R/R,
My goal is to build a Daily driver. I could have gone oak, but thought I would never drop a speck of dirt on oak. I tried to go to clear pine, but that big center board only came in slight knot grade (#3 or something like that) for a board that wide. There are saw mills that would probably do custom boards, but they are two hours away. With the price of gas and all, I figured a few knots were not going to kill this project.
As far as hauling, a piece of chip board or plywood on the bottom should protect the pine when hauling rock, dirt or other "honey do" items.
As far as tools to cut the boards, we installed a Dato (sp) blade on the radial arm saw and cut from the top. A couple of hours at most and we were done. Setting up the saw took the longest. Once that was done, the cutting obviously only took a few minutes. It may not be up to show quality standards, but probably one of the most satisfying jobs on the truck so far!
The plan is to re-do the body in a few years. If I decide to go oak, I am only out $34.00 for the pine.
