I'm a long way away from finishing my project, but never too early to start thinking about some of these things. I have a 3800 Dual rear wheel cab/chassis. The truck came to me with a full wood flatbed that I intend to recreate. It is wrapped with nice metal strapping. I wanted to use white oak, but cost and inability to find 2x and 4x wood required to rebuild has moved me toward using easily accessible yellow pine. \
I keep floating between pressure treated pine and regular pine framing lumber. Will be needing mostly 2x6 or 2x8 lumber so both are easily available. The trucks hard working days are over and will be protected from the elements. I'm just trying to determine which type of wood would be best. I have extensive woodworking experience and I would say that unless I have to have ACP, I avoid it. When you cut a board and water comes out, I feel like you are asking for trouble with warpage and shrinkage. Regardless of what type I settle on, I will tounge & groove all joints for the floor and side boards and it will be painted.
So my primary question would be if it were yours, and planning to use it as I have expressed, would you use ACP or regular framing lumber? Secondary question would be what would you paint/treat it with to protect it long term. Color will be black. Final piece of the question would be regarding the tounge and groove joints, would you use glue or silicone caulk (or something similar) to join, or just leave it bare and use quality fasteners and let it move as it will?
I am afraid that if I go with ACP from Home Depot, It will have to be allowed to air dry for a long period of time to keep it from warpage, crowning, and shrinking after assembled. I've built enough decks with ACP to know it will be straight at the lumberyard and crooked as a 10' snake by time it made it home.
I used 2x6 tongue and groove pressure treated for my deck boards. The balance was a mixture of 2x4, 2x6, 2x8 all pressure treated. I also painted mine black using a deck stain. I did let the wood dry for 3 months before painting. It's been 5 years and the bed still looks good, used but good.
Wayne 1938 1-Ton Farm Truck Stovebolt Gallery Forums 1989 Silverado 1996 Mustang GT convertible When I die, I hope she doesn't sell everything for what I told her I paid for it!
So on the pressure treated, did you put it together as soon as you brought it home, or did you let it dry, then put it together? Was there lots of shrink? I've bought way too many boards that were arrow straight when I left, and crooked as a 10' snake when i got home. This is from Home Depot because it was convenient. I'm certainly considering making a longer drive and paying more to buy them at a small town lumberyard that still stores lumber outside so it is acclimated rather than controlled like inside the big orange box store.
I let mine dry out for a couple of weeks before building the bed. I used the tongue and groove to help keep the bed floor flat and prevent twisting. It took several clamps while assembling to help the boards go together. I would buy the better boards. If you have the time and space, let them dry before installing them. You could set them up with lots of air space between them and hopefully out of the weather.
Wayne 1938 1-Ton Farm Truck Stovebolt Gallery Forums 1989 Silverado 1996 Mustang GT convertible When I die, I hope she doesn't sell everything for what I told her I paid for it!
Sounds like a plan on drying them out. Did you T&G with a hand router or on a router table? I have a place to get them out of the weather with good air flow. Still on the fence about ACP or regular SYP. If I could find a source for rough sawn white oak nearby that I could afford, it would be game over. But as of yet, I haven't found it. Or found that money tree growing wild on my place.
My initial plan was to rebuild with untreated SYP and just treat it the way it would have been treated in '49.... boiled linseed oil and a couple coats of black oil based paint. Kept my grandpa's grain trailers in good shape for many years until he retired from farming. Truck will likely spend 7 nights outside a year tops. I won't be scared to use it for work. No prima donnas around here. It certainly may go to town and pick up some feed or deliver some seed. Not going to work it hard every day, but I am not afraid to use it.
I was able to buy them already T&G. It took a few days but my local supplier took care of it.
Wayne 1938 1-Ton Farm Truck Stovebolt Gallery Forums 1989 Silverado 1996 Mustang GT convertible When I die, I hope she doesn't sell everything for what I told her I paid for it!
Talked to one lumberyard. They called and said their supplier would get back to me. still haven't heard. I'm pretty handy with wood. I think I can make my own. I was hoping T&G would be cheap enough to talk me out of it. But looking like I'll be doing it myself.
I don't know if it would work for you, but my local lumber yard carries 5/4 T&G yellow pine, and it worked pretty good for a trailer I built. Not quite as heavy as the 2x, but more than adequate for the hauling I do. And it seemed to warp less that the 2x treated. I put a good coat of black paint on all the boards before I installed them, and it's held up well for ten years.
Tim
I am currently digging back in to a 1953 3800 (one ton) with a nine foot bed. I've owned it since 1979, and drove it until 1982 (or so). My wife got me involved in restoring it back in 2002, got the body removed and the frame redone, then things came up. Now I am retired and starting again. If anyone is interested I have photos on Imagur ( https://timwhiteblues.imgur.com/ ). I live way back in the woods in the Ozarks on 40 acres at the end of a 2 1/2 mile private road.
Bluesman, what kind of paint did you use? I was thinking of going to Sherwin Williams and getting a couple gallons of black oil base paint. I know everyone is going latex on everything, but I just feel like the oil will hold up to the elements so much longer.
I did find a local supplier for the T&G, but its only available in 2x8. Which I can make work perfectly. He said it will be a couple weeks to get it in.
Why use pressure treated wood, unless you think your wood will be regularly soaked in water, and/or left unpainted/unsealed?
Mar-K has multi-year tests on bed-wood "finishes" Their tech-tips now seems to be all pdf files - I do not want to do the downloads to find the correct "report".
A few years ago, the best bed-wood finish (dried pine, almost as original) was something like this: - dried pine - 2 coats of Behr's exterior oil-based house paint (I thinned the first coat) - 2 coats of POR (whatever the newest POR number is: POR-10, POR-15, POR-??) - on my COE flatbed, we did this with POR & Behr Satin/Semi-gloss
You have watch carefully the Behr & POR recommended "repaint/paintover windows".
That looks sharp. I've decided I'm skipping pressure treated unless it is a dimension that I cannot get untreated. Such as the 4x6 stringers that go between frame and bed. I intend to coat it, keep it out of the weather, and not work her too hard. My guy at Sherwin Williams suggested getting a black stain as he said it would penetrate the wood more thoroughly, as well as highlight the grain. My original intention was to go oil base, but he kinda scared me away when he started talking about how oil-based paints aren't what they used to be as they have taken all the "good stuff" out for environmental reasons. He said the paint, especially darker colors, tend to chalk quicker than latex.
I'm a little way's away from this point, so i'm thinking that I may grab a 2x6 and some of the different materials and paint them up then throw the board out to the elements. See how it stands up. I figure a year in that environment will be more abuse than my bed will accumulate in the rest of its lifetime.
. . . . "I'm a little way's away from this point, so i'm thinking that I may grab a 2x6 and some of the different materials and paint them up then throw the board out to the elements. See how it stands up. I figure a year in that environment will be more abuse than my bed will accumulate in the rest of its lifetime."
Yes, I read the report. Thing is, it appears that there is only one coating in the entire test that I would consider...POR-15. I'm going black in color with the bed, so the clear epoxies/urethanes, etc. just don't fit my end result.
I'm thinking that my test looks something like this.... POR-15 Alkyd Enamel paint from TSC Polyurethane marine topside paint Sherwin-Williams black stain Black latex paint Black oil base paint
The Mar-K test definitely gives a good glimpse of how to do it. Still can't believe that POR-15 stood up the way it did.
