Looking to get some feedback, I don't know much about bodywork.

I've had a dent in the rear right of my bed for some time from an impact that happened before I bought my truck. Never really bothered me too much until now.

The dent pushed the left tailgate pivot hinge outward out of alignment so I believe this has caused the tailgate to not latch on one side. This has become ant annoyance now that I want to put my canopy on for camping trips, since the right side of my tailgate sticks out and hits the canopy door.


Damage on drivers side corner.

Passenger side tailgate.

Driver side tailgate.

IF going for a repair, I'd be fine with function over 100% repair. So, if it's possible to get it to to the point where my tailgate is lined back up then I'll take it. I think if the tailgate pivot hinge was lined back up this would be "fixed".

It looks like access behind the dent is pretty limited. So not so easy to punch out from the back. What about a stud welder and pulling with a come-along? I think I could get away with spending about $250 in tools for this attempt.



Replacement would mean sourcing a short bed. Possibly just finding a parts truck and swapping over to dual tanks with the bed? (dual tank bends seem much more common than singles). I have seen short beds for sale for around $350, then I would have to teach myself to paint etc etc.

What about having a body shop pull this out for me and I handle the rest? I'd probably just rattle can the area for now, once the metal work is done. Would this end up costing me more than it's worth?

 

Kinda hard to tell from the pics but, assuming what you are saying is correct, IMHO, if you are going to do the paint yourself, I think I would visit a frame shop... for the $250 you're going to spend, IMHO that would be in the range of what a frame shop would charge to pull that out and then you could finish it up.

 

a short bed for a 90's truck is usually in the 2500 dollar range.............if you can find a clean one.
that is an easy repair with the proper tools.

 

Thanks for the feedback so far. Easy repair with proper tools sounds like good news.

Wow 2500!? I was way off. Are short beds the same between 90s SWB trucks like mine and extended cab short bed trucks? I think they are 6ft 7in?

I can post some more pictures if it is helpful, but if a shop sheet metal repair is in the 250-500$ range I don't mind learning how to patch up the paint myself. at all The truck itself was repainted at some point in it's life and the rest of the body is not perfect.

 

if i still had my body tools i could most likely knock that out paint ready without bondo within 1 hour.
without taking the body off either. it can be accessed from underneath fairly easy.

 

I'm not sure of any frame repair equipped autobody shops near me, but I do know a couple non-chain body shops near me. Is there anything I should know or ask for when I bring the truck in to them?

 

just ask them to knock the dent out so the tailgate will close and latch properly.
how it looks after is up to you. they can make it new car smooth as glass, or old beater truck functional.

 

got it! Thanks for the advice. I'll post pictures of the result.

 

Found a shop with a frame machine near my office!





Ended up being cheaper than I thought by about 50$. They told me the bed should salvageable if I ever wanted to fully repair it 100%. They pulled it out pretty good and got the tailgate gaps good, and it shuts evenly now! I'm really happy. Thanks for the advice all.

 

A good body guy can make that disappear. Unless you plan on doing a lot of body work, buy a used gun use it and sell it.

a good bed is gonna run 2k easy for that year. And it’s gonna need work