Rear Dropped Shackles Clearance

[lo72]

I've put 2" dropped shackles on the rear of my 85C-10 and i need some input on how much to cut out of the bed support. I dont want to cut too much and hack up the bed...Thanks greg

[piecesparts]

When I cut mine, I took out all but about 1 1/4" worth of metal. I then split a piece of square tubing and fit it into the open area and bolted it to the frame ( I put the open part of the channel upwards into the bed slot, so as to make a box affect). This created a stiffener to hold the bed solid.