Bed assembly help?

[rockyrivermark]

1970 C10 converted to short bed.

The truck flu came to me with bed dis assembled.
Since we cut it down to short bed I purchased new bed sides
Everything will be done painted in pieces in a few days.
Question is:
Do I assemble the bed on the floor then tip up on end to install wood
Floor planks with strips and bolts? Then put on truck fully assembled?
Any tips or tricks from those who ha e done it are much appreciated.
Thanks. Mark

[Zeroman]

That is what I did, however, mine is a step side.

We bolted the front panel, bedsides, and rear sill together, squared everything up, then tightened the bolts.

We then placed the cross braces on the frame, and placed the bed on top to make sure we had the braces in the correct spots.

We then went ahead and attached the two pieces of wood on the sides because we had to mark and drill the locations of the bolts. This also attached the cross braces.

At that point we pulled it off of the frame and stood it up at a slight angle, just enough to keep the wood from falling out.

From there it was pretty simple to add the wood ss strips and bolt everything up. Before we tightened all of the strip bolts we placed in on some saw horses and rechecked for square.

Once everything was tightened we transferred it back to the frame.

One comment - the strips are supposed to allow the wood to expand and contract so don't over tighten the bolts.

Hope this helps.

[Zeroman]

Here's a pic of the finished bed.

BTW - The rear sill is not bent, it's just the camera in my phone.....

[68bowtie]

i started with one bedside, had my wife help me hold it while it rested on two saw horses while i connected the header panel. then had her hold up the free end of the header panel while i connected the other bedside. and then had her help me hold up and bolt in the rear brace. (only needed her for about 15 minutes total). once it was a complete assembly i raised it slightly and inserted the cross braces so it was sitting on those. everything goes smoothly from there. it was really nice to be able to roll under on my creeper to install the hardware and gravel shields. i plan on getting a few guys to help me plop it on the frame.

sorry for the bad pic.

[68bowtie]

here's a picture of the first step. my sawhorses take 2 x 4's to make a table frame. i got my cross braces from a long bed so i had two extra, i dropped those in the slots upside down and they worked perfectly for this job.

[rockyrivermark]

Thanks for the info. Did you install the Bed wood before putting the bed on the truck?
When installing the bed wood is it best to work from the middle outward
Thanks!

Mark

Originally Posted by 68bowtie

here's a picture of the first step. my sawhorses take 2 x 4's to make a table frame. i got my cross braces from a long bed so i had two extra, i dropped those in the slots upside down and they worked perfectly for this job.

Attachment 1659952

Posted via Mobile Device

[68bowtie]

Originally Posted by rockyrivermark

Thanks for the info. Did you install the Bed wood before putting the bed on the truck?
When installing the bed wood is it best to work from the middle outward
Thanks!

Mark



Posted via Mobile Device

yeah wood goes together 100% before the bed goes on the frame. i mocked up all the wood and strips first before bolting everything from the outsides in.