bed wood Q...

[Longhorn Man]

heh heh heh...he said bed and wood together... heh heh heh ...


Anyways...
I am looking at putting wood in the bed of the Longhorn.
I'm too cheap (read broke) to buy the stupid $400 kits for $50 worth of wood.
I want my bed to be pretty
I know me... I'll throw junk in there.
I DO have a cheesey plastic drop in bed liner that I'll be using when i know I'll be needing it. Scrap runs, pretending to be a mover, what ever. But for the best part, the wood will be exposed.

I know normal varnish is way out of the question.
Automotive clear coat is out of reach financially at the moment too.

Is there some sort of finish i can use that'll help hold up to the weather and mild useage?

Looking at lumber yard style lumber, what is the best kind of wod to get that is still at a lower cost?

or am i draming again and should stay with my freeway exit sign with plastic bedliner on top?

[rage'nrat638]

marine varnish.

railroad ties

[pat]

I used Marine Spar Varnish(?) I think, about 45 bucks for a gallon. Not sure about cheaper wood, but I had a friend cut my bed wood for free, so he gave me oak wood for a shortwide at cost to him(cabinet maker) and that was $275. He said wood got more expen$ive.

[corn]

not sure what to treat it with but PLEASE dont use pine! Everything else is very expensive anymore so be prepared to spend some $$$$...

[Longhorn Man]

I know pine isn't the best... but in my first truck, I had no reason to believe the wood wasn't original...

[FUNMUDDER]

Longhorn Man has turned in to Longhorn Beavis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[crazy longhorn]

Steel is real.....not as pretty as the orig wood floor, but you can build it for a fraction of the price. cover with a Rhino liner(or equivalent), & you have one d@mn tough floor that will probably outlast the truck I dont intend to do any hauling in my old truck, but the steel floor sure stiffened the chit out of the back of that truck.......she goes pretty straight when the hammer is dropped just a thought...... L

[68Stepbed]

I used linseed oil on mine. The spar varnish was flaking off within 6 months. The linseed oil soaks deep into the wood and keeps moisture in it. If you scratch it up, just add more.

[bucket]

I'm trying to decide the same thing. I work my truck hard but still want the wood bed. I think i'm going to use trex which is a plastic wood fiber composite lumber. i have used it for decks in the past & is easy to work with and doesn't shrink and swell quite as much as the real thing. yeah...hehe...wood is coool, beavis!

[72 CustomCamper]

How thick is the factory wood floors? I've thought about using 5/4 deck boards, but not sure if they're too thick...


Chuck

[Huck]

Trex would be a nice solution if the cost isn't too high and you could probably get it in 10' lengths to cut down for the longhorn. If you want regular wood, white oak is what they use on the big rig flat beds. It lasts a long time if treated a bit. Red oak starts rotting yesterday. Pine is ok if you get the right kind (which I can't remember).
Andy, keep your eye peeled for one of them little lumber cutter guys who have the small setups by the side of the road in the county and stop by. They often have longer logs that they will cut to your length and sell pretty reasonable like. You could coat it with POR15 and I know you have access to that---comes in colors and now in a clear as well. One quart would top coat cover for sure. You could use black on the bottom.

[67chevemall]

I also used steel. I had a guy bend ridges in it so it looks like the wood.

[pierce]

I bought marine grade or treated 3/4" plywood. 1 sheet did the back part and another 6" strip for the part behind the cab. After primer I used Rustolium, the same color I used on the truck $25 a gallon.

[67ChevyRedneck]

I used treated deckboards in my bed. They were installed in 1997. I know they look nasty now, but my ucle has an industrial strength pressure washer and he said he'd wash them for me. I've seen him clean decks that were dirtier and the wood looked like new. Anyway, The bedwood has been in the truck 8 years and was never stained/varnished/treated whatever. Only thing is that it's 1/4" taller than stock bedwood so you'd have to plane them down under the side angles and I THINK under the back edge where the tailgate is (1997 was a long time ago!) There are no cracks in the boards and they have severed just fine for "truck" duty. I've hualed several engines and trannys, moved furniture a few times, plywood, sheetrock, even a few cord of wood. It's held up well. I might just get it pressure washed and put some pretty stain on it

[Palf70Step]

One of the board members did his truck with that fake/plastic (I know inaccurate) decking and it looked good. can't rember name, but it was in one of the 62-66 style step beds.

BTW the original beds were Pine, so Pine would work well. Look how long it has been in the truck already. Show quality, no, but still they can look nice and the price is a lot less.

[farside847]

I just took a look at this over the weekend myself. Red oak planks was like $250 for just the wood, and then I would need to knotch it. There was a guy on here selling pre-knotched kits for less so I will probably buy from him... (this is a short-step)

[Longhorn Man]

good info....red oak starts rotting yesterday.. LMAO!!!
huck, awsome I dea on the POR... NEVER woulda thought of that one.

[stllookn]

If I were not going to finish my bed wood, I would use teak. It is meant to be used unfinished (ship decks), is very hard, durable and resistant to rot. It will turn a nice grey patina when properly weathered. You can slosh some teak oil on it if you want to make it look pretty but will have to do this about every three months to keep the golden color. You can varnish if you like but that is for show trucks...you can't carry anything on a varnised surface unless it is a load or baby diapers!

Having said that, I've got some African hardwood for the big block Longhorn that is going to be outstanding when varnished. I intend to use the truck but will revarnish as required. I will pay someone to haul gravel to my place even though I have a truck capable of doing that...LOL! I hate it when they use a 5-yd bucket to load a 3/4-t truck. You get your money's worth but half of it ends up on the bed rails, roof or hood.

[68Stepbed]

I knew a guy that used cypress in a truck once. It's expensive, but it'll never rot(it grows in water) and has a beautiful wavy grain in it. Be sure to have about three or four good drill bits when drilling holes though. The stuff is like drilling through marble.

I used red oak. I work with my dad making picture frames, so it was readily available. I have a couple of splits in the ends only cause I left it untreated for too long.

[dwaite72lnghrn]

Andy you saw my longhorn bed. That is pressure treated 2x6, and 2x8's painted black. Those boards have been in the bed since around '87 when I put them in. The bed sits about 3/4" higher than cab but it was a weekend job and at the time PT lumber wasn't as high as it is now, But all wood has gone up in price.
White pine 4/4 aka 1x6, 1x8 would work if you primed all sides and painted them, figure factory beds(white pine) lasted about 9 years painted 1 side.

[bucket]

Thought of another option Andy,

I use a 50/50 mix of used motor oil and diesel fuel on my trailer planks. tip i got from an old farmer. keep it in a pump sprayer and treat a couple of times a year. i don't think those boards will ever rot! LOL

[Palf70Step]

dwait72longhorn...
For some reason I just now noticed your rear bumper....That dude is serious! I like

[dwaite72lnghrn]

My dad was a pipe fitter. It's 4" schedule 40 black pipe welded to a 4"x4"x1/4" angle iron welded to the frame. It should stand the test of time.

[llegos]

i just need the strips and to replane/stain mine. since i got a week off of school, i might be doing that soon

[cdowns]

for real cheap good hardwood if you know anybody in the glass , marble or exotic stone business the shipping pallets used are an excellent source of hardwood if you're able & willing to do the finishing work on it yourself//my first houise renovation(old blacksmiths shop) project i ended up with about 1500sq' of hardwood floors and didn't spend a dime on wood