The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Bed - Wood Dimensions

One of the first orders of business after I get my truck on the road is to replace the wood in the bed. Can anyone provide (or direct me to a place to get) exact dimensions to cut the wood? Thanks in advance.

Rance (66 Chevy C10)

If the old wood is still in the bed,you should be able to get measurments from that.

I think you can get most of the info you need from GMCPaul\'s 47-72 Bed Wood Info

Perfect, thanks.

Rance,
i just did the wood in my '65 SWB.
After much thought I decided to hide the bed bolts under the wood.
It looks pretty slick.
Mike

w/ your truck being a fleetside Rance, be carefula bout GMCPauls info - count and measure your existing boards - I'm in the process of re-doing a 58 shory fleet, and what he says for # of boards and lengths don't match what was in mine!

Bill

I'm going to tag onto this discussion as it's mostly on topic.

Does anyone know of information on the wood for the bed on a '49 1-ton stakebed? I've found a lot of information on pickup beds but nothing on stakebeds. I'm going to measure the boards to get the right dimensions for them but I may have to replace some of the wear strips. Are they the same as the pickup wear strips? Any information is appreciated.

Thanks in advance for the time and information.

Bill, thanks for the heads up. I only am familiar with the ADs. If ya got the numbers and lengths for your 58 handy, why don't you post em' for us?

This thread could turn into a great tech tip.

Jim - you'd hafta talk to someone like Mar-K , as I'm sure not many here have ever seen a factory flatdeck, let alone one w/ the skid strips on it! if they don't know, you must have enough info on the dimensions that they'd be able to supply something real close

Bill

Jeff - one diff right off is that GMCPaul says 12 boards wide but only lists/shows 10, and mine was 12, not exactly symetrical, and he shows sizes being 4½", 5½", 7½" where mine were all even 4,5,7" - which would account for greater number, his lengths differ from mine, tho he may have left room for expansion [which won't happen lengthwise]

can do, but hafta lay it out a liitle better than my 3x5" sketch also waiting on the skid strip set I ordered locally to see if they're right length and #, tho they can be fudged

Bill

I guess I'll have to go measure the boards and strips tomorrow so I can ask more intelligent questions about them. Fortunately, the bed is in useable condition so I'm not in a real rush.

I'll post the information after I've measured it all.
Jim

Well, since I was thinking about the boards and strips, I just had to go out with the flashlight and do some measuring -- it just couldn't wait until morning (wife's out of town so I didn't get any funny looks ).

This is what I came up with:
Number of boards: 10
Number of strips: 9
Length of boards: 107 inches
Width:
2 outside boards: 9.5 inches each
8 interior boards: vary between 7.25 and 7.5 inches each.

So it looks like I can use the 1-ton long bed boards and strips (if the bolt holes match up - those measurements will just have to wait until daylight) when it comes time to replace what I've got now. That may be a while as I'm using the truck to do some landscaping work around the house (hauling rock, dirt and busted up concrete) and wouldn't want to ding up the new boards. Also some of the neighbors have asked if I'm planning to use it for work or show (they've got work they're doing around their houses as well and I assume are wondering if I'll do some hauling for them). It'll give me a chance to drive it around a bit.

I'll just keep looking for bed materials specifically designed and built for the 1-ton stakebed.

All,

Thanks for the info. and links.

Mike,

I'd be interested in some pics or other details as to how you hid the heads of your bolts. Thanks.

Rance

Rance,
I PM'd you on the fuel sender.
On to the bed wood...
Instead of drilling holes in the wood you slaved over, just bolt the bed crossmembers down first, then clearance the bottom side of the boards in question just enough to allow the boards to lay down flat.
To do that, lay in all the the boards after bolting the frame down, position them where you want them and smack the board over the bolt heads lightly with your fist, that will mark the area to clearance.
I repeat lightly. I smacked one pretty hard.
Just one. Ouch.
Flesh heals, wood don't.
Finish the rest of the install as usual.
Pictures if you would like them.
Take care,
Mike