Pictures of your bed wood floor

[dialric]

Pictures of your bed wood floor and what type of wood you used

[bodyman9174]

Here is mine not done yet but soon. Raising the bed up so the wood will sit on top of the rails. And using Cedar.

[Mr.green]

Ipe would be my choice.

[dialric]

MR. green what is Ipe?

[Mr.green]

Originally Posted by dialric

MR. green what is Ipe?

South American hardwood. Stuff is indestructible and beautiful.

[ChevDog1]

Here's mine. 3/4" marine plywood. Unfinished right now, but will add some type of stain and sealer when I get a little farther along

[Rich84]

Originally Posted by Mr.green

Ipe would be my choice.

Me too... I have oak now. It's been 10 years and the clear coat is peeling. My understanding is that you don't have to do anything to ipe..and the gray color it turns would look good with my silver truck..😄

[Mr.green]

I build a lot of decks out of ipe, it is indestructible.

No maintenance required.

[S10Fan]

I used 12" wide 3/4" cabinet grade oak boards for my floor, cheap easy, and looks good.

[Greenlee]

Here's mine. Pine with stain and marine spar varnish...

[Greenlee]

Originally Posted by S10Fan

I used 12" wide 3/4" cabinet grade oak boards for my floor, cheap easy, and looks good.

Can you give me some info. on your tool box? I have been wanting to do something like that. Thanks

[S10Fan]

Originally Posted by Greenlee

Can you give me some info. on your tool box? I have been wanting to do something like that. Thanks

Harbor Freight, Trailer Tongue Tool Box, serves me well.

[mickeykreg]

anyone know the last year for the fleetside longbed with wood floor? Was it after '73?

[meatwagon83]

mid eighties i believe, i have seen a post 83 with a wood floor

[ray_mcavoy]

Originally Posted by mickeykreg

anyone know the last year for the fleetside longbed with wood floor? Was it after '73?

The fleetside wood floor was RPO E81 and as far as I know was last offered in 1980. Stepsides kept the wood floor all the way to 1987.

This is Dad's 77 ... Before:


And after with southern yellow pine from Mar-K:

[mickeykreg]

Wow! That yellow pine looks wonderful, especially against the blue. Very nice!

[Greenlee]

Originally Posted by S10Fan

Harbor Freight, Trailer Tongue Tool Box, serves me well.

Thanks. It looks good!

[piecesparts]

Try this one out.

[dialric]

finally got mine finished. I need to install rear seats

[JROC's Chevy]

ray_mcavoy, Nice bed! What size are those boards? I have a 79 that came with metal bed but I am gonna put in a wooden bed.

[ray_mcavoy]

Originally Posted by JROC's Chevy

ray_mcavoy, Nice bed! What size are those boards? I have a 79 that came with metal bed but I am gonna put in a wooden bed.

Thanks! We used the pre-cut kit from Mar-K and it was a perfect fit. I took some measurements for another member a while ago ... they're all 3/4" thick, the middle three are 7-1/4" wide, the next two out (the ones with the large bed mounting bolts) are 6-1/2" wide, the next two out from that (the ones with the notches for the wheel wells) are 7-1/8" wide, and finally, the short ones that fill in the areas in front of and behind the wheel wells are 8-1/8" wide.

By the way, the factory RPO E81 wood floor option uses a lot of unique steel parts to accommodate the wood. All of the cross sills underneath are slightly lower profile to account for the extra thickness of the wood as compared to a metal floor. The rear cross sill has a notch for the ends of the boards to fit into. And there are 9 special flange pieces around the perimeter that make the transition from the wood to the bedsides, wheel wells, and front bed panel. So the measurements I posted above will only be useful if you'll be doing the conversion using those steel parts from a donor truck that originally had a wood floor.

[JROC's Chevy]

Thanks, I didnt know that about the unique parts. I wonder if I could put the wood on top of the cross members I have and fabricate some perimeter flange pieces? That would raise the bed floor a bit...right?

[ray_mcavoy]

Originally Posted by JROC's Chevy

I wonder if I could put the wood on top of the cross members I have and fabricate some perimeter flange pieces? That would raise the bed floor a bit...right?

There are kits available to install a wood floor over the top of the existing steel floor --> http://bedwoodandparts.com/c-129285-retroliner.html

If you want to build your own custom wood floor to replace the steel, you might want to consider using some cross members meant for a 67-72 fleetside wood floor. With the exception of the rear one, they're the same profile as the 73-80 wood floor cross members. So if you're using 3/4" thick boards they won't raise the height of the bed floor like the existing steel floor cross members would.

In fact, we used 67-72 cross members to replace the rusty originals on Dad's 77. Normally, the bolt holes in the 67-72 cross members are different due to the different plank widths. But talking with the guys at Mar-K I found out that I could order them without holes and drill my own to match the 73-80 pattern.

And yes, you'll need to fabricate some sort of flange to join the wood to the bedsides, wheel tubs, and front panel. The factory wood floor perimeter flange pieces all bolt into the same holes as the steel floor panel uses. So it might be possible to cut the outer edge off a steel floor and use that as your perimeter flange. You'd likely have to do some work to smooth out the ribs in some areas so they lay flat against the wood though.

[JROC's Chevy]

Its been a while, but here is the wood bed I installed. I still have to have some flange made to go aroung the wheel housings. what do you guys think? http://imgur.com/JA0PwUY
It raised the bed about 3/4" but it dont bother me any.