To flatbed or not to flatbed

Hey guys, This is my old 93 pickup, i got the bed off welding up the rusty frame (there is a lot of rust i know) and on taking the bed off i realize that maybe i should just ditch the rusty thing and make a wooden bed for it.. I've already had to patch rust above the exhaust with sheet metal, and two of the mounts for the bed are completely gone, and the others are very questionable. Also the bottom of the tailgate i repaired years ago is rusting out again.. (will try to get pics tomorrow) I was thinking i could make the wooden bed just as wide as the original, probably just as tall, and even make a headache rack built in, as well as a tailgate (still used as a landscape truck, needs that) and urethane the whole thing. But i need some opinions!

 

I think it looks cool with the current bed, not too sure how the flatbed would look any how. But I voted no flatbed, keep it classic

 

What rust are you talking about??? That whole truck looks spotless compared to Hell most anything over three years old in Western Pa. LOL I say keep the bed, I know guys here that would kill for a older Toyota truck or any older truck that was that clean.

 

Thats a nice shot of the frame hah, the body outside is pretty good, and the cab is good, but in the bed area its hell haha heres pics from last year, this things frame is not so great

 

I wouldn't build it out of wood if you do it. Flatbeds can be really great. Here's one I built for my old '85. The flatbed had pockets in the frame for drop-in wood sides so I had somewhat of a real bed if I needed it.

 

Go for the flatbed. But like Box Rocket said, make it out of metal. You'll be a lot better off in the long run since it will be a lot more durable. Flatbeds are cool. It will be different and still useful.

 

Flatbeds are awesome..... Do it.

 

There an older toyota up the street from me for sale that has a flatbed and it looks awsome. Plus it's cheaper.

 

x2 do it!!

 

Do it!

 

I voted keep the bed before I saw Boxrocket's... Badass

 

I to would recommend a metal flatbed. The stake pockets are a must so that your stuff doesnt slide off the truck in the middle of traffic.

 

Thats just amazing…. I love that design. Yeah maybe a wood bed is kinda dumb

 

I have been kicking around this idea myself.

 

Ive seen them built out of wood too. (metal outer frame for the flatbed with wood planks) either way can look pretty good.. just think about the pros and cons. If you don't use your truck as a work truck it might be worth it to build it out of wood because it would probably be a lot lighter. if you do use it for a work truck id say stick with metal.

but id definitely flat bed it if thats what your set on.

edit: just saw you would be using it for landscaping. id say go with metal you don't wanna throw something on the flatbed and gouge the hell out of your nicely stained wooden flatbed.

 

What's the bed look like? I think if you had a really good design for a flat bed it'd be sweet!!!
but if the truck bed isn't that bad, I'd just put it back on.

 

It needs some work... Turning out to be that I had to spend a lot of $$$ on repair parts for the front end and cab mounts and everything so I'll be repairing the bed and putting it on. And of course I'll probably be flatbedding it in the future when $$ allows. Box rocket has a really nice design with his old truck. I may go for something like that

 

I'd go for the flat bed. After looking at Box Rocket's, shoot I want one for my 13'. Good luck either way, Aloha!

 

Hey I forgot to point something out about my flatbed. The cage is removeable except for the headache bar. I did that so that if I ever needed to carry something big, the cage could come off and leave me with a open flat deck for big stuff.


if you look closely at the pics you'll see the rear legs have a bolt through them. They sit on some heavy posts that sleeve into the cage. The front part of the cage attaches like this.