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Mazda Trucks \ raising the bed floor?raising the bed floor?
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bean
+1y
i was wondering the best and most efficient way to raise the bed floor. i cant decide how i want to do it, by cuting out and raising the actual floor, or sectioning out the space from the top of the wheel well and the top of the bed side.
down2earthdawg
+1y
Edited: 8/5/2006 1:19:19 AM by down2earthdawg
check out my profile we cut the whole floor out cut out the wheel wells put the floor on saw horses then placed the bed shell on top slid it in place and welded it up. A lot of mazda owners just cut the floor out build a fram from 1x1 or 2x2 and lay some 18guage steel. do what you want thats why its called customizing. :SAWZALL:
check out my profile we cut the whole floor out cut out the wheel wells put the floor on saw horses then placed the bed shell on top slid it in place and welded it up. A lot of mazda owners just cut the floor out build a fram from 1x1 or 2x2 and lay some 18guage steel. do what you want thats why its called customizing. :SAWZALL:
onehightoyota
+1y
depends on what kind of vehicle u have..... s-10s and fullsize chebbys are the easiest.. if u have a toyota, and are not a professional, i dont advise you to do anything to it. it takes hundreds of hours to get it like mine. yes it was worth it, would i do it again? only for a customer and to the tune of about $5k it was extremely hard and painstaking.. it is not for a lower skilled person. mazdas are pretty easy too i think.. wanna see how mine is done hit me back. i got pix its just too hard to upload them now
1 LoWfUKn RaM
+1y
Edited: 8/4/2006 10:57:37 PM by 1 LoWfUKn RaM
5k for a raised floor man ur crazy lol notting speacial about ur bed other than its raised and line x on it and 100ds of hours in???
5k for a raised floor man ur crazy lol notting speacial about ur bed other than its raised and line x on it and 100ds of hours in???
doordraggintaco
+1y
damn adam harvey,it sounds like everything is to hard for you..cant load pics,cant raise a bed floor?pretty normal shit..
TwistedMinis
+1y
I raised a friends 5 inches in a weekend. Just spaced the bottom up, and cut it above the fenderwells. I marked the cuts and made him cut it, then welded it up and spread some seam sealer. It was easy.
dssur
+1y
Originally posted by blazedbowtie82
I raised a friends 5 inches in a weekend. Just spaced the bottom up, and cut it above the fenderwells. I marked the cuts and made him cut it, then welded it up and spread some seam sealer. It was easy.
yes. Mazdas are probably even easier than that because we raised mine 9 inches (to cover the suspension) in 4 hours. The only hard part was sectioning the wheel arches, which you wouldnt have to do normally.
The first one I did like that we just cut the whole floor loose on the sides (right above the floor on the side). Put the bed on some sawhorses and make this cut first, you'll want to use an air saw because with a sawzall you'll dent the fook out of the sides.
Just behind the wheelarch we went straight up, and straight over the top of the wheel arch, then straight back down. Keeping the vertical cuts straight means no filler plates. If you unbolt the front panel from the floor and most of the sides but leave the top two bolts in it, you can flip it up out of the way and it will keep the bed from twisting or doing anything weird. In the back corners (at the floor behind the taillights) there is a LOT of structure there that is a real pain in the ass IF you let it bother you. What I did was said screw it, and cut the floor at a 45 degree angle about two inches away from the bed corners. This misses the structure bracing completely. Cut clear across the back at the flat part just behind where the floor ribs stop. Its a good idea to leave like two inches uncut on each corner so you can control when each side drops. In the wheel wells from underneath, cut the supports that go from the wheel arch to the floor, and from the fender edge to the floor. You'll spend a good 45 minutes taking out the inner fender liners, the go all the way along the bottom underneath. Before you raise the floor up, Cut 4 2x4's the exact depth you want your new floor to be. Put them in the corners of the floor under the bed rails. Then cut out above the wheel arches the amount of the drop. With a friend or three, cut the last parts that are holding it together, and slide the bed down till the 2x4s hit the floor and the bed rail. If you want a standard raised floor, you can just drop the sides till the bed rail sits on the wheel arches, and forget about the 2x4's.
You dont have to section anything out of the sides except above the wheels like I said above. Leaving the sides intact and sliding the floor up does two things, first, it makes it super easy to weld back together because it overlaps, not butts, and second it keeps the bed sides strong.
You'll need a small filler plate behind the wheel arches because the bedside is concave up higher. You cant weld across the top of the wheelarch but you can get it from the back with some seam sealer so at least you dont have rain and grit pouring through the top while you drive.
Make a filler for the back, extend the fender to floor mounts, weld it all up and seam seal it. Drill some holes in the front panel and bolt it back to the floor (there is a lip that will need cut off but thats easy)
I know I left stuff out, but thats a pretty good primer. Just do it. Its just metal.
I raised a friends 5 inches in a weekend. Just spaced the bottom up, and cut it above the fenderwells. I marked the cuts and made him cut it, then welded it up and spread some seam sealer. It was easy.
yes. Mazdas are probably even easier than that because we raised mine 9 inches (to cover the suspension) in 4 hours. The only hard part was sectioning the wheel arches, which you wouldnt have to do normally.
The first one I did like that we just cut the whole floor loose on the sides (right above the floor on the side). Put the bed on some sawhorses and make this cut first, you'll want to use an air saw because with a sawzall you'll dent the fook out of the sides.
Just behind the wheelarch we went straight up, and straight over the top of the wheel arch, then straight back down. Keeping the vertical cuts straight means no filler plates. If you unbolt the front panel from the floor and most of the sides but leave the top two bolts in it, you can flip it up out of the way and it will keep the bed from twisting or doing anything weird. In the back corners (at the floor behind the taillights) there is a LOT of structure there that is a real pain in the ass IF you let it bother you. What I did was said screw it, and cut the floor at a 45 degree angle about two inches away from the bed corners. This misses the structure bracing completely. Cut clear across the back at the flat part just behind where the floor ribs stop. Its a good idea to leave like two inches uncut on each corner so you can control when each side drops. In the wheel wells from underneath, cut the supports that go from the wheel arch to the floor, and from the fender edge to the floor. You'll spend a good 45 minutes taking out the inner fender liners, the go all the way along the bottom underneath. Before you raise the floor up, Cut 4 2x4's the exact depth you want your new floor to be. Put them in the corners of the floor under the bed rails. Then cut out above the wheel arches the amount of the drop. With a friend or three, cut the last parts that are holding it together, and slide the bed down till the 2x4s hit the floor and the bed rail. If you want a standard raised floor, you can just drop the sides till the bed rail sits on the wheel arches, and forget about the 2x4's.
You dont have to section anything out of the sides except above the wheels like I said above. Leaving the sides intact and sliding the floor up does two things, first, it makes it super easy to weld back together because it overlaps, not butts, and second it keeps the bed sides strong.
You'll need a small filler plate behind the wheel arches because the bedside is concave up higher. You cant weld across the top of the wheelarch but you can get it from the back with some seam sealer so at least you dont have rain and grit pouring through the top while you drive.
Make a filler for the back, extend the fender to floor mounts, weld it all up and seam seal it. Drill some holes in the front panel and bolt it back to the floor (there is a lip that will need cut off but thats easy)
I know I left stuff out, but thats a pretty good primer. Just do it. Its just metal.