I recently bought a 1988 F 150 from my cousin. he bought the truck a few years ago and the bed was rusted out, so he pulled it off and put a flat bed on it. which is nice if your pulling a fifth wheel trailer but im not. My question is does anyone know of any wed sites or places that sell regular truck beds? i have a short bed that is in great condition but the truck requires a long bed is there any way to put the short bed on the long bed truck and cut the frame back? help me please

 

my friend did this on a 69 chevy truck. it had a long wheel base stepside and he wanted a swb stepside. he measured how far the axle needed to go up to be centered in the finder wells. then he drilled new holes and moved the axle accordingly. then he cut the excess frame off the back and bolted the short box on. he then got his driveshaft cut accordingly. but there is one drawback. the rearend of the truck sat a couple inches higher than it used to since the frame was curved upward for the original axle placement. he put some lowering shackles on the back and it helped a little but it still had a little rake in it. he did not measure right on the axle because the wheels were not actually centered in the finders but it was only off by an inch or 2. it was not too hard.

PS. one more thing his truck had a fuel tank in the cab so you may have to move yours somewhere else. and don't forget exhaust pipes

 

Your 88 F150 has a 133 inch wheelbase, if it originally came with a long bed & has not had any frame modifications done. The optimum wheelbase for your short bed installation would be achieved by shortening your current frame 16 inches, with removal of the excess just behind the rear cab mount. This will keep your axle located in the center of the upturned section of the frame. You would also have to change the front 19 gallon fuel tank (if it has one) to a 16 gallon [shorter length] tank. Fuel and brake lines, driveshaft, and wiring would all have to be shortened appropriately.

Unless you specifically want or need the shorter wheelbase you could use the short bed, mounting it to the rear of the frame. This would leave a section of about 16 inches between the cab and the bed to utilize for some type of fabricated toolbox or other type storage device.

Another (perhaps simpler and cheaper) option may be to search for a short bed (117 inch wheelbase) truck frame and remount front clip, cab, engine, drivetrain, and your new short bed to that frame. Cutting or stretching a frame while keeping it straight and square can be tough for someone not experienced in such work.

Frames from 1987 to 1991 models would work, and those from 1992 to 1996 are probably also be compatible.

Happy building!

dn.