? For You People With Sheet Metal Beds!

My spring break is fixin to come up, so that means i have time to get all my metal finally welded up....My thinking is that all the welding needs to be done with the bed on the frame (i figured it would not mount right otherwise) does this sounds correct??? Also, I just got my combo in, it is a little oversized..Do u guys just grind it down, plasma torch, or what??

Thanks....Drew...

I built my bed on my cab stand. I framed it on the truck, but welded the floor, sides tailgate and rollpan with it off. Fits just fine.

Edited: 3/2/2008 7:32:46 PM by DraggersDreams

Edited: 3/2/2008 7:31:00 PM by DraggersDreams

Edited: 3/2/2008 7:29:58 PM by DraggersDreams

Here are some pics of a bed im doing for a guys s-10 .. i cut all the factory inside bed out then i made a sub frame out of 1x1 box tube and then made new bed mounts out of 1'' round tube and welded a nut with a washer on the bottom of the tube

Best to do as much welding with your box on the truck and bolted down to keep it straight(providing your frame is straight) If you need to shim it up any you would be best to straighten that out first. As far as your combo skin goes they are made a little on the wide side to compensate for the slight differences in factory beds. You can trim it to the size you need with snips, a grinder with a cutoff wheel or a jigsaw with a fine metal cutting blade on it. Good luck with your project, let us know how it goes.

I tacked everything together while my bed was on the frame so make it sturdy, but took it off to finish welding it up. And I suggest a 36 or 50 grit sanding disk on a 90 grinder to trim the fullskin if its within 1/8" or a cutoff wheel to get it within 1/8". If you do use a sawzall, get a fine tooth blade for 18-22 ga. metal so you dont pull dents in the edges if it kicks back.

I built mine on horses. I also built it so it didn't line up so I could shim it exactly perfect. I also measured the back of the cab and made the front of the bed match it perfectly.

me personally i would weld as much up as you can with on the truck and bolted down. less chance of something moving. but each man has their own idea.

what guage of sheet metal is best ?

what are you using for frame work? i see 1x1 up there but is that what everyone is using?? what wall size 1x1 would you use?

i used 18 ga sheet metal and 1x1x1/8 tube the owner won't be hauling anything in the bed.