Design me a pickup box.

[rayfinseats]

Suggestions?

83 chevy k10.

Requirements: Must be cheap, light weight, highly rust resistant, 4'x8' or 5'x8'.
Need not carry really heavy loads but will be used to carry light loads. No flat beds. Must have sides at least 2 feet high.

I was thinking about making it out of angle iron (rhino-lined) with a plastic slat floor (composit decking) or a tube frame box.

[rayfinseats]

[rayfinseats]

Anyone ?

[Toxic Redline]

2x4s and plywood... thats bout all i got short of cutting up a real bed.. like cutting the outsides off of it.

[jitteryguy]

Requirements: Must be cheap, light weight, highly rust resistant :

might have to leave the cheap part out,
one option would be a 1X1 square tube frame with an aluminum floor and any side's ya might want on it.
Toxic has an idea, you could take just the floor out of a stock bed (it bolt's together) then make your own side's from said tube'n and aluminum.

[SeanPaintsFlames]

Why not just get another longbed? I've seen the long step beds that are the same all the way back to 55 for sale on Craigslist for a couple hundred. You'd spend that in wood and square tubing easily.

[rayfinseats]

Why not just get another longbed? Did I say WEIGHT was the issue? I like the 1x1 square tubing and aluminum idea too. 1x1 with plastic slat floor...Menards has plastic slat floor for decks, light cheap, and rust free.

[donut]

IMO, I can't see filling all of your requirements. Getting a large bed lighter than a stock one is a challenge in it's own, and cheaper + stronger? I notice alum is being used more and more on commercial trailers, but they're not cheap. (even Home Depot and Lowe's use them on the "rental" trucks)

The lightest I ever built was for an older Toyota. 2x2 main support, 1x1 framework, expanded metal for a skin. Owner wanted to haul lobster traps and needed drainage in the "bed". IIRC it did have 2' sides on it. It wasn't lighter or cheaper than a replacement bed, but served his purpose better.

Keep us posted with whatever you end up with, I've been watching this thread for ideas also. My "antique" no-dump, dump body on my truck easily weighs double that of a pick-up bed. (I can't lift any part of it.)

[rayfinseats]

Will keep you posted. I am thinking about working on the interior soon. I have finished my dash out of upholstered 22 gauge aluminum. Im gonna use a GPS for a speedometer. I got a bunch of white face gauges for $18 each and made a switch panel with toggles and LED indicator lights and a HUGE red idiot light for temp and oil. My steering wheel weighs 1.4 pounds. Im sure the plastic racing hi backs are lighter than the bench seat. I'm gonna cover them in cloth with 3" of padding. I also made that shifter.

WISH THE WEATHER WOULD WARM UP !

[rayfinseats]

Finally got around to doing my seats.

[draggin86]

here we go!