Rusted bed...

[Chevy808]

Originally Posted by chevyguy

Toyata beds are know for rusting out. Just get another bed

Yeah, I second that. Not only Toyotas though. It seems like all the imports. I read (don't know what magazine) in the past that they were made with recycled metals/irons but I'm not sure about today.

[Chevy808]

Originally Posted by Sparrowhawk

The last owner punched a few holes in the bed and let them get rusted out! Can I replace the bed? What methods of fixing this are best? Someone said to watch out for bedliners 'cause they can cause more rust...

If it's really bad then replace it with another from the wrecking yard as mud mentioned. POR-15 is awesome on rust it's the second best thing next to powder coating. If you're gonna be going that deep into it might want to do the frame (rust proof it) as well. H*ll....take a good look at everything when that bed is removed.

[elkfool]

My wife moved all the pictures from our hard drive to CD's to free up space and I can't find any of my good pictures. I took some pics, it was dark but you can see fairly well.

For those of you thinking of building here are some things I would do different next time

1. Sand blast the steel before primer/paint. I scuffed it with a course sander but that dang coating they put on steel doesn't like holding paint.

2. Build a triangular rack to hold my spare tire and jack and welded it to the top of the headache rack.

3. Build the upper bed sides out of 1" square tube rather than 1 1/2". Would have saved on weight and made little difference with the structural ingetrity.

4. Tapered the lower bedsides up from the rear of the wheel well to the bumper area. IMO 2-3" of taper would have given the bed a better look. After the fact it is a little to boxy from the side and from the rear.