Wood bed installation advice

[Orence1]

My 72 LWB is out of the body shop and I am getting ready to put the wood bed in. Any advice on the most efficient way to accomplish this? I do have a rear mount fuel tank so that will be a small issue for a few of the bolts. I would be interested in a step by step that worked well for you. Many thanks in advance.

[feller]

I haven't done one but GMC Paul's has a page with all the measurements on boards and how they were from the factory, and a couple of good mods that will ensure a longer life of the wood

[Lou Boffa]

If possible take the bed off the truck so you can do the work with it upright. Otherwise make sure you have a good creeper and a big bottle of Advil!.

[FirstOwner69]

I did mine off the truck with the front panel and rear cross sill lengthwise on 2 H.D. sawhorses (4 total placed perpendicular to the bed) with 2X6s screwed flat onto the top of the sawhorses. Worked great. I think there were about 130 bolts total so trying to get at all the bolts with the bed mounted on the chassis would be a major task. It also seems to me that the only way to get all the bed wood bolts above the rear mounted tank tight would be to do it off the truck.

[ole dollor]

I did mine on the truck , it would have been better to remove the bed .

[Orence1]

That was the direction I was thinking of going. Was hoping there was a way around it but I see the logic. Fortunately, the bed was off the truck when in the body shop so it is only temporarily bolted on. Won't be too tough to get it off again. Thanks for the responses.