bed assembly tips?

[57chevyman]

Hey guys, im planning to install my bed on saturday.... the plan is to assemble it off the truck and then lift it into place....

i can only find one video on youtube, and the guy installs the cross sills and all the wood boards first, and then builds the bed one piece at a time. what is the easier / faster / correct way to assemble and install the bed??


i have the complete stepside bed.. currently the bedsides already have the fenders and steps attached to them..

my question is, how much of the bed would you assemble off the truck? im thinking that i need to assemble the metal bed parts, the two main wood boards and the cross sills, and then lift that onto the frame

please advise

[SCHRUMGMC]

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[Speedbumpauto]

I completely assembled the bed before setting it on the frame, but I had the advantage of a hoist. I did trial fit the front panel, sides and rear sill assembled to the frame/cab to make sure the holes lined up and the front was square to the rear of the cab. once it was square to my liking I tightened all the bolts for the front, sides and rear and cross measured to ensure square and recorded the measurements. I removed the square framework and completely assembled it making sure the cross measurements stayed the same and installed it. Worked well for me.

[Old Crow]

We assembled the sides, front panel and rear sill piece after body work and priming, but before paint. That way all the bolts get painted at the same time. We then set the bed, the cross sills, and 2 outer boards in place on the frame. Got the bolts thru the bed rails, outer boards and cross sills, squared everything up, set all the other boards in place and started dropping bolts thru holes.
Did the board over the gas filler hole last. After all the boards and bolts were in, we checked it for squareness again and tightened everything up.
We did the fenders and running boards later on in the build.

[dyno]

I assembled my bed a few weeks ago on the truck, exactly like the video of the guy with the yellow 4x4. All went like clockwork.

[_Ogre]

i bolted the rails to the frame, then i assembled all the metal and backed truk under it and last installed the floor; no exposed bed bolts

[Ratpin]

My dad and I built a rolling cart/bed and replicated the frame out of wood so we could assemble everything and just lift it in place when the time comes. It also allows me to roll it in and out of the shop by myself as I tend to some light bodywork and paint.

[57chevyman]

Originally Posted by dyno

I assembled my bed a few weeks ago on the truck, exactly like the video of the guy with the yellow 4x4. All went like clockwork.

ive watched the video with the yellow napco several times... i think we are going to follow that video as a guide, and avoid heavy lifting.

did you have issues with the bed wood fitting like the guy in the video?

[tmoble]

anybody got a link to the NAPCO bed build video? I don't see it here in this thread.

[pimpston65]

Originally Posted by tmoble

anybody got a link to the NAPCO bed build video? I don't see it here in this thread.

its on youtube, search 55 chevy truck bed build.

[oldcouple]

I have installed mine several times as a unit, using ratchet straps and a eyebolt in each corner.

[tmoble]

Thanks, I found it with google. Should have done that to begin with instead of coming on here and asking for something I could easily look up myself.

oldcouple, thanks for posting that. I used a similar strategy a couple times with a big A-frame a buddy has. I was really looking for hard info on the bedbuild process. If I do at my buddies I can build the whole thing on sawhorses and lift it, or do it at home and build it piecewise on the truck. Either is OK now that I've seen the build.

[57chevyman]

So, i ended up building the floor first. ( lay the front bed panel in front first).
i used this order of assembly:

1- place front panel into position
2 - place rubber pads on frame
3- place the three cross sills into position. front cross sill needs the holes for the step brackets closer to the front of the truck, if theres one different looking cross sill, thats the one that goes above the rear part of the leaf springs.
4 - place the one main board into position and secure to cross sills and frame with hardware
5 - place rear sill into position and attach with hardware
6 - place the other main board into position and secure with hardware
7- lift front panel into position and secure with hardware
8- work inward and attach boards with metal strips.
9 - place bedisde into position. the back part slides over and around the end of the rear sill., attach the front of the bedside to the front panel
10 repeat for other bedside.
then adding the bedsides. my fenders and steps being already attached to the bedsides made for a pretty quick process. me and one other guy got this all together in under 2 hours. i think this process worked well. didnt require any heavy lifting. it is a two person job to hold the front panel in place while the other guy fastens the hardware. same with bedsides. this method definitely made it easy to get the 4" bolts attached to the frame.

[_Ogre]

why no paint?

[57chevyman]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

why no paint?

i'm gonna rustoleum the bed for now with a close match i found. eventually i will paint the whole truck, but maybe in a year or two.. i didnt put the outer most wood boards in yet. actually have to cut out the rusty angle strips and put in new ones too