YES, YOU CAN DO IT YOURSELF!
SEEING THE SUSPENSION AND ENGINEERING UNDER YOUR BED FLOOR IS SUPER COOL AT TRUCK SHOWS AND CRUISE-INS, BUT DRIVING A FLOORLESS BED IN THE RAIN JUST MAKES A MESS, AND OUTSIDERS JUST THINK ITS INCOMPLETE WHEN THEY LOOK AT IT. Back in the day, it was tough to build a custom bed floor for your classic or modern truck. Finding the right hardware and prepping the wood made for a project most guys didn’t want to take on. Well those days are gone, and thanks to Jeff Major and his fine crew of woodwork warriors at Bed Wood and Parts, LLC, you can now order a kit with everything you could possibly need.
The company offers a significant number of beautiful domestic and exotic species, with each having its own distinct appearance, grain pattern and character. This will allow you to enhance both the appearance and attitude of the final build, and to further personalize your truck.
“From our inception, the mission of Bed Wood and Parts, LLC, was (and remains) to offer you, our customer, the highest quality service and products, at a competitive price, which bring your dreams and aspirations to reality,” Jeff says.
Our buddy Sean ordered a set for his truck, and we decided it would be fun to follow the install. We admit this looked like a lengthy project, but with the proper planning and engineering, anything can go smoothly. Let’s follow the process from production to perfection.
SOURCE
Bed Wood and Parts, LLC
www.bedwoodandparts.com
877-206-9663
Based in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Bed Wood and Parts’ manufacturing facility handles all the prep work for your new bed-floor in house.
The first step in the process to produce the perfect wood panels. Jeff Major preps the job digitally before anything is cut, ensuring cost effectiveness and efficiency.
Once the complete package is preplanned, the crew at Bed Wood and Parts starts the production of the wood panels. Cutting measuring and planning is all part of the perfect process.
With everything cut and double-checked, the wood can be stacked and prepped for coating and drilling.
Since Jeff plotted the parts ahead of time, drilling the correct holes in the correct spots comes easy for the crew.
Routing the edges improves and provides for superior fit and finish.
Once the complete package is coated and ready to ship, a hardware kit is packaged and double checked for accuracy.
The final step in the process is prepping the panels for shipping. With hundreds of bed wood panels shipped, this crew knows how to pack it perfectly for the trip across country.
This is the bed floor we are working on this month. Currently this bagged classic Chevy has nothing in the bed but axles, tanks and suspension.
Sean and his dad built a frame for the bed floor that will sit above the items in the rear of the truck. This frame will bolt to the truck rails for a removable, serviceable setup.
With the panels unpacked, we can see how smooth and clean they come shipped. The metal strips have multiple different styles, and we love this “Classic Track” design.
Jeff’s engineering also pre-planned for the installation by numbering the panels so you put them in order. They also have an app that helps with the squaring process.
Starting with the first panel, Sean put the wood in place in the driver’s side and moved toward the center.
All the hardware is supplied in the kit, which takes the guesswork out of the install.
The studs are slid into the metal strips before placing between the wood panels. Such a clean smart design.
The studs are placed into the holes of the frame. The nuts were also installed but not tightened so the wood panels can be aligned.
Once the panels are loosely installed, Sean’s dad used a rubber hammer to tap the wood slats into place.
With the outer panels installed, the crew can start moving toward the center, making sure everything is level and straight.
Here you can see how the panels are routed for the metal strips, creating a clamping system.
The guys designed the frame to raise in the center for service. This also makes it quite easy to tighten the wood floor panels.
One of the last things to check before cranking down all the nuts is if the tailgate closes correctly and without resistance. A few extra taps may be needed to align everything.
The final product. We can’t say enough about this unbelievably clean design. Install with smooth and the engineering of this kit is on point. Ten out of 10 recommended.
