[BB70c10]

i was in the same boat as you about a month or so ago.i shortened my lwb and had alot of welding that needed to be done.i had a co-workers son come to work and weld the frame back together.it cost me $120 for him to do it,which i think was probably a great deal,but slammed1 told me to watch him weld,and it basically turned into him teaching me how to weld.he left the welder at work and i ended up welding up most of the plates and boxed the frame.mig welding is pretty easy to pick up on.i ended up buying a hobart handler 140 mig.it comes ready with guages/regulator for gas.all you need is the bottle and argon/co2 mix.the welder was $470.i bought an auto darkening helmet from northen tools for $50,the bottle was $90,gas was $35,and gloves were $12.the bottle is a one time fee and then all you have to pay for is fill up after that(like propane for a grill,you just trade out or get your bottle filled).for $650 i was welding that afternoon.i figured by the time i welded the bedsides back together,shave the body,weld the exhaust,etc. the welder will pay for itself.not to mention you dont have load everything up and wait for somebody else to do it for you.so far,the welder is the best investment i've made.i know you can get them cheaper than what i paid,but some of them dont come with guages and i dont think they're cheap,so you have to take that into consideration.id say listen to some of these guys more experienced than me and do some research on what size welder would suit what you plan to do,and you wont regret it.just my opinion.