Just finished cutting my TREX bed wood!

[Irishbleueyes]

Originally Posted by jayoldschool

Went well. Thought TREX would be a great choice for a truck that will sit out in the elements. Got a great deal on overstock that was sitting unused outside. Used the dimensions from GMCPaul's site. This is for my LWB 65 C10 Fleetside. The boards were 1"x8"x12'. Took about three hours total for measuring, cutting to length, ripping, and grooving. Boards were cut to length with a circular saw, but all other dimensions were done with a radial arm saw (ripping blade, and a dado blade).

Can't wait to install it!







Wood, non-polished strips/bolts will be a nice upgrade:

Im pretty sure if those boards are left wet for an extended period they will absorb the moisture and they will expand. It happened on a deck I built and it buckled bad. Trek say they are waterproof or water resistant? Maybe use a sealer just to be safe..

[jayoldschool]

Thanks for the heads up. Hopefully, they've expanded as much as they are going to. Those boards have been sitting outside for a few years, buried in snow in the winter. I think they'll be ok. I bought them from my country hardware store that had old extra stock.

[Sharps40]

I bought the cheep trex copy boards, it says no worries. They are intended for fascia and trim but no coating is recommended. No movement yet and I expect none since the point of this type of material is to be very very stable. I wouldn't worry bout it movin due to moisture. Afterall, its pop bottles and sawdust....not much in the way of long sections of wood grain left to expand or contract.

[forestb]

Is there a way of staining this stuff to make it look nice without effecting the durability?

[BR3W CITY]

Most of the things you can do to it won't really affect durability, aside from things like the Hazing and cracking I've seen occur ONLY IN THE FINISH when some really thick shalaq type stuff was used.

Its just a little harder to prep than wood, since it does absorb somewhat, but not nearly how wood does.

I'll be coating mine with Raptor liner, so I'll have Urea-covered-recycled-plastic-faux-wood....making my faux bed.

[ChefCy]

that look great!! i might have to consider this option as well

[chopper john]

man that looks great. im doing that next

[gofastnut]

As I said, it looks great!

[jayoldschool]

Just realized I never posted a pic of the finished project...

[Iron-Butt]

it looks nice.

[earl84]

Thanks for the finished pic, that looks great. I milled my own pine and swore I'd never do that again, lots of work. But at the time, I had more time than money and it was very gratifying. If this wears out any time soon, I'm going to mill up some Trex just like yours.

[JWheeler331]

Looking good.

[JWheeler331]

Originally Posted by jayoldschool

Just realized I never posted a pic of the finished project...

What did you use to countersink the frame bolts?

[scuderia]

Originally Posted by JWheeler331

What did you use to countersink the frame bolts?

in the process of installing new bed in mine and this is what i just purchased..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Steelex-D285...E:L:OC:US:3160

[jayoldschool]

I drilled the mounting hole through, then used a spade bit the same size as the washer to drill the countersunk area, offset. It took a steady hand.

[JWheeler331]

Thanks yall.

[jayoldschool]

I forgot to add one step. Once I had the mounting hole drilled, I placed the washer over the hole (holes lined up). I then used a pencil to trace the outline of the washer location on the wood so I knew where to cut out with the spade bit. The tip of the bit wanted to walk over into the bolt hole, so I had to keep steady sideways pressure on it to not chew anything up.

[66 Burban]

Suggestion: do the c'bore first with forstner or spade bit and then use the center created by c'bore to drill the thru hole. Should eliminate walking of c'bore bit.

[jayoldschool]

The problem with that is the through hole doesn't go where the center of the spade bit goes.

[earl84]

Check this out for how to drill offset holes. http://www.mar-k.com/Catalog/PDF/Ins...s_3-8_ofst.pdf

[Lokin4AReason]

were these pre cut or did you cut them ...??

[jayoldschool]

I cut everything myself, using a radial arm saw, sideways. One blade to cut the groove, dado blade to shave down the lower part next to the groove. It actually didn't take long to do everything, less than two hours. I used the GMC Paul's dimensions.

[Lokin4AReason]

i will have to do a bit of homework in deciding than on the material i can use ...

im just looking for 0 percent maintenance/ up keep on it, something composite ..

[gsxrdoug]

That is a great idea! Never have to worry about that stuff. Was it hard to work with?

[jayoldschool]

Ridiculously easy to work with. Cuts fast. Way faster to cut and drill than wood. ZERO maintenance. No finish. It sits out in the rain. It sits out in the snow. It looks the exact same.