I am interested in finding the dimensions for '77 Long Flareside bed wood. I know there are kits from $400-900+. I want to make it myself. I have been looking for the dimensions and routing, etc.

Does anyone in the group have these details or know where I can find them?

Thank you,
Gerry

 

Sorry tried to copy and paste a pdf about wood. Didn't work.

 

Hey Flare,
Home made beds are a great project.
Takes a lot of time and forethought but the end result is very satisfying.
Attached is a pic of my homemade bed in my 79 250 flare.
1" x 10 x 10 +/- rough sawn white oak with 2 x 1/4 flat steel as the runners. I did not have plans or measurements, just built as an idea.
Alex

 

pm me your email and I think I can share the pdf with you. can't seem to get it pasted on here.

 

BOY,, I must be missing something on this thread.
If you have the truck, you have tape measure, why do would you need a PDF?? you have the measurements????
It is really not that complicated to lay out and make..just time consuming..
If Flaref250 is interested he can PM me, I will give my ph.# and explain exactly how I did it.
NO PDF, just tape measure and tools...
Please let me know what I am missing here.
Alex

 

Is this for a working truck or a cruise truck? Not my current trucks, but I have done it. Made a scale drawing of my bed floor and underlying cross members, then started drawing in a different color, strips 5-1/2" wide (like a 2x6 is) starting from center outwards to sides. I just left 1/4" gaps, then put a bolt through my strips through the gap at each cross member. I used new 3/8" carriage bolts as I recall. I did set my saw shallow and rip sawed a shallow groove where the edges of my metal strips lay.

Another time I made a trailer using the frame and rear of a wrecked '79, built it with a drop tongue so it could dump too. It did not have a bed on it, so I built mine using 1x2 thick wall channel for 4 cross members with a welded 2x3 angle steel up right at each end, used 1x1 angle for top rail, covered the floor and sides with 2x6 pressure treated bolted to the cross members with 3/8" carriage bolts through the wood, sise by side, 2 bolts at each crossmember, no strips. Did cover rear ends of boards with a steel angle routed into the wood and had slots to drop front and rear boards in place. Did that in the early '80s, sold it in the early '00s, guy uses it still in his contracting side line. I eventually flipped the axle, removed the ring and pinion, welded a plate over pinion hole, added leaves too. Had a winch to raise front using a tower. Not a truck, but it would work.

Decide how you want it to look, how you intend to use it, metal strips or not, etc. You can wood it with teak or pine or rough sawn oak or other. You could even pour in bedliner over the wood, spread it out.

Just leave 1/4" gap between boards.

 

The PDF I have shows how what size to cut the groves to use the original bed strips.