You may need to enlarge the bed pockets if a 2x4 will not fit. I used pressure treated 2x4's carriage bolted to two 2x10's on the side on my 12 foot dump bed and have not had any problems with loads. My sides are much shorter than yours and would need stronger uprights if higher. In the future I plan on having higher sides and I'll use steel uprights then.
James


1957 Chevrolet 6400 flatbed dump
In the Gallery
Webshot pix
1942 Chevrolet 1 1/2 ton
1962 Chevrolet M80 tractor