My hunting camp truck bed has finally deteriorated to the point that i need to do something. It is a 76 f150 4x4. I want to be able to load my atv into the back on occassion to transport it on the hunting lease, never the highway. I considered laying a 3/4 inch piece of plywood in the back, replacing the entire bed (perhaps too expensive and too much work) or welding a sheet of steel to provide the strength i need.

basically, the bed has opened up around the cab area. there are several large holes.

any suggestions on what to do?

 

build a wooden flat bed , they dont rust , they are plenty strong , depending on weather you buy or get free scrap wood , plenty cheep , and you can customize at will.bob

 

tealboy,
I built a bed for mine out of pressure treated lumber. It didn't come out too bad. Check my gallery.

Don

 

I second (or is it third?) the idea of a wooden bed. That's easy
to build, very customizable, and you can replace any parts that
get damaged. Haven't done this myself but would try using a
4x6 box structure, bolt that to the frame, use 2x6s for the bed,
use 2x4s for the uprights, and maybe use 1x6s for the sides.
Use screws for the siding so you can unbolt them and take
them off when you just want a flat-bed. Should work pretty
well but you might want to lay this out on paper and try a few
mods before getting down to business. Using pressure treated
wood sounds like a great idea to me, especially if you live in a
wet climate.

 

I had a 1977 f-250 4x4 that was a company truck at one time and when it was new they welded a 4' x 8' sheet of thin diamond plate steel in bottom of the bed instead of a bed liner. it added a little weight but worked good.

 

That would work great for strength but I would be concerned about water trapped between the diamond plate and the bed. Even if you can't see it, rust will still be working on the bed and perhaps also on the frame. Did they tack weld the diamond plate in place or seal it all around somehow? Sealing would be good and a good grade of outdoor silicone caulk might work for this.

 

They just stitched welded it every so far.it did not seem to rust the bed but they did it when it was new so the paint was good under it. but if the bed was already rusted out it should'nt matter much.

 

I guess you build a flat bed. Use a think walled 2x4 steel for the frame and green treated 2x6s or 2x8s for the deck. That is what I did on my 1979 F-150.

 

I would buy a wreck donor bed (it doesn't have to be perfect and cut our sections to replace. If you (or have it done should cost much), place tack welds on opposite sides of the patch with a MIG and keep tacking back and forth, slightly overlapping the tacks, the metal won't warp. It will be strong and look good. Sorry, guys, but everytime I try to weld wood, it catches on fire. Metal for me!