John Lee's Synthetic Wood Bed Install

[Sharps40]

John Lee Jr has a steel bed insert...over rotted wood, loose bolts and serviceable bed skids, angle irons and crossbucks. Time to get it tightened down a bit and see what I need to buy besides trex to redo the bed. Right now I can lift the bed an inch at all 4 corners. The wood rotted and all 8 holddown bolts are loosie goosie.

Unfortunatly the steel bed is welded in so some beads to carefully grind off w/o damaging any good metal...



Just workin around the perimeter with the angle grinder...just enough to pop each weld. I'll clean things up and repaint when I do the bed install.



The last of em loose and ready to lift out the steel.



Good strips, bad wood....I'll clean up, paint and reuse the strips...hardware from the bin at Tractor Supply!



I cut out all the long bed bolts and replaced em with temporary bolts to secure the bed to the frame...should cut down on all the noise...here are the rear most mounts. Same for the other seven holddowns. These will get replaced with heavy duty hardware later...flush mounted...no screws coming up through the bed wood on the redo.







And the steel laid back in while I get busy roundin up bulk hardware, trex and cleanin and paintin the strips.