Plastic Bed Boards

[72afr]

Im putting black plastic boards instead of wood boards in the bed of my truck and i was wondering if anyone else had done this, if so, did you have any porblems with it?
thanks

[Longhorn Man]

I knew a dude who did this in a 67 short step to show off his chrome rear axle. He used the strips and just had plexi=glass cit to the original width of the wood panels. (No idea what he did for the thin-ness of them though)
One thing I recomend...get the stuff with the smoked black tint. The clear stuff yellows pretty bad in short time.

[highboy_04]

i imagine you probably couldnt haul much.

[Primered_69]

What I believe he is asking (and I am considering) is using the plastic boards that they use in decks?

It should look great. Do you know if you can get them n black. I keep wanting to go check but have not had the time

[Longhorn Man]

Hmmm, never heard of them.
oh well. What I said is pretty dang cool if you have a chrome rear end under your rig.

[jorgensensc]

I think I saw somewhere someone used Corean (spell??) Anyway, nice granite looking countertop. It's pretty expensive, but it sure looked nice!!

[dinnut]

i bet chrome rear ends are expensive

[casey]

I think it would look cool, my neighbor used that stuff on his back deck, it was wood colored, but looked like a durable product

[lost wages]

they sell it at lowes here

[Stout72]

We bought this stuff for the place where I work, it's called "Rumber." It's recycled rubber cast into the popular sizes you would find for regular lumber. See: http://www.rumber.com/

[jeffbo]

There are many companies that make compostie decking now. Trex is one of the larger ones. As a carpenter, I have built a number of decks with it and it is a very durable product and it is maintenence free. Don't see why it wouldn't work for a truck box.

[Hotrod70C10]

On that rumber website they have trailers that are using it for the floor....

[72afr]

thanks for the input guys, i had already bought the composite board before i posted this, is black (not smoked) and we already have it cut down, i got it here in town from a company that does utility truck beds with this stuff, the only problem is that it comes in a 4' x 8' board, if you wanted to use it for a fleetside, you would need two boards, with mine being a step we had about 3/4 of an inch left over

im hoping that it will look good offsetting the red

thanks again

[polevault1977]

Got any pics?! I might consider this, Danny

[72afr]

not yet, still in the process of putting it together, i might in a while

[krue]

We definitely need pics. Sounds like a good looking durable option.

[72afr]

ill post em as soon as i get em

[old Rusty C10]

the stuff youre looking for is called TREX and its gotta be well suppourted or it wont work not good for weight either id stay away from it for the deck of a truck

[72afr]

well, i already have it, but it seems as sturdy as a wood board, its really really heavy too, so i hope it will still work

[JayDubBlazer]

should work well just as long as it is reinforced laterally. And as always show some pictures and of both finished product and how to

[slam33]

I work with Trex all the time, You will need to knock it down to 3/4 thickness, not eash to do with a planer and a table saw might melt the plastic unless you have a saw with a 12" blade and you feed it fast. It is very flexable stuff and will need extra support, Trex says 16 inches on a 2X6 and your going to be working with 3/4 inch. I was thinking of doing it too, but once I started playing with it I found it to be a lot of trouble. As for stiffness, it is not as stiff as wood, esp. oak

[68speedalert]

Just to help out numberoneson (aka 72afr), this stuff is already 3/4 inch thick. We just ripped it to size and routed the edges needed. It is SOLID. Not as stiff as wood, though heavier.
I think we will explore the more support idea.

Steve

[sakohntr]

A friend of mine is pioneering a way to bend and curve this composite decking. He keeps doing things with it that the engineers say can't be done. He just did an $80,000 dollar model deck for the manufacturer and will later tear it down and screw it to his house as a bonus. Just another "dumb truck driver".

[gunnersm8]

ive been looking at it, you can get it colored like wood, and really, it will last forever. im going to do it in my SWB. i want to haul **** in my truck, and i still wanted wood in it.

[Dave Reed]

Here's what I got from the lumber yard that sells it. They have major problems with heat. They won't gaurantee it for railings because the heat of the sun cause them to warp under pressure. The heat from your exhaust I am sure is above that range. I wouldn't reccomend using it.