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5/27/19: I wanted a temporary bed to drive around with this summer because the existing bed needs a total rebuild including the bed front sheet metal, cross supports and blocking, not to mention all new wood, so I opted to wait until I do the frame off. I picked up a sheet 5/8” exterior plywood and a couple dozen 1/4”x2” carriage bolts. The 5/8” was chosen because none of the supports were in their correct positions so I adapted it the best I could to fit without spending too much money on a temporary bed. The plan was to center the plywood in the 50” wide bed and fill in the gaps with some custom moulding I’d make with a pressure treated 5/4x6. I fit the plywood, drilled 1/4” holes for the carriage bolts utilizing the existing holes in the cross beams, drilled additional holes in an existing 1x1x1/8” angle iron that is connected to the front bed panel (due to the bottom of the panel being rusted out), and another set in the rear cross brace (both going to be replaced). I then coated the top and bottom with some left over stain from a previous house project that just happened to match.

The next day after the stain had dried, I installed the plywood in the bed. All went according to plan but was a few carriage bolts short. The last few days have been brutally hot with temperatures near 100 degrees with high humidity, so any laborious work must be done in the morning or the evening, when it cools a bit. I took the afternoon off to go to the not so local “Blue” big box store (a 45 minute drive), to procure the missing carriage bolts and some caulking to fill any gaps prior to the final coat of stain. When I got back it had cooled quite a bit so using my portable table saw, cut up the 5/4x6 PT board to fit the gaps. After several cuts and an equal amount of trial fittings, the moldings were done. Some light sanding, a coat of stain, another day to dry and the moulding would be ready to install.

I installed them using construction adhesive. I didn’t want to add any more holes to the bed sides then necessary, so I opted to glue them in. After letting the adhesive set for awhile, I taped off the sides of the bed and caulked the gaps. While I waited for the paintable silicone caulk dry enough to stain, I turned my attention to installing the missing carriage bolts.

I previously procured some D-Rings from Amazon to install in the bed to be able to lash some items down that I may carry in the future. I installed them using the four corner carriage bolts.

I applied the second coat of stain to the molding and touched up any marks I made during installation. The bed, although temporary and not original, looks good and is now functional.