Best wood for my truck??

[67pro-street]

I am planning on putting in a wood bed for my truck, but i was wondering what type would best suit me. I live in the pacafic northwest, so we get a lot of rain, but i am planning on having a soft tonneau on the truck. My truck will also be outside year-round. It will have a roof over it, but thats about all the protection it will get, so it will have lots of temp. fluctuations and what not. I have heard that oak wood will stain easily when water gets under the varnish. Is this true??? One more thing, i will not be carrying anything in the bed, so strength is not a major factor...for the most part. sorry for the bombardment of questions, but any help would be greatly appreciated.

67pro-street

[68speedalert]

Nice color!!!

I'll be following your answers. See my post earlier on a very similar topic.

Good Luck!!

Steve

[pissonNOS]

hmm how is the stain being applied to the oak shouldnt be getting under it. if it was me I bought some Marine Varnish withstands the weather very good and it is clear so it darkens the oak somewhat and really brings out the markings. so to answer the questio i would ue oak or cherry wood both look really good

[motoretro]

The original wood was Southern Yellow Pine, a good choice although it's a bit soft and does not look as good as Oak if you clear finish it. Cherry is nice and finishes well but finish can get splotchy if the grain is just right(wrong). Ash is great and a lot cheaper than oak. Slightly lighter in weight but very tough. Most people can't tell the difference in appearance between Oak. The toughest, most stable wood i've used is quarter sawn white Oak. Will stay straight and finishes well although looks different than flat sawn oak. My choice but it's a bit pricey. Red oak absorbs moisture because of its open cell structure so don't use it for bed wood. Oak or Ash both will darken with contact with moisture
Use a good spar varnish for finishing. Use gloss for all but last coat since it has more solids in it than satin or flat varnishes. Thin the varnish w/ 1/3 mineral spirts to allow the varnish to get into wood pores better and flow out more evenly. Sand between coats. Good luck, motoretro

[ddsmith]

Any boat people out there? I would think that West Systems would be one of the best finishes for the truck wood bed. It is a very durable epoxy clear finish used on boat wood. It isn't cheap but if you want protection I think this would be one of the better ones. You can find it at boat supply places.

[SEVEND2]

use a marine/boat laquer and coats for water proofing. might want to do it a bit extra on the under side, of the wood too.
I would go with oak, but that just my opinion..

Oh and DAM THATS GREEN!!!!!!!!!

[jamis]

I wonder why no ever uses Teak for the wood bed. Its not a great looking grain but its very hard and weathers well.

[mrein3]

I believe boats use white oak. As motoretro points out it has a different cell structure than red oak. Not the cheapest choice however.

[cdowns]

i personnally like clear mahogany, for a finish you might want to check out POR they have a clear for woods that they claim is excellent for outdoors, whatever finish you decide on be prepared to redo it at least once a year to keep it in top condition because as far as wood finishes is concerned it's not permanent

[Zumo]

You should also at least invest in a cover for your truck to once it's outside.

[motoretro]

ddsmith mentioned West System Epoxy, Boat epoxy does not contain the vital UV inhibitors need to protect the wood on it's own. You have to top coat it with varnish of some type to gain this. Smith's Industrial makes a really thin epoxy that does a great job and penetrates into the wood pores well. Top coat this with a spar (marine) varnish and that's about as good as it gets. Air movement is vital in preserving wood so make sure you remove that toneau cover once a week and let the bed air out. If you don't want to mess with a lot of epoxies and varnishes, try Silkkens Cetol. Its a finish that you brush on and it penetrates and leaves a surface finish. Really seems to work well. I know people who use it on log lawn furniture and log homes and that's a lot of exposure, they swear by it.
motoretro

[hank]

someone mentioned bamboo. it never absorbs water and is hard as hell.

it's good looking "wood" and would require little maintenance.

[StingRay]

How about Maple? I know they use it when mounting large van bodies to truck frames as spacers. Anybody know how durable it would be as a bed wood package? It's strong as He11 and has a tight grain structure.