Aftermarket flair side beds - caution

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Uncle Skip
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Aftermarket flair side beds - caution

Post by Uncle Skip »

This is more of a FYI than it is a rant but I think that if you're going to go with a new aftermarket flair box you should know in advance that they might not fit your original frame mount holes. I have no idea why not, but mind didn't.

And you need to address all this before you paint and finish your new bed.

On my bed, of the six mounting holes in the bed wood, only one would actually like up and allow a bolt to go in the frame. The other 5 are either completely misaligned or 1/2 a hole off, creating major misery for mounting a completed and painted bed. The two in the middle just have to be completely re-drilled. Or, in the event you're only 1/2 hole off, use a die grinder to open things up.
Sucks being me.
I strongly suggest using the support cross members and the bed boards with the mounting holes to pre-locate the hole positions in the frame.
I'm going to do this with Tweety Bird and take pictures of what I'm talking about. Its to late for me because my bed is already on Nadine so I can't take pictures.

The other thing is the rear most bed support (an inverted U-channel) that connects the rear of the sides is 4" tall on original trucks. Some of the aftermarket beds have are 6" tall. If you have the 6" tall unit and plan to run the stock style bumper you will need to notch this cross beam to clear your bumper brackets.
You will need to locate the center of your bumper brackets in relationship to the back of that bed piece and use a triangle or some other tool to put a vertical line on the inside of that back cross piece.
Drill a pilot hole 2-1/4" from the bottom edge of the cross piece on the center of that line and use a 1" hole saw to cut a hole in the metal. Then mark the edges of the hole vertically from the bottom and cut the slot.
Do not cut the front side, but if you think you'll need to, put a pilot hole just above the bottom edge on the front of the cross piece, use that same 1" hole saw to cut a half circle.

Finally, the bed boards are not predrilled.
1. Round all the sharp long edges of the boards, top and bottom, so the edges don't split when you put them in the mounting channels on the bed sides.
2. Dry mount your unfinished boards with the bed strip retainers before you do anything else then mark with a pencil and pre-drill the wood with a 5/16" drill. You don't have to tighten the retainers very tight, just enough to keep them from shifting. Once you've located and drilled the holes, remove boards and re-drill them out again with at least one size larger bit.
3. With the retainer strips in place you'll have to drill holes in the top of the rear cross member I've been talking about.
3. Make sure you have an place located for mounting your license plate and light.
4. Take it all apart and do your sanding, priming and painting.
*I used urethane spar varnish with UV protection for my wood.

Good luck guys. I hope this saves you some hours and misery. I wish I'd known this.
Forewarned is forearmed.
U@ss
I'm not arguing with you. I'm just explaining why I'm right.
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6166 Junkyard Dog
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Re: Aftermarket flair side beds - caution

Post by 6166 Junkyard Dog »

Skip we run into this a lot and I cannot say where you got yours,,,,,,, But I have seen and been called upon to tell that if you buy a new bed, there is a few and very few that will tell you the truth about the beds,, I have seen so many of the so called truck experts selling parts that will sell you a bed for late 50 to 72 short, they just cannot put it into their mind that the parts might look the same BUT Hole locations in all the parts are different like cross members as well and these people are business and should know,,, I do from past experience having to tell them why there fenders don't fit, why the bed is crooked or steps are away from the cab....... etc..... Now Skip on the wood I tell them buy wood with no holes,, will give it a cleaner look and your bed strips /cross members will hold the bed down to the chassis,,,,,,, I did that on my 56 30 years ago...
Tom,
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nineteensixt5
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Re: Aftermarket flair side beds - caution

Post by nineteensixt5 »

not sure if it is aloud on this forum but, can you tell us where NOT to buy a bed from or pieces from? I need new sides and cross supports for my flare and would hate to run into problems.
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