What years were wood beds available?

[dagnabbitt]

It's been done, there are a couple you tube vids on it. I plan on giving it a try myself. I have three stepsides and they all need beds replaced. I prefer wood - who doesn't - but I park two of them outside all summer and winter, and it breaks my heart to see wood deteriorate. Replacing bedwood is really finicky work, and I'd like to do it just once, too.

Some of the higher end composite is really good looking stuff, and a router goes through it like butter. Of course, even with the price of lumber being super high right now, the composite board is actually a more expensive option, so it's not like using it would save money.

I think you'd want a good heat shield for your exhaust, otherwise I think your mufflers would melt a board or two.

[custom10nut]

Originally Posted by 68Gold/white

I wonder if anyone has ever used the composite material for bed wood, like the stuff used on home decks???
Wouldn't look all that great, but would serve the purpose, not sure about strength, though???

Trying to find the composite board wide enough would be hard.
And then there’s the question of being able to cut the grooves into them.
I’m wondering about this fairly new product called Ever Seal.

[jocko]

Considering the composite will outlive you and your kids, and your truck, it might be just fine to use good ol southern yellow pine like uncle GM chose to do. It will look great, it will look correct, and it will last another 40 years or more just like the first bed did, probably longer since most, not all though, will be kept inside and well cared for. Three Quarter, your bed looks perfect! Super job - and thanks for verifying the body color vs black in 68. There are many, many items where the brochure has a lot of the previous year in them if there aren't significant changes year to year. Very true of the 70 and 72 brochures. Any tips regarding how you finished the paint off once you sprayed it - i.e. any rubbing or buffing, sanding, etc? Did you spray with satin or gloss?

[68Gold/white]

Something I was wondering about yesterday???
Were steel beds available before 1967 (66 and earlier??)

[ThreeQuarter]

Originally Posted by jocko

Any tips regarding how you finished the paint off once you sprayed it - i.e. any rubbing or buffing, sanding, etc? Did you spray with satin or gloss?

Thanks for the compliments, jocko. I discussed this with my paint guy and he seemed to have a pretty good recipe for doing this so I trusted his judgement. He reasoned that the best color match would be to use the same paint as my body was getting, and that the best UV protection comes from automotive clear coats, so I got a base/clear on my boards. Sorry, I don’t have details on the primer or clear he used. I know it was a different clear than my sheet metal got.

There were some divots in some of the boards (maybe #2 lumber isn’t what it used to be?) so he used filler in those. Then he didn’t like how he could see the filled spots in the grain showing thru the primer, so he used a primer that hid a lot of the grain. I didn’t like the hidden grain but I understand why he did it and can’t disagree it was the best thing to do given the circumstances. If I had to do it over again I’d search for a higher grade of SYP. The boards got a flatter finish than the body/strips because gloss just didn’t look right on them, especially considering my grain is hard to see.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by 68Gold/white

Something I was wondering about yesterday???
Were steel beds available before 1967 (66 and earlier??)

No. The wood bed floor became an option once steel floor became the standard in '67. Prior to '67 all GM truck bed floors were wood, Stepside, Fleetside, and flatbed

[Boog]

Originally Posted by 68Gold/white

I wonder if anyone has ever used the composite material for bed wood, like the stuff used on home decks???
Wouldn't look all that great, but would serve the purpose, not sure about strength, though???

Composite decking has come up numerous times over the years. A search turned up some fairly recent.
While it costs more it should also last longer and stand up to some hard use.

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...site+bed+floor