

Yes, there are holes that you will have to drill

The website did not show the location for these holes. Is there a document that shows the location for these?

[cwcarpenter98]

I just stuck the wood under the bed flanges and drilled the holes. You'll want a right angle drill attachment to do it that way though.
I'm not sure on the holes that go from the wood to the frame. The previous owner mounted my bed without using those bolts, and I didn't change it. I think it looks better that way anyways

[jayoldschool]

The only holes in the wood are around the edge of the bed, the wheel tubs, and the bed mounting bolts. All the other bolts go through the strips, which are in the gaps between the boards. For the holes on the perimeter, you slide the board in, mark the holes with a Sharpie, remove, drill, bolt in place. You install the wheel tubs last. Boards are in already. Drop on the tub, mark, remove tub, drill (and jigsaw the outline of the inner tub). Bed hold down bolts: mark and drill from the bottom once the bed is in place.

Yes, get wood from an actual lumber place, not a home depot.

This is the first one I did (my truck). Trex, and on big jack stands. More work crawling underneath to do the bolts.

The four side boards in front and back of the tubs go in first. These set the height of the bed, and lock all the cross sills in place. Once you do this, it's simply dropping in the boards, putting on the strips, and bolts bolts bolts.


You can see that side boards are bolted in, strips still to go in here.



Note the gaps between the boards, you can just see the bolt holes in the cross members:



Strips in. Note no strips on the middle two boards so I can remove them, use a strap and my engine hoist to lift the bed on the truck. Once on the truck, bolt down the strips, drill the holes in the boards for the big bolts, done!



Finished product:



If you're building a truck that will be garaged, and the bed won't see rough work, nice stained wood looks great. If your truck will be outside, and working, don't bother with expensive wood/stain. You can see the two very different ones I built, both are nice, both are for different purposes.