Bed floor, real wood or fake?

[Atommik]

I've been thinking ahead to the time I'll be ready to install the bed floor in my 51. I plan on driving my truck as much as possible, April-October, and I am wondering how well a poly-urethaned oak bed floor holds up and continues to look good. Will It need to be refinished every few years? I will most likely be occasionaly driving in the rain, and it will sit out in the sun while I am at work. Has anyone used the "plastic" decking material as a bed floor? I thought I saw a post with someone doing this...

[mknittle]

Ithink sombody mentoined it a couple weeks ago May be Ogre?

[Kim57]

Ogre used Trex on his. Here's a link to it.
Kim
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=501998&page=6

[Divine 59]

I had seen a link to various wood finishing long term tests. Maybe on Mar-K web site. Overall the "stained" and "sealed" wood only lasted a few years of direct exposure before deteriorating.

Here is a link for your information....

http://www.mar-k.com/final_summary.html

Regards

Steve

[OrrieG]

The original beds were Southern Pine (a hardwood) painted black. That was so they could be repainted every few years with no body color matching required. Any wood that uses stain and a poly top coat or sealer will deteriorate in the sun. Outdoor furniture, decks, fences, house trim all need taken care of. Add in a horizontal surface, like a deck, that holds the water and the problem is worse. If you keep the bed covered and never drive it in the rain, park it in the shade, etc. then the nice golden oak beds last a long time. If not, then you will need to refinish it every few years. I am going to go with a nice dark opaque stain with painted bed strips so I can refinish it with minimal worry about messing up the shiney strips. I plan on using the truck so my show and tell expectations are a little lower.

[meter swinger]

I plan on doing an oak plywood bed in mine. Cant justify the $$$ on something ill be afraid to use and with five boys running around whats the point.
Ill put about 100.$ in mine with cost two sheets of ply.
I may go back and take a look at the decking though. Ive seen it shows and looks ok.
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[Divine 59]

@ meter swinger- If you use plywood I encourage you to investigate using exterior rated plywood. The exterior rated plywood glue will resist moisture. Non-exterior grade will delaminate due to glue failure from moisture.

Just a "heads up".

Steve

[jfnar]

What about pressure treated lumber, either boards or plywood? I've use it in trailers and it lasted for several years with no maintenance. I've heard that it contains chemicals that are corrosive to metal but I can't see any problems in my trailer. Just a thought.

[Divine 59]

@ meter swinger- If you use plywood I encourage you to investigate using exterior rated plywood. The exterior rated plywood glue will resist moisture. Non-exterior grade will delaminate due to glue failure from moisture.

Just a "heads up".

Steve

[Divine 59]

@ jfnar- pressure treated lumber will work for exterior exposure, no problem. If you want to paint or stain it the pressure treated (pt) lumber will not "take" the stain/paint as readily as non pt lumber. May have to prep it. I think about my mail box post. I installed it about eight years ago. It is PT lumber. I primed it with an oil based primer (something like Kilz) and used an exterior house paint on it. I have to repaint it about every three years or so.

Usually pt lumber has some residue from the pressure treatment that may cause issues with steel in "raw" condition. I don't know how automotive paint will fare in constant contact with pt lumber. It may deteriorate. I have not known anyone that tried it.

Steve

[oldcouple]

11 ga steel is the best. Add bedliner and its almost forever. You can color match it too.

[Russell Ashley]

My truck had a steel floor when I got it but I didn't like the way it was done so I removed it and replaced it with wood. I used pine and painted it black with two coats of Rustoleum before I installed it. My truck will get lightly used, rained on, and sit out from time to time. Stain and varnish looks good but I wanted something more durable and easy to touch up if needed. I have a wooden bench on my back deck that I painted with Rustoleum about twenty years ago and it's holding up good so that's why I decided to use it on my bed floor. I used un-polished SS strips and bolts from Mar-K.

[mknittle]

I was thinking marine plywood with grooves for the strips.

[yossarian19]

What are the bed dimensions on a 57 long bed? 4x8, I assume?
Trying to figure out material cost on a metal bed, don't have the truck nearby...

[1project2many]

Bed is pretty close to 4X8.

OP, in your area you might be able to find someone who will mill some boards out of Black Locust. It's extremely rot and bug resistant without any treatment. It also has a very unique looking grain which will get some interesting guesses at shows. There are some exotic woods that are also very durable but I'd think in MN you can find Black Locust easy enough. Very nice pictures of some Black Locust projects.

Personally, I'd stay away from fake decking. It's wood fiber bonded with plastic resins and many of it's characteristics mirror those of the plastic. I've seen it sag and droop in warm weather, dissolve (to some extent) when solvents are spilled on it, and crack in extreme cold. I don't know much about specifics but those few experiences led me to believe the plastic wood may not be so advantageous.

Be careful with pressure treated wood. The greenish color in PT is due to copper, and when you place copper and steel together you get some galvanic action and some corrosion. Coated or stainless fasteners are always recommended with PT if cosmetic issues are important. Also, watch out when buying PT from big box stores. It's often shipped in still wet from the treatment process. As it dries it often changes shape considerably. Sometimes it can take a year or two so show this. Picking your wood based on grain can help minimize the problem. In short, I'd plan ahead when using PT.

OriieG... with all due respect, "hardwood" is leaf tree, "softwood" is needles or conifer, regardless of actual wood hardness. Terms come from something like 16th century England.

[pvienneau]

I wanted the original look so I painted the MAR K boards with Por 15 3 coats and then I will finish with a couple coats of Marine Gloss Black from California.

Pat

[Atommik]

Thanks for all the input!! Now I have even more choices to consider!!!