How difficult are cab corners and rockers to fix?

Like most of us, I spend a lot of time on Craig's looking, without the capital to buy right now. And I know easy button/what will most likely happen, is that I'll post here asking people not in the rust belt to track down a truck for me(for a finders fee of course) and do a fly and drive.

That said, locally, there are a metric ton of trucks available relatively cheap because of rusted out cab corners and or rocker panels.

How hard are these really to fix? I've heard of kits available for some applications, but is it as easy as cutting out the old and welding in new metal? Or is a little craziness in order, like taking the cab off of the frame?

I'm not a huge fan of body work, but if a few days with a welder and grinder would make a truck inspection proof again, it's worth looking at. Could probably make a mint fixing and flipping them actually.

I think every Chevrolet in Chicago eventually needs them. The bed is in the way of the cap piece you buy so it becomes tricky to fix but I've had friends do a "quick" job so it looks good for a short time.

Done rockers on f150s. First time it was two full days. The second time about a day and a half. Nothing hard just takes time to get things apart. A spot weld drill is worth the $$$$

This does not include paint

Yeah, cab corners are tough because of the bed. Npne of this is tough. Just time consuming.

markwemple wrote: Yeah, cab corners are tough because of the bed. Npne of this is tough. Just time consuming.

Pay even less for one with a trashed bed, drop it at the j/y for scrap & use the $$ to get some wood to build your own - after fixing the cab corners while you have access.

beds haven't been that bad to get off and on for me, but I've only done 3. My s10 twice and a 96 F250.

Looking at it, it doesn't seem like that bad of a job, but as I've learned even more in my time here, looks can be deceiving, and you guys really know your E36 M3.

We'll eventually be doing the cab corners on the F250 so I guess I'll really learn then, but I was just hoping to get some opinions. Every truck under 5 grand has them just rotted away out here, barring them from passing inspection yet still commanding a truck premium price. I'd rather buy southern or western for personal use, but just seeing so many has me thinking about repairing them myself.

One issue in the older gm products was that the cab corners were sort of tied to the pocket in the back of the cab where it mounted to the frame. If you catch it early enough it's non structural and easy enough but let it go too far and it's a big job and it is really tough to tell going in just how bad it is.

I work at a body shop (administrative). Tell me the year/brand of truck and I will tell you where it is rotted out. They are all junk. This is why I own a 1993 F150 imported from Tennessee.

F150 rockers: you can buy slip-on rockers but they really don't solve the problem. The aftermarket makes weld-on ones also (Ford never did; you had to buy the entire door aperture). Have to take the fenders off most of the time and removing the doors makes it a lot easier. If the bed is rotting along the lower sides I'd pass as the rest of the truck is probably getting horrible too.

Chevy: same as above but with the added bonus of cab corners which require the bed to be removed to do correctly.

Ford Super-Duty: cabs generally don't rust but the beds are complete junk. The cross sills rot and by the time you notice its usually too late and the floor has started to go too. They ALL rust over the rear wheels. Don't buy the wheel arch patches unless you really don't care how it will look because they are next to impossible to make look good. "I'll just get another bed". No you won't, they don't exist. All of them are rotten and Ford no longer makes replacements. HOWEVER, the 2011 and up bed will bolt right on. Body lines match up and the tail lights even swap in. The wheel arch contour is slightly different but no one notices.

All Fords will require new bed bolts (NAPA sells a handy kit) as they will be seized into the clips on the frame and you will have to cut them off. Hours of fun!

Dodges: we don't see as many of those with structural problems. Usually the bottoms of the doors disappear and the bed sides blow through. Front fenders on the older ones are garbage.

All of them suffer from brake and fuel lines that rust and burst.