bed removal ?'s for a first time restore

[mjo8585]

hey I am just starting my restore on my '68 lwb chevy 2wd. I think I'm going to start with the box removal first. Any help on what to expect or any tricks you all have would be swell. thanks again!!

[Hottrucks]

I leave the tail gate on then put 4 staps to the corners and lift it with the engine hoist...buat 4 of your buddies and some beer works well too....

just pull the bolts out and unplug the tail lights

[Jerry Jones]

For guys and one lady. Pull the bolts, disconnect wiring, 4 guys lift bed and one lady drives truck out from underneath.

[67chevy1series]

i thought it was four guys and a little boy! right rene?

[turner16]

also remember the guys at the cab end have to lift it higher over the tires

[68 SHORT-STEP'N]

You guys might want to watch your FEET !!!

[trkfrk]

My dilemma was finding something to set the bed on after removing it from the frame. I ended up using four 20 gallon grease barrels with homemade dolly's so i could maneuver it around my garage.

[Mike J]

I built 4 saw horses, then cut/air chiseled the old bolts out, then had me and 3 friends lift it off- my long bed wasnt nearly as heavy as i thought it would be, it was pretty easy

[turner16]

I used Milk crates

[Jessechop]

I just removed mine all by my lonesome and here is what I did.

#1 unbolt bed. I got real lucky and my trucker is super solid and 5 of the 8 bolts came out, 1 snapped and I was left with 2 that were spinning. I dont have a torch and my air compressor is dead. So I welded 3/8 nuts to the top of the bed bolts, wrench on the bottom and spin them right out from the top.

#2 unplug the taillight harness

#3 I ran a 4x4 under the bed rails over the wheel wells. Backed the truck under my chain falls and lifted it up, drove the truck out and lowered the bed onto a pair of saw horses

[cdowns]

i like to grind the heads off the bolts soas not to damage the square holes holding the bolts// i just lift with engine hoist and roll the bed off. it's a bit easier to do with the wheels removed

[turner16]

Last summer I removed the 8 foot bed from my 80 gmc and flipped it over then back over again all by my self!!! should have taken pictures, it was a feat of engineering!
I only used an engine crane and 8 milk crates.

[N2TRUX]

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[mjo8585]

oh man this is a great help guys. I just started today and I attempted to loosen 4 bolts. needle to say, it wasn't happening. its a wood bed so the carriage bolts heads just spin. not a big deal, it'll just take a little elbow grease. Thanks again for all the help!!

[lolife99]

If the bolts (in a steel bed floor) don't come out fairly easily,... I always cut them.
This saves any damage to the "square" hole in the bed floor.
The I reinstall it with a new set of bed bolts with some anti-seize on the bolt threads.

[AirSpeed]

If the bed is sitting correctly on the frame, you may want to mark the bed and frame underneath to make realigning it a lot faster. I learned this the hard way, I was alone when I put my bed back on and getting it back in position by myself was a pain in the butt! Before I removed it next time, I scribed some lines underneath and it went on a lot faster the next time. A few of the nuts were rusted so when I tried to loosen them up the head turned on the carriage bolts, I ended up tack welding the heads to the bed so i could take the nut off. After I got them off I ground off the tack weld and removed the bolt. Once it was out I squared up the hole with some weld so the new carriage bolts wouldnt spin. I used stainless steel bolts when I bolted back on.
I had no help removing my bed so I jacked up each corner and used milk crates to set it on, I then just pulled the truck forward. I did the reverse to put it back on.
Goof luck! It's really a pretty easy job.