How hard is it to remove the bed?

Hey guys I have pretty good size dent on my driver bed side and had a PDR try to pull it but it started chipping the paint it’s got a pretty good crease in it. So it looks like in the future I need either the bed side replaced or the whole bed. I got quoted $2k just for the bedside being replaced and painted but I’ve seen whole beds available for cheaper. I was wondering how hard is to remove the bed is it just the six bolts in the bed and gas filler neck? Thanks

 

It’s not difficult at all (depending on rust) I’m near Cincinnati. I soaked them in penetrating oil for a couple weeks ahead of time then used a torch to heat them. A good impact socket spun them out with effort and replaced the bolts when I installed the bed.
With that said, I spent months to find a rust free bed that was under $1,8000. So if you can have it professionally repaired for $2,000 that may be less stressful.

 

Have to unhook the taillights as well, but yes that’s pretty much it.

 

Worst part is dealing with the fuel filler on most trucks from what I've seen. If you're up north, the bed bolts suck.

 

@vst I'm in Knoxville and we're working on a bed swap for @jpink . His truck came from Iowa so the bed bolts are somewhat fcked. Have a few friends there to help you lift but the beds are not that heavy.

If you're close to Knoxville, let me know if you need a hand.

 

Thanks I’m over in Morristown

 

My 2004 AC is rust free, so it took about 1 minute to remove all 6 bolts. The tank filler screws took another minute or so. Crawling around underneath to unplug the taillight wires took the longest.

 

I'm in the Northeast - had to lift the bed to repair the rear rockers and cab corners. Soaked the bed bolts for a day, and it took a little work with the impact. Hardest part is that the bed curves under the cab. I pulled the bumper and lights, then lifted each side on to 1" blocks - this gave me enough room to shift the bed back away from the cab without scratching it. Pushed it back off the frame - only about halfway as I didn't need to remove it.

The frame was replaced ~ 10 years ago, so it was already off at one point.

My wheel wells are rusty - If I found a decent bed, that would be my choice too.

 

I didn’t remove my bumper when i removed the bed. It was something like another 12(?) bolts or so. I simply wrapped towels around the outer ends of the bumper so that i wouldn’t scrape the lower corners of the bed when lifting it up.

 

It's super easy, even on my crusty rust bucket most of you wouldn't touch. All my bed bolts came out though I did have to weld nuts on two of them because the head stripped out. I think that's more the fault of my Harbor Freight non impact Torx sockets. I didn't heat or spray any of them so it was super surprising.

 

My brackets only have four bolts. Although I think the ends are bent in some, which may be why the bed would hit them before clearing the cab. Thinking back, I could have probably remove the 2 rear bolts and pivoted it down on the hitch to make enough room.

 

Ok just weighing my options here I found a clean bedside on car-parts.com in the same color how hard is it to remove and replace a bedside is possible to do my self? They want $350 for the bedside if I am able to replace myself I could end up saving my self a bunch of money

 

Unless you have a way of lifting it, you can't do it alone. One member did it by himself by using a kids swing set as a point of leverage. He somehow winched it off then drove out from under it.

It's doable with 2 people but 3 makes it easier.

 

I would have to still lift the bed completely off to replace just the bed side still?

 

Ah my bad. I didn't catch the fact that you found just the side. I have no idea how that would work. No experience with body work.

 

I’ve replaced bed sides on 3 or 4 different trucks. It was pretty simple for me. It’s really straightforward for a body guy (i used to work in a body shop for a short time). The only downfall is that most likely your spot welds will never, ever, ever going to be as strong, corrosion resistant, or have as tight gaps as it was from the factory. For $350 just a single bed side, i think i would search out for a complete bed in nice shape for around $500.

 

Agreed. It’s doable with two strong people, but it’s REALLY awkward. Reason being is that the center balance for the bed is about 8” towards the rear of the wheel wells (at least on an AC bed). Which makes it VERY difficult to pick up the bed since one elbow would be hooked up at the top of the wheel well arch, and your second hand would be lifting from the very underneath of the bed. It makes it so you’re pretty much lifting the bed with one hand. With three people lifting it’s exponentially easier. So much so that i wouldn’t recommend only two guys. And this advice is coming from a guy who once (in his late 20’s) was carrying around an 8’ long bed off of an old 77 F250 on his back...solo. No i didn’t try to repeat that feat again.