Ok heres the deal,this might be sound stupid I have no idea have never done bodywork before.I have my own landscaping company,and I need a perfectly smooth bed for my 07 F250 for unloading rock/dirt etc.It is a royal pain to have all the stuff get caked up in the crevasses and try to clean it.I want to take some bondo and smooth out the whole damn thing,sand it and then get a spray on bedliner.The little depressions in the bed arent really that deep,and cant see why it wouldnt work thats why Im here.

If you guys dont see any problem with doing this,could you recommend a brand to use and any other stuff that might be of help to me?Any idea of how long this would take and how much I would have to spend on materials?I was just gonna pay someone to do it but I dont see any reason to do that if it wont be that hard.

Thanks in advance.

 

It will add significant weight to the car. Body filler (as it's called) is pretty pricey as well. I think it would be pretty easy to lay down a layer of resin and then sand it down without adding as much weight, but it's really a feat in itself to get that done and look right. You may also want to check with the spray on bed liner company you'll be going with, and seeing what they may recommend, and what they can or cannot guarantee. It would be devastating to find out that because of whatever's under it, if it cracks or breaks or whatever, you're not covered.

Another option you may have is to find someone who can fabricate just a layer of sheet metal that can be tack welded and spray over that, or replace the bottom altogether(although i've only seen it done with 16 gauge for show trucks).

I'd still consult the bedliner guys first though.

 

What he said ....

 

I'll third that motion, bondo that thick wouldnt hold up well

 

Yeah I was definitely going to go to the bedliner place first,for the reasons you stated and to make sure it would adhere to the bondo.As for the weight,you really think it will add that much??I mean the depressions in the bed cant be more than 1/4 inch deep,they do run the length of the bed but I cant see it adding enough weight for it to be a problem.I temporarliy have wood covering the bed right now ,but I am going to remove it soon and I will measure all the ruts and see how much depth/area it is all together.

As far as the sheet metal that could be an option,thats a lot of welding though and probably pretty pricey.

Thanks again.

 

Bondo isnt cheap, it would take a lot and they say you can only go 1/4 " thick. I'm just imaging after a year or 2 having a lot of pieces of bondo missing it would really be a PITA to clean out. Body filler is some pretty amazingly strong stuff so it might hold up better than I thought. I think the best way would be lightweigt body filler layer under a spray in liner to give it a tough skin. This would be expensive but probably cheaper than a steel floor

 

Pop rivets or screws ,,you only need enough to hold the sheet in place

 

Ditto, because the spray on should eliminate the minimal gap left between. You will need reinforcement underneath though. They say that it's tough (youtube the video of them blowing up a bed with a drop in and a spray on), but that's without any flex at the bottom side. Not sure what gauge you want to go with, seeing as it will add significant weight but my worry with body filler is that if it cracks below and you cannot see it, then breaks down to powder, there essentially is no support for the spray on bedliner so it may begin to break in small holes/divots.

When i asked around, i was told that you could either contact a fabricator that does direct replacements with utility beds and see if they can fab a bottom for your current bed, or you could have enough spray on material to smooth it out (he said you may have to have a generic form first to "pour" in, then line the rest of the bed with bedliner of choice).

Like i said, your best chances of getting a guaranteed result is by talking to the bedliner guys who do it for a living.