Wood vs. metal bed floors

[pat]

what do you like? Benefits of either? My 68 wood bed is shot, and the previous owner covered it up by sheet metal pieces welded to bolts. Trying to get ideas. Diamond plate looks good, maybe too heavy. Wood is maybe lighter, I have access to a guy who cuts very nice cedar wood(is cedar any good?) Durability, cost, ease of installation, what did you all do?

[Gee_Emm]

Cedar is pretty soft. I dont think diamond plate would be any heavier then wood. I guess it also depends on if you want a specific look or just functionality

[gr8scott51]

I battled the same dilemma. Diamond plate steel is very heavy, aluminum would do fine. The best wood is oak, a lot of places sell the kits, but it's a lot of money and I worried that if I did haul something, it would scratch and gouge, etc. So, I bought the bottom out of a newer, wrecked box. I tack welded angle iron around the inside of my box and then cut the metal to fit and welded it to the angle iron. Then I had the whole thing sprayed with one of those liners. It's not the same as everyone else, it looks good, and I can use it as a truck (kinda, I still don't want to scratch the paint). Good luck.

[pissonNOS]

Cherry is probably the best wood u can put in every man and there dog (including me) uses soemthing highclass and very glossy use cherry wood
as for gouging what kind of wood and what are you dropping on ur bed my oak has never even gotten scratched yet
all i did to save it was get soem plywood and get it spray lined and put it over top of the bed then take it off for summer or show or whatever

[Hooter]

I got an oak bed with stainless steel strips, looks good, but the only thing I haul now is ass

[bigvinnie]

can't beat the looks of a wood bed, and you can always cover it when you need to use it as a truck, as was suggested above...

[JHickson6]

Originally posted by Hooter
I got an oak bed with stainless steel strips, looks good, but the only thing I haul now is ass

DAMN STRAIGHT!

['72 Shorty]

Mine is cedar, and it's very soft. I like it since it looks good with the green, but if you're gonna be hauling anything, think otherwise. it also holds up real well to Pacific NW wet weather.

[SWINGSAX68]

I've got wood....
Yellow Pine......54 bucks for all the planks at HOME DEPOT. It's good wood. Stainless steel Bed strips as well.
I have a bed liner covering it as well as a bed cover.

[Seke69]

Cedar does pretty well against moisture prone areas, resists rotting, and bugs (that's why they make closet lining of it). It is soft enough, that you could almost push a nail through it, but somehow works to support fat old ladies on their porch swings. you can usually get cedar for a fair price all year. It isn't very heavy either.

The wood could weigh way more than the metal, or vice versa (depending on the wood), I will probably use Maple for mine 'cause it's not too expensive, looks great, is hard, and fairly moisture resitant... Uh, but I don't even have bed-sides yet, so that's nowhere in sight......

BTW if you have a table saw or access to one, you can cut your own bed wood.

[pat]

How would I put in aluminum diamond plate? Weld it with a fancy welder or bolt it?
As sheetmetal is now welded over my old wood floor and i cant see it, how well do the metal bed strips hold up over time?

[beau396]

Has anybody on the forum used synthetics for bed wood? There was a truck in one of the magazines about a year ago where the owner had a shop install synthetic wood made from recycled plastics and sawdust. The finished color on the bed wood was black. Considering the benefits of the material involved; high strength, durability, immune to most chemicals, and longetivity I would think that it would make a great replacement for wood. That is if you actually use your bed for hauling.

[Southpa]

The original bed wood for most of these trucks was yellow pine. Mine was pretty much rotten and buckled so I replaced it with 3/4" ply. Its still solid mainly because I keep a canopy on the truck. But I plan on using Australian gumwood, heavy stuff, but most everything on these trucks has some weight to it and I could use the traction in winter anyway. But gumwood is the same stuff they use for bumpers on the sides of fishing boats, virtually bulletproof. It also doesn't need any kind of coating, nothing will stick to it anyway because of the natural oils. Downside is I expect to dull a lot of saw blades and router/drill bits when fabricating and fitting.

I've talked to heavy equipment operators who prefer gumwood over Douglas fir for their trailers. It costs twice as much but lasts 3 times longer.

[jcueckert13]

if you plan on using it as a truck use1/4 inch diamond plate

[PanelDeland]

Here's my thought.I would go with the wood for looks.Then use 3/8 plywood with carpet glued to one side and the other side would be coated with either bedliner or in/outdoor carpet It might need to be hinged in the middle to put in and take out, but it would cover and protect the finish on the show wood.Of course if you store the truck outside there isn't much you can do that will protect wood longterm.

[pat]

beau396, Ive heard of the wood your talking about, its called "Rumber". People use it in cattle trailers and other trailers a lot cuz it lasts so long. Id either have real wood for looks or metal for strength than black wood, personally. Im thinking maybe wood now, I can always put carpet or a rubber bed mat in it for hauling stuff.

[gr8scott51]

First thing you've got to do is pull the sheet metal off that the previous owner welded in. Could be that (like my truck) your box sides will need repair, also. If the metal trapped moisture in the rotten wood below, the strips and cross members may be gone. I think wood is the nicest looking thing you could use as a bed in your truck. I've seen oak, cherry, rosewood (beautiful), pine - just about everything. If your truck parks out in the elements, you'll have to regularly maintain the finish. If you decided to use aluminum diamond plate, you'd have to bolt it to the box somehow. Be sure to put a rubber strip between the steel and aluminum. Dissimilar metals will lead to galvanic corrosion. The main thing is to look at a lot of options, and choose the one you really like. You are going to expend a lot of time, energy and money to get the look you want and you want it to last a long time. Good luck, let us know what you decide.

[basketcase]

My project came with a yellow pine kit. The original wood is pretty rough but the bed isn't damaged. I'm going to get one of those heavy rubber bed mats to put over it when I need to haul something. Easy to roll up and store and thick enough to protect the wood from most damage.

Tom

[SWINGSAX68]

I do just as basket case is doin....it works well.

[bigblock73]

I like the looks of this one...

[JHickson6]

Well if all else fails go with plexiglass!!! I forget who's truck ths is, but I love it!!

[ChevLoRay]

If you want something that will hold up to the enviroment, try Cypress or Teak. Pine is what they came with. Other woods, when finished can be beautiful. You have to protect them, whichever you use.

I wonder about the composite stuff, like Trex. It isn't as smooth as wood, and I don't know how it would take to sanding and smoothing.

Aluminum diamond (i.e. checkerplate) is expensive, selling by the pound. Steel checkerplate is cheaper, but heavier.

The different ideas expressed here are all good, whether plexiglass, oak or a late-model bed floor. If you go with wood, you'll need to check out all the mods to be done to a steel-floor bed to convert it to wood. I've thought about it, but I think I'm gonna go with a restored look, but use Line-X, or something like it. That just me, though.