Fleetside Vs Stepside

[72bowtiestepper]

To each his own....I have owned both in the past & they both have their good & bad features. I am restoring a 72 stepper this time because I like the look & fewer are seen around this part of the country.

[big_al_71]

Fleetside for me all day....body lines, body side mldgs looks terrific

[RenoKeene]

I voted stepper cause I love mine. Those fat back fenders scream hot rod to me.

[Hardesty454]

Lookin good renokeene, love your stepper. The votes are close!
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[GASoline71]

Fleetsides all the way...

Gary

[Ol Blue K20]

I voted fleet, I like them both though. I like the upper and lower trim with the deluxe two tone, so fleet there, no trim short bed then it's stepper there. Wish I could vote for both..

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by TBONE1964

You could keep both and switch them when the mood strikes

LOL! Came here to say this ^...

K

[alsriv2]

Originally Posted by TBONE1964

"None of these are the most convenient or fast,but maybe that's part of what's wrong with things these days."

I could not agree more.

This^^^^

My dream is a '67 GMC small rear window step side...Now if I could just find one.....

I vote step...

[BugzC10]

Mine's a stepper, but I vote "short" fleet. I love my stepper, but if I had to do it over I would have a fleet. Got to much invested to change er. Reason being...easier to stuff wide meats under her and the body work/ paint prepping would be easier on the fleet.
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[C/10 King]

Fleetside.

[Hardesty454]

Originally Posted by C/10 King

Fleetside.

Rene, how'd I know you would say that?!
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[C/10 King]

Originally Posted by Hardesty454

Rene, how'd I know you would say that?!
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Because you're mind reader? ...........

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

Your wheels will hit the fenders with the stepside, you cut the fenders out with the fleet side.

The wheels won't rub if you tub the stepside using narrowed wheelhouses from a fleetside in the bed.

Why follow the lemmings; everybody has one of those fleetsides; stepsides are way cooler, especially small window stepsides!

And they can run Bigger Tires!

[Hardesty454]

Originally Posted by Fitz

The wheels won't rub if you tub the stepside using narrowed wheelhouses from a fleetside in the bed.

Why follow the lemmings; everybody has one of those fleetsides; stepsides are way cooler, especially small window stepsides!

And they can run Bigger Tires!

Can someone explain WHERE it hits? I'm not understanding. :/
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[Fldawg]

I went with fleetside, because all my other trucks were stepsides and i said if i ever restored one of these it would be a fleetside, There are things about stepsides that make them look good but the fleetsides just flow better

[special-K]

I like 'em all. Nothing says hot rod like a clean body with no trim. Two tone and trim is a factory thing (yes,a truck can look very hot that way). Unlike ford and Dodge,GM made a fender for each body style,so give some respect to that. Sure 55-59s shared the same fender with 60-66. Completely different trucks,yet due to GM's best in the world styling,that same bed looks right on both,as if made for each. It looks like it was made just for a 60-66,not like a left-over or cost saver.

You just really have to sit back a get the final result in mind and do what it takes to fill in the blanks.

Through the years (a little):

[DGulliver]

Stepsides are considerably more rare, there were quite a few more fleetsides made.

I like the step sides myself, 1) because of the actual "step" they are named for, which makes it easier getting smaller stuff in and out of the bed without using the gate, and 2) the muscular look of the rear fenders. I do like 'em all though..

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by Hardesty454

Can someone explain WHERE it hits? I'm not understanding. :/
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Not understanding???

Get a tape measure, jack up the truck, remove a rear wheel and go figure it out! it's not that hard.

[Hardesty454]

Originally Posted by Fitz

Not understanding???

Get a tape measure, jack up the truck, remove a rear wheel and go figure it out! it's not that hard.

Well that is a little hard to do.... When I have a frame on jack stands good sir. May be a little difficult. I was not understanding if it hit the top of the outer fender or what. If so is there a mod to help?
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[gale]

Originally Posted by special-K

It looks like it was made just for a 60-66,not like a left-over or cost saver.

For the stepside the most dramatic change was flattening the siderails in '54 and then the basic box remained the same through '87. In that 33 years the tailgate may have had 2 part numbers but they were still interchangeable. The front piece of the bed had different part numbers only because GM played around with the board spacing.

My signature tells you which ones I think look best. I don't care for a long bed although I have a '67 C20 and I need to pull a big trailer. If I need to haul another truck, the '67 C20 will do it.

[gale]

Originally Posted by Fitz

Why follow the lemmings; everybody has one of those fleetsides; stepsides are way cooler, especially small window stepsides!

Is that a gas tank at the rear? If so where does it fill?

[In The Ten Ring]

Stepside has way more character.

The fleets do look good when they have that front to back running moulding and are 2-tone in color.

[67_C-30]

I couldn't decide, so I built one with both! -lol

If I have to choose one, though, it is fleetside all the sway for me.

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by Hardesty454

Well that is a little hard to do.... When I have a frame on jack stands good sir. May be a little difficult. I was not understanding if it hit the top of the outer fender or what. If so is there a mod to help?
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On a fleetside it will either rub on the inside of the wheelhouse or the lip of the fender arch depending on offset. It will hit BOTH with a 12 in wide wheel running 16 inch wide tires.

On my stepside splitting two fleetside wheelhouses 2 inches off the bedside mounting flange and cutting two inches off the other side and re-joining them (as in the picture below)allows for 19 inches of clearance from the inside of the wheel house (I/2 inch off the frame) and the inner lip of the fender. Wheel backspace can be as great as 13 inches (but I recommend less). Adding the narrowed fleetside wheelhouses adds 6.5 inches of width to the wheel/tire combination BUT, the diameter of the wheel needs to remain 15 inches max diameter to clear the wheelhouse outside edge where it joins the bedside but you can go up to 13 inches wide. You only lose 1.25 inches of vertical travel on the rear when the bedside is cut to match the arch in the stepside wheelhouse.

[AirSpeed]

You should paint both of them, make a quick release mechanism so you can switch them out easy! Put a nice plug in the tail light harness, some way to lift them off the frame easily. It would be a great get away car if you rob a bank, rob it with the step side bed then run home and switch beds, no one will know!
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