stepside guys wood question

[old Rusty C10]

So im about to do the wood on the bed. Im too cheap to buy oak so I went and got poplar. Any hints or tips from anyone who has cut their own wood for the bed?

[Kudzupatch]

Never done a wood bed, but I can tell you as a woodworker and boat builder that popular is most likely a poor choice if your going to use your truck. It is not rot resistant, at all.

[old Rusty C10]

my choices were oak at like $350, poplar and pine I figured pine was totally useless so I went with poplar I figure if I throw some Thompsons on it all sides it will last enough ?

[S10Fan]

I used 3/4" oak plywood from Lowe's, had them cut it for me, less than 50 bucks.

Mine is a little different, used 12" wide boards requiring only 3 strips. Thompson's water seal on the bottom, sanded and cleared the top, no issues at all but I also have a bed cover.

[walkerb]

I bought white oak for mine. 4/4 pretty cheap from a lumber mill

[Kudzupatch]

Problems occur where water gets trapped. Not exactly sure how all the hardware fits but it will get wet behind stuff and stay wet and that is where the rot starts. That is what gets wooden boats.

You have the wood so I think I would paint the underside and hidden sections. It is not going to stop the rot but should slow it down.

It's a little late and not trying to beat you up. But white oak would be a great choice. Assuming you went a lumber yard but yes $350 was to much. You should have been able to pick some up much cheaper. If you have any serious wood working friends they probably know the better sources for wood.

[Liberty]

The bed on my stepside is totally rotten. I'm not sure what wood they replaced the original with back in the 90s, but it did last 22 years with a single Thompsons treatment.

I want to say GM used Oak for the stepsides.

I also want to say its a bit of a booger to replace the wood.

[walkerb]

Originally Posted by Liberty

The bed on my stepside is totally rotten. I'm not sure what wood they replaced the original with back in the 90s, but it did last 22 years with a single Thompsons treatment.

I want to say GM used Oak for the stepsides.

I also want to say its a bit of a booger to replace the wood.

They came with southern yellow pine from the factory. That's why its rare to still have the original wood intact.

[Kudzupatch]

Originally Posted by walkerb

They came with southern yellow pine from the factory. That's why its rare to still have the original wood intact.

Very interesting!! Would not have guessed that. Of course the plantation grown pine we get no is (probably) no where near as good as the pine they were getting.

To be fair, not many woods will last 30 years out in the weather.

[Rich84]

I would love to try to make a bed out of Ipe..Hard as a rock and needs no treatment.

[walkerb]

Originally Posted by Kudzupatch

Very interesting!! Would not have guessed that. Of course the plantation grown pine we get no is (probably) no where near as good as the pine they were getting.

To be fair, not many woods will last 30 years out in the weather.

Very true. Nothing beats old growth timber..........

[bigblock73]

I thought the wood GM used was Cyprus? My 75 fleetside still has the original wood, with some of the paint still on it. Only two pieces are starting to buckle. Love the wood beds, especially fleetsides.

[old Rusty C10]

I ended up using the poplar . I bought 7 pieces of 1X8X8
the outer edge ones need to be ripped on a table saw to 5 1/4 inches the others the width was ok for the holes but there are spaces there Im hoping this will help with drainage. this truck is not going to be used for hauling ( at least not by me) so im not too concerned with the strength.
Im Thompson water sealing the bottom and all sides and I will post pics at some point

[jjmorrse]

Poplar is not very rot resistant. Generally tropical or swamp woods are generally more rot resistant species. Cypress for example. hardwood tends to be more rot resistant than softwood. Old growth is more rot resistant than new growth. Tight grained is more resistant than a looser grained example of the same species.

Spar varnish is used in boats. It works well. End grain acts like straws, so if preservative is wicked into the endgrain initially instead of water, it helps a lot.

These are rules of thumb. I have picked up a little about old wood. PhD in architecture, historic preservation focus.

[GRX]

Also agree on Poplar being a poor choice. Not sure what kind of pine you were looking at. The yellow pine from the factory is better than white pine for sure.

[old Rusty C10]

well the bed is installed. The poplar is a very cheap wood I guess if I don't sell this truck I will be doing this job again. I sealed it up good with two coats of thompsons water seal I rhinolined the inner bed and I rhinolined the strips so hopefully the water can get out a pic for your review and a teaser shot of the front

[jjmorrse]

Looks clean.

[tucsonjwt]

I think that poplar looks good and will hold up if you continue to clean it off and lightly sand it every couple of years. You may have a tendency toward cupping of the wood because of the wider grain structure of poplar. As was mentioned, the problem will be the underside of the wood, which will soak up moisture over time.

It the truck is ever used as a truck, with heavy objects slid over the bed, the poplar will scratch/tear up much easier than oak. Commercial trailers use oak for their flooring and it holds up well, as long as a forklift does not jab into it, but I guess you know that from your line of work.

Just thinking, composite deck wood would probably be a good choice, except you could not stain/varnish it very well to look like wood.

[tucsonjwt]

You mentioned old growth southern species, and it reminded me of the oak flooring I am saving to reinstall in my 1925 Spanish Colonial Revival here in the desert. Some of the pieces are 14 feet long, something you would never see on new growth flooring today. Aside from some minor cupping where the flooring was wet, like the kitchen and bath, the wood still has all of its wear layer and is cleaning up very nicely. The back of the flooring is marked with "Superior Lumber - Arkansas." Having original oak flooring from the 1920s is a big deal here in the desert.