I'll get Ed to look at it when I get to work, but I think these other guys are pretty right on the money. The curve between the top rail and the bed side is gonna be the hardest.

 

That's pretty much the idea, just weld on several and work slowly so as not to stretch the metal even worse than it already is. One trick is to grind one side of the washer flat so that you have more area to weld and spread the pulling area somewhat. I think as you pull the side out, most of the top rail will fall back into place.

 

Thanks for the offer Mudder. I really appreciate the input gentlemen. Do I try to pull the worst part out first or should I start with the "less dented" part and work my way to the "worst dented"? I am just wondering if, by starting on the less dented part and pulling it out will that automatically pull some of the worst dented part out, if that makes any sense. Will that make the worst dented part easier to pull out? Should I ONLY use a slide hammer or should I try to work 2 washers at the same time, 1 with some sort of constant pressure like say a come-a-long and the other with a slide hammer? I really appreciate your advice, help, and guidance gentlemen, thank you for sharing your knowledge with me and others.

 

Ed's suggestion was to use a clamp and a come along. He says with the bend in there, the slide hammer won't be big enough to take a lot of the dent out(what with this being a truck with real steel in it and not the recycled, watered down Bud cans the newer trucks are made of).
Bring it on up after you talk to your neighbor, we'll be glad to straighten it out for you.

 

Thanks Wally, you mean like a C clamp or what kind of clamp please? This is the truck I have to build the engine for so I'm not sure it'll make the trip unless I haul it on my trailer LOL. Also can you tell me how to remove the thin black trim that's just below the dent? Thank you I really appreciate it.

 

What he's talking about is welding a piece to the body, longer than just a washer or two, say 4-5", about 1/8" plate. Then he's got a special clamp that he would hook to it, designed just for this. Apparently, the harder you pull, the tighter this thing grips.

I would think you could use a taller piece(say 4" square, maybe)of 1/8" plate, with a hole big enough to get the come-along hook through. Then, again, I'm not a body guy, my expertese is really the mechanical end of the business.
Ed's main concern seemed to be to spread the force of the pull out to a bigger area than just a washer. Seemed to think you'd rip the washers away from the metal by the time you got enough force there to move the bed side.

 

You want to start with the outside edges of the dent and work in. This way as you move in, it is slowly pulling the deeper part of the dent out.

 

edit - wow I really need to get on the coffee this morning.. first I post in the wrong thread, then I post a new reply instead of editing this one

 

I'm all for being neighborly and trying to fix it yourself, but ultimately your neighbor should be responsible for having a body man pull that out....just my .02

 

Thanks Mudder that's what I was thinking, makes sense to me.
Thanks Wally I think I know the type of clamp Ed is talking about. They use them at steel sales places to pick up and move sheets of steel with an over head crane. I don't have one but I think your idea of the wider plate with the hole(s) in it will work. The advantage I see to the clamp is you can move the pulling point to any specific spot you want to where as with the holes you are limited to their location only. I do have a huge C clamp that has 4800 lbs of squeeze at 6 inches of jaw width or less. The adjustable jaw slides up and down a rail then once it is where you need it you can tighten it. I'm not sure exactly how to knock the top rail back into place once I start pulling the dent out. I have an 18 inch piece of 2 inch square solid steel I can lay on it and hit it with about a 3 lb shop hammer or would I be better off with say a piece of 2X4? I am also wondering what kind of sander I need to buy to work this with? I had an old cheap orbital sander that petered out on me so I chunked it. Do I need another orbital sander or is there a better type on the market now? What brand should I look at, I have other projects I want to do so I would like to get one that will last a little while. I was going to start learning on an old 8N Ford tractor but as you can see fate has dictated I start on a truck bed LOL. I am guessing I should do the fill in work with bondo and not fiberglass?? Can anyone tell me how to remove the piece of trim that runs along the bed just under the dent, it's only about an inch wide? Gentlemen I really appreciate you help, guidance, and input. This is starting to come together in my head and for me that's half the battle, thank you.

Tojoski that also qualifies as a Real Pi%%er......in more ways that one LOL.

 

That's very true tojoski and I agree with you 100%. I do have an ulterior motive or a method to my madness. I figure to get some estimates from a body shop and give them to him. Hopefully I will get the money either from him or his insurance company. HOPEFULLY if it's insurance money it will be in my name only.....HOPEFULLY. If this happens I will take the money and buy me a nice sander and spray gun and other tools as well as the materials I need to fix this dent with. If that doesn't work and the insurance company makes the check out to me and the body shop then I suppose I'll have the body shop fix it and be done with it. The way I see it it's my money to spend as I see fit and I would rather have the tools so I can use them in the future plus the knowledge on how to fix this kind of stuff.

Give a man a fish you feed him for a day.....teach him how to fish and you feed him for a life time.

Plus I need a new wind shield. Tuesday morning I found 7 "rock" dings in my wind shield. I can't prove it but I know the neighborhood brats did it with rocks. I've had trouble before with them throwing rocks at my dog, she's in a 6 foot chain link fence and can't get to them but she barks at them. They know she can't get to them so they aggravate her. I've gotten on their butt about it and talked to their parents for all the good it did, so I really feel they did it just out of meanness. They almost burned my horse trailer up once shooting bottle rockets at my dogs and caught the grass on fire under the trailer, had to get the fire department out for that one. Sorry guys I'll get off my soap box LOL. But I do agree with you tojoski, it's just that I do have a method to my madness LOL. Thanks again for your input.