Weekend Truck Project

Wednesday February 28, 2007, I bought a very clean 2001 Dodge SLT 2500 Cummings diesel for my business.


A year later the business didn't work out but the truck had. As a crane operator I used the truck for personal and everyday use so the utility bed was obsolete. I also wanted a way to increase my fuel mileage so I began looking for a regular bed. What blew me away was that a new bed was $2,000 and that did not include the tailgate or lights, another $500.
I looked around in ads and junkyards for a used bed but they never matched or were too beat up. I wondered what it would take to build my own. I went on-line to get some ideas and found that any bed I built out of metal was still going to cost me a couple of grand. While checking out custom beds that others had built, I was surprised at some of the trucks I saw with wooden beds and thought I would give wood a shot. If I didn't like it, I could always place the utility bed back on.
I wanted to do it right so I would have to take my time because I'm not a carpenter. I can barely drive a nail straight and there's always a finger hammered for every 20 nails driven (out of those 20 nails, 18 will have to be re-pulled) so, no nails. Screws would be my best bet because I know once I began building, changes would be made several times. By the way, I'm not a writer either so excuse the grammar and punctuation and thank you God for spell check.
I wanted a bed that was as wide as the truck and eight feet long that still had the strength to carry heavy loads. I did not have the room at home to build the bed so I knew any and all work would be directly on the truck.
Weekend 1, I got the measurements and purchased pressure treated lumber for the frame, 4x4's and 2x4's. I bolted 2- 4x4's to the steel frame using them as my foundation and attached the other 4x4's to them. I then framed out the rear to hold my lights and license plate.



After the first weekend and two bruised toes I had my foundation. While at work, a co-worker was checking it out and I explained to him that I was going to build a narrow box on each side for my tools. He waved his hand between the 4x4's and said, “Would be neat if you could place drawers in here that could be pulled out from the side”. On that note my side rails became hinged side compartments.

The second weekend I took the 2 sheets of pressure treated plywood for my bed and ripped them down the middle covering the bottom on each side of the frame.



Then covering each side of the upper to my new tool bins, I could fill in the middle later. I then added a head board.





I did not like leaving the middle open so,



I took the leftover plywood and slipped it under the 4x4's.



After a screw deep in my thumb I took the rest of the weekend off.

During the following week I had to take a few loads for work from point “A” to point “B”. I found that I had no place to tie anything down other then the exposed 4x4's. For lighter loads I added boat cleats around the bed.



I found to my surprise that the exposed 4x4's were great tie-down points allowing me to really crank down on loads (tight enough for the strap to break and pop me in the face). The open spaces I could just drop boxes in and go, so I decided to leave it open and place molding around the edges to give it a finished look.





At this point I thought my truck was complete; however, I found that some of the loads I was hauling were leaving marks and smudges on the bed along with the rain that left the wood slippery. I also had no place to store tools that were too large for my side bins.
I had and old metal box but it was blue with surface rust and looked tacky on the truck. A co-worker who runs the powder coating shop next to the crane department, took the box and fixed me up. He sand blasted the box and powder coated it to match the wood. I painted the bed with a non-skid coating.



I did not like the way the back of the cab met the bed and it seemed that something was missing. Along with the box I carried two diesel cans. These cans took away from the appearance when stashed next to the box, I needed some type of cover. Some trucks I saw with regular beds had what I think is called an awning on top of their beds. These are narrow and surround the back window. I thought, “Gee, something like that would be great to cover the cans and box.

Independence Day 2009, weekend 3, I built my own awning and as a final touch placed a reflective dragonfly (my spirit animal) on the side rails.




I want to thank Dave for the work on my box, Moe for the tool bin idea and others who gave their suggestions. The truck may not appeal to everyone but I like it and like me, it's one of a kind. If anyone has an idea to add please feel free. Thank you for taking the time to check out my blog.