my 99 s 10 bed is rottin out. think im gonna build a flat bed.. im thinkin 1 inch square tube with 1/2 or 3/4 plywood pressure treated deck.. like the truck just dont wanna keep chasin rust.
my 99 s 10 bed is rottin out. think im gonna build a flat bed.. im thinkin 1 inch square tube with 1/2 or 3/4 plywood pressure treated deck.. like the truck just dont wanna keep chasin rust.
1" square? sounds small
my flatbed is 2x4 1/8 thick c channel perimeter with 1.5x2.5 c channel crossmembers and 2x8 decking.
I was going to vote for a "decking" over plywood as well... Water will just pool in the center of a big piece of plywood like that, and it will warp like crazy...
true didnt think of that.
I've seen home made pick-up flat beds constructed entirely of wood. Some of them didn't look half bad...
Can buy a clean/rust free bed from the south for under $500. DUH! If your truck is a popular color you don not even need a scuff n shoot respray.
$169.95 for a bed at my local junkyard... but that does nothing for you up that way
around here I see mostly these home brew beds on old import trucks...
basically a 4x4 or something to cross the frame rails and then some big boards crossing for the flat bed...
saw another one recently that even had fenders and some "mud flaps" made from some super awesome outdoor carpet :)...
Most of the home made boxes I've seen weigh much more than a stock one, so much that the rear end hunkers down and you've used up your payload.
Dan
....
914Driver said it right. Most of the mini truck flatbeds I've seen are waaaay overbuilt. If you have access to a welder, make a square ladder with two supports in the middle. Cover it with expanded metal. The mesh is nice because its mostly air. If you need to haul something requiring a solid floor, then throw on a piece of plywood.
my plan is to build a square outta 1 inch square tube. then attach it to the truck.. its just a lil ole s 10. been pricing expanded.. lil more than i was thinkin but prob gonna go that way. basically a square with 4 cross bars and and third runnin down the middle.. i know hard to picture.. but i think it will come out good.
Not hard at all. That's the exact picture I was thinking in my previous post. 
Don't overlook scrapyards for cheap expanded metal.
914Driver wrote: Most of the home made boxes I've seen weigh much more than a stock one, so much that the rear end hunkers down and you've used up your payload. Dan
as a guy who used to own a wood flatbed toyota.. I agree with this statement.
If you can find a bed in good coniditon, just get it. In the end it'll be cheaper, faster, and allow you to carry more.
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