Metal Bed cross sills

I have a metal bed. Are the Bed Cross Sills welded onto the bed, or are they only attached by the two end carriage bolts? Or both, welded and the bolts? I've taken the carriage bolts out but they don't want to budge. Is it all the years of rust/dirt, and undercoating thats keeping it from coming loose?

[special70gmc]

there spot welded

you dont happen to to know where it is?

[Huck]

Each cross sill is spot welded to almost every rib in the floor and on both front and back side of the sill. It is not an easy task to pull the sills from a floor nor is it an easy job to attach one with spot welding. This was all done on a large jig at the plant of manufacture. Sorry but there is no easy way around this one that I know of~~~. Huck

I went back out to take another look and I saw all the spots that are welded. My first thought was "Forget that Idea!" The reason I was asking is due to my undercoating is starting to fall off in large sections. So I'm gonna remove the rest of it by good old labor(razor) and re-coat it. I tried a pressure washer(2600lbs), sand blasting, but with no luck its still there. But I continue to undercoat the other parts and its starts to fall off in sections(the factory stuff). Thats the reason I ask, I wanted to remove the cross sills to make it easier but This time it will not be done.

[ozarkhippie]

You can use a propane torch to warm up the undercoating and make it scrape loose easyer. Just don't get it hot if you have paint on the bed floor your going to try and save.

No, I was gonna wait on the paint of the bed. I can get to that easier then getting under the bed, plus getting it off. I had my rear diff rebuilt(Little posi power put in) and just thought to do this.....

[ozarkhippie]

I am going to do the underside of my bed, looks like I'm going to have my work cut out for me.

Its not going to be an easy task. I'm spent maybe 5-6 hours removing the old undercoating, but then again I'm really picky. And still have little less then half left to do still. I'm then going to primer the cleaned underside and then undercoat with another undercoat, and then paint that a gloss black. I did my frame and rear axle and it looks really good. All new SS bolts and hardware will go in after. I think I'm gonna get the bed painted a dark blue(the same as my truck color) with that rhino Liner stuff, so we'll see.

[Huck]

Keep in mind that the rust damage on these beds happens most often between the cross sills and the floor. The bare floor that you can see almost never rusts first even in the rust belt. I have a near perfect bed floor that ONLY rusted thru at the cross sills---every freakin one ~~~~~~~. You really want to try and get the cross sills blown out of gravel, sand and crap. Then you need to try and get some kind of rust preventative stuff into that small space without filling the holes created by the bed floor ribbing for ventalation. Have heard of some guys using a mixture of roofing hot tar and kerosene---just kind of floating that gunk into the sills then turning the floor upside down and floating the junk down the ribs under the sills. Lots of work----probably why many change over to wook as it's easier in a long run. Bed floors are not fun things to rebuild~~~~~~.