fLATBED REPLACEMENT WOOD
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 521
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I recently did my old '87 F350. Call a lumber mill, and tell them you want decking for a flatbed, it's like 1 1/16 thick. Get oak or ash, oak is better but you might have to wait a few days before they can mill it for you. Some keep it in stock. It's WAY cheaper than lumber stores. I paid $58.
As for screwing it down, I toiled over this a long time before deciding to do it the right way. I'm very glad I did. Call a commercial truck body store, like where they sell flatbeds, dump boxes, utility bodies, etc. Tell them you want some 1/4 by 1 1/2 deck screws. They are heavy duty torx drive screws built for this purpose. You'll need a certain size drill bit to go through the wood and steel frame, and I can't remember the size 7/32 I think - ask them. I did a 8 foot by 7 foot flatbed with 4-5 drill bits. Get a few torx bits and make sure you drive them with a beefy drill. The srcews are pricey IMO between 6 and 13 cents a piece, I paid 13, but saw them online for 6.
The actual work went very fast, a helper will pay off. Mine took about 3 hours. Hope this helps.
As for screwing it down, I toiled over this a long time before deciding to do it the right way. I'm very glad I did. Call a commercial truck body store, like where they sell flatbeds, dump boxes, utility bodies, etc. Tell them you want some 1/4 by 1 1/2 deck screws. They are heavy duty torx drive screws built for this purpose. You'll need a certain size drill bit to go through the wood and steel frame, and I can't remember the size 7/32 I think - ask them. I did a 8 foot by 7 foot flatbed with 4-5 drill bits. Get a few torx bits and make sure you drive them with a beefy drill. The srcews are pricey IMO between 6 and 13 cents a piece, I paid 13, but saw them online for 6.
The actual work went very fast, a helper will pay off. Mine took about 3 hours. Hope this helps.
Elder User
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 749
Likes: 2
From: Phoenix, Az
I refurbed a bunch of 48 foot trailers back some years ago. The standard decking is tongue and groove. I called up the pallet supplier the company used, and had them cut me up a bunch of oak to my spec. It was 1/4 the price of the T&G wood. The screws are pretty much as described in post #2, but they are self drilling. You do need to drill a pilot hole thru the wood first for best results.
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hasteranger
1973 - 1979 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
5
Jul 15, 2012 10:53 AM
99, bed, decking, f250, flat, flatbed, ford, installation, ranger, replace, replacement, replacements, screws, truck, wood
