Using a plywood sheet for bed floor?

[floyd]

I have a 51 5 window that has a 3link rear and is bagged so using the original long bedwood boards isnt really possible. So my question is what thickness of a sheet do I need? Any idea what Id need to cut a sheet to (length/width) ,so when I installed it as the bed floor the bed would be square? My truck is a short bed.

I know Ill need the under bed wood side to side strips.

I tried to search it but didnt come up with much,so thanks in advance!

[mr48chev]

What ever translates to 3/4 = .75 of an inch there.

From my own experience a standard 48 inch wide sheet of plywood is too narrow to work correctly though as it barely makes contact with the angle strips at the sides. As you are raising the floor some you could compensate for that by using wider pieces on the sides when you raise the bed floor.

[Speedbumpauto]

48 is right. A plywood sheet is 3" too narrow to fit correctly in the bed. I glued and doweled 1x2 strips (really 1 1/2x3/4) down each side and it worked fine. They don't really show as the angle strips cover most of them but it gives a finished look....and I've seen others without and, IMO, they look terrible. If you do it my way, it's impossible to install the sheet in one piece. I cut mine into three sections and the cuts were covered by the bed strips. This is if you're going for a level bed floor. If your bags need a hump over the axle, all bets are off. You'll get some strong feedback on this forum about using the plywood, but I think mine turned out great. It is a TF, if that matters, and it's more toy than work.

[nvrdone]

Many years a go I scored a 5 x8 sheet of marine grade 3/4" ply.
Cut it to fit & installed it by removing the rear sill / cross member on the bed & sliding it in. Still holding up & looks fairly good

[yossarian19]

in my '57 I used a 4x8 sheet, cut a few inches off the length & slid it in place. Worked great for me, not sure why it's too narrow for some folks. Might be a model year difference..?

[OrrieG]

If you are not going to be using the bed for hauling any 3/4" plywood product will work. CD-X not pretty but functional; A/C is better, but even the A side will have boat patches; cabinet grades expensive but pretty and usually not manufactured with exterior glues so not as weather resistant. If you are using it to haul stuff then look at graded plywood with an interior span index of 24. That means it is rated to support min. 40 PSF (interior floor rating) and 200 PSF short term loading.

Are you keeping the original cross sills to support the bed to the frame and building a higher frame to support the wood over the suspension hardware? Construction of the higher frame will depend on if it for show or will be used.

[floyd]

The bed is getting a tonneau cover of some sort ,to cover up the airbag/shock tower that protrudes through the bed as well as the airsystem...

Im planning on using the cross braces and am no opposed to using the bed strips to cover a seam or two, since you guys answered a question I had about the piece of ply being able to be one piece or not.

Ill get a pic tonight and show you what Im trying to work around.

[Speedbumpauto]

"On my truck the 4 ft wide sheet just caught the lip of the angles on the sides"

Exactly, and even though it can be bolted down on the cross sills, it can't on the angle strips. It looks unfinished to me. I guess you could remove the rear cross sill and put it in all at once. I welded mine once the bed was square and did all the body work, painting, etc. so that road wasn't on my GPS.

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by yossarian19

in my '57 I used a 4x8 sheet, cut a few inches off the length & slid it in place. Worked great for me, not sure why it's too narrow for some folks. Might be a model year difference..?

On my truck the 4 ft wide sheet just caught the lip of the angles on the sides. That wasn't enough to actually support the weight of the bed properly.

One should be able to get away with using a spacer board in each side of the plywood to take up the space and allow for the bolts to hold that and then bolt the plywood down with strips or just carriage bolts and washers.

The plywood in mine actually blew out during a street race one night because the only thing holding it in was that thin lip on the edges and I never did find it.

[oldman3]

This is on a 49 Dodge pickup that my son used plywood for the floor. Here's a link you can check out. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=653337&page=4 I think it's near the bottom of the page...Jim

[S10Fan]

I used a 4X8 sheet of 3/4 oak plywood for the bed in my C-10. I had the sheet cut into 12" boards which allowed a gap between the boards that was covered by bed strips. The edges are held by the angle strips. Sorry, this is the best picture I have.

[capnduane]

Used a 4x8' sheet of 3/8" plysawn exterior siding, to cover up the stock bed boards, a couple of which were broken and split. Its about 48 1/2ins wide and just a little narrow. Used two coats of minwax "stain and finish" Good enough for a while and only about $40 for ply and finish.