I did some accurate measurements while waiting for filler to dry yesterday and went to Home Depo to see what they had.
1. HD only has one size width in stock. It is 5 1/4. I was hoping for 5 1/2 to be able to make it work with 8 boards, but no such luck. If you want to use generic composite you will need 9 boards.
2. HD can order wider composite boards, but they go out of sight for price. Like 80 a board vs 20 a board.
3. There is also some exotic woods that you don't do anything with. No paint, stain, poly, etc. Just set it and forget it. Would be about 400 for enough wood, and I am not sure how many router bits you would need for the milling.
3. You can easily mill the generic composite for the strips to set down in.
4. You will have to plane the thickness down to be even with the sill of the bed. If you wanted the strength I guess you could bevel the composite back to the first cross bar? Or trim the bottom of the composite and bend it down to be even with the sill. You will have to bend the strips as well, but that would not be too hard. I bet it would be difficult to notice the slight bend in the floor.
Anyhoo, I have ordered my replacement fenders, and I am working on the bed pieces to get them straight. Using filler for the big stuff, and will have to do it again once assembled as everything has bends and twists in it. I will be tackling the floor as soon as it is assembled.
