Let's talk about beds

[_STUCKY]

I'd like to see what you guys have going on in the bed of these trucks. I've got mine bedlined with a topper on it.

I'd like to find a couple of boxes (prefably lockable) to fit between the wheel wells and the tailgate. I want to keep the middle open. I think a box between the wheel wells would kill any kind of ideas I have of putting anything in the bed, and be a pain with the topper if I wanted to get anything in or out of it.

How about lights? My topper came with a dome light. Is it possible to wire this into something without running the wire all the way to the front? Specifically, I mean, how about the wiring for the nonexistent rear wiper and such? Where is the furthest back constant lead?

I will eventually add a couple of 12v accessory plugs and maybe a couple more lights to the inside of my bed.

[_STUCKY]

No one? Is the bed that useless? Useless enough to not change anything? How do you guys haul all your crap? I've got a roll of wrenches, a box of sockets, a tow strap, a chain, a hammer, and a bunch of other crap that just slides around all the time. Am I going to be reduced to bolting a couple ammo cans in the corners? I saw reed has, or had, the spare mounted at an angle in the front of the bed. That's the type of things I want to see. How have you come up with ways to make the bed useful?













FYI, a Dana 30 and a ford 8.8 just barely fit...

[Jongo88]

I just have a milk crate bungeed in a corner. It has a small floor jack some tools a 4 way and a snatch strap in it.
I need all the other room to haul gas cans to my boat. Just took 60 gallons up there last week...

[killian96ss]

The small 4-1/2' bed is very limited already. If you permanently mount something in the bed it will become even more useless. I used to have Hi Lift jack mounted to the front of the bed and I was going to get a bed mounted spare before I wrecked it. If I had another CC, I would mount the Hi Lift the same way, but I wouldn't do the bed mounted spare because it just uses up to much space. I still like the tailgate mounted spare from Tiregate even though they are way overpriced. Moving the spare up top only makes it easier to get to when you get a flat. If your knee deep in mud or snow when it happens you will be glad that you don't have to wrestle it out from under the truck. My camper shell was also pretty useful when we had to load up stuff and keep it dry.

The best short bed idea I've seen was on a 4 door Toyota Tacoma. This guy had a custom made tonneau cover that had a rack built into the top with some heavy duty struts to raise it up. You could store stuff securely under the tonneau and still have a huge area on top for more gear. The one I saw must have been custom made because I've never seen another one like it on any vehicle.

Steve

[Cherokeez71]

I just bought a Advantage tonneau cover with two plastic boxes that my hunting clothes were in. I have jumper cables, chains,straps,crowbars,lots of tools. A tonneau cover would be best for you cause four latches and it comes off in less than five minutes. Plus they're light compared to camper tops. Really these beds are use less. But overall they are not much smaller than ther extended cab. I came from a 1998 z71 to my s10 crew cab I had a toolbox full of stuff now I don't even have half that. But you have to say do I really need that? I could fit every thing in the bed but I wanted enough room to carry some stuff.

[ApproachMedium]

I don't consider this bed so useless. I moved my buddy in Philly in 3 trips, whole small apartment, with this bed! I moved a queen size mattress and a loveseat, dresser, desk etc. It also moved myself out of my parents place when I finally got my own last sept. Just need to utilize the space properly. Right now I am looking at making a custom storage box that is removable to the bed to store an air compressor system and res tank to power small air tools, fill tires and of course, power a few real train horns a friend and I have in our collections.

[_STUCKY]

Yes! That is what I'm talking about. I want to see this when you get it done. An air compressor would come in handy, since I live and work on a farm. Power tools and flat tires and blowing out radiators all come to mind.

As far as using the space wisely, I used to work for UPS as a thrower, so I can pack some crap in tight spots, lol. ( word of advise, if it's breakable, get the insurance, those guys hate their jobs).

What you said about moving a bed reminded me of a 2wd regular cab s10 that I saw the other day leaving home depot with a full load of premade fence sections. I think more of it was hanging over the tailgate than was actually in the bed. I was laughing, looked over at the car next to me, they were laughing too.

I found some bolts with eyelets at the end ( not sure the technical, professional name for these). They were on the base for a Christmas tree stand that was getting thrown away. Today, I think I'm gonna go find some ammo cans that fit between the wheel well and tailgate, drill 4 holes, a dab of paint from the bottom so there's no bare metal, and get them mounted in there were I can just grab the handle and pull it out. I did something very similar for the sub box in my 91 k5 years ago and it worked just fine for keeping it were I wanted it without being mounted solid.

[ApproachMedium]

When its finally complete, I will make a post with photos in this section of the forum. I been talking about it for 2 years now lol. The idea is the "box" would be a one piece unit, and would carry a heavy duty 12V plug to connect power to the battery and a small AUX plug to connect to my dash to control the dual solenoid valve system to operate the horn output remotely. Quick disconnects will allow me to add or remove the horns at any time and replace with air tools.

[_STUCKY]

Well here is what I did today.



These boxes were made to hold 32 40mm cartridges. I got them at the local army surplus store. They are a perfect fit between the wheel wells and the boxed part at the back of the bed. I used 4 of the bolts with the eyelets at the end, 4 nuts, 4 small washers on the inside of the bed, 4 bigger washers on the back side of the bed, and 4 lock nuts. Straps were hanging on the wall.

[ApproachMedium]

Looks great! Now if I can find something of the same dimensions, that is weatherproof. I do not want a cap or cover for my bed.

[_STUCKY]

These boxes are sealed. The have a rubber gasket around the lid. Don't want the ammo for the grenade launchers getting wet.....

[ApproachMedium]

True, but somehow I dont think they are going to be able to fit this inside of them.

http://www.assuredautomotiveproducts.co ... V20008.htm

I plan on getting one, possibly two. I may need just one aux tank to provide the air that I need for the horns. The K5LA and P5 old cast eat up a lot of air. My little Wabco AA-2 should be just fine with one though.

[_STUCKY]

Could you have the compressor in a box with the tank somewhere else? I think that it would be hard for it to pull air...

Airbagit.com has a bunch of different stuff to look at.

So what about getting constant power into the bed? Is there an easy spot to tap into or should I just run a wire? I was looking through my pile of parts and noticed I have at least 1 of those under hood lights on a reel from the late 80s-early 90s Chevys. Those things have a cord that is ridiculously long. It looks like it will fit nicely above the drivers side wheel well, under the rail.

[ApproachMedium]

I was just going to tap in to the battery terminal with a 4or 8 gauge cable like the ones used for audio systems, route it down in to the frame rail and fasten it along the way back to the bed. I figure power can go up to the bed near the drain holes against the cab or all the way back by the tail gate which is most likely where everything will be.

As for the compressor in a box, it was going to try and go for something with filtered ventilation somehow, or just something that can breathe in general. If I went with the ammo cases, I could just operate with them open. The horns are not something we use on the road, only in certain places so its not something I need to be able to activate at any given time.

[_STUCKY]

Is there a rubber bed mat that fits these beds?

If not, I'm going to cut down one from a full size truck that I have.

[F9K9]

Is there a rubber bed mat that fits these beds?

If not, I'm going to cut down one from a full size truck that I have.

No rubber bed mats available, even when they were in production. I made the dealer throw in a bed mat when I bought mine. They could not locate one anywhere. Ended up doing a POS fitting of a regular S-10 mat.

[_STUCKY]

That's what I figured. Just wanted to check before I cut up a good mat. Thanks.

Oh and thanks for the pictures in the MML thread. Much appreciated. I'm a visual learner.

[Jongo88]

That's what I figured. Just wanted to check before I cut up a good mat. Thanks.

Oh and thanks for the pictures in the MML thread. Much appreciated. I'm a visual learner.

I'm that way too... See a mud hole drive into mud hole. Get stuck and swim out and look to see that I'm stuck.
lol But true...

[ApproachMedium]

Went to my local army navy store put in an order for two 40MM cases yesterday. Gonna try them out in the bed and see what I can come up with as a storage device for stuff/air etc. I may just buy more of these things being they are small and waterproof, oh and a HELL of a lot cheaper than buying a standard difficult to remove truck bed toolbox.

[_STUCKY]

I will admit, I haven't really been keeping anything in the boxes. All my chains and tow straps and what not have been in the jeep, and the tools have been in the tractor. I do have to take the strap off to get into the box.

When you mount them, if you do it like I did, make sure to use 2 different sized washers. I remember seeing years ago something about mounting down bars for a roll cage through the body. Basically, if you use 2 plates the same size to sandwich the body, it will eventually shear the sheet metal. That's why I put a bigger washer on the back side of the bed, and a smaller one on the inside. It's probably unneccesary overkill, but that's my reasoning behind it.

Out of curiosity, what did you pay for the boxes? When a surplus store sells stuff like this, I'm sure they are making a nice profit. The military makes things cheap. I was comfortable paying $20 a piece for mine, even though I know that's probably high. When I went to get them, I wasn't looking for that box, but a smaller one. They had like 8-10 more, and I think I'm gonna pick up a couple more for packing crap for wheeling trips.

[ApproachMedium]

I havent paid for them yet, I will when I get them. He asked me what I saw them going for online and I said $16-20 bucks and he said he would give me a good price. Ill let you know when I pick them up.

[_STUCKY]

Has anyone mounted those ammo cans like I did?

I use them all the time. I do not keep the lids on anymore. For the most part they just stay strapped in and I dig through them when I need something. Cheap, simple, effective, just the way I like it.

I am going to finally call my bed lighting situation done. I am very happy with the amount of light I am getting from these little LEDs. Here's the break down:

I bought 2 of these at wal mart. I don't remember how much, but I knew I was overpaying, but wanted to see how bright they were. I think they were about $5-10 apiece, I got 2, for a total of 12 LEDs shining in the bed.


If I was doing it again, I'd buy these. Actually, I did buy 2 rolls of these after being very satisfied with the lights I have. By the way, the day I got the lights from wal mart, I saw a similar light strip that was 1 foot long for $25. That is way, way overpriced for us DIYers. These lights: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002QQ ... k121863-20

Then for my switch, I used the blazer tailgate switch. I ended up using the washer fluid button. I wanted the rear hatch button to do it, but I think something is wrong with the switch I have, so washer fluid button it was. Someday I'll get another switch to play around with.

I did have to get my dremil out and cut off this little piece so that the button would work in any position:


I then ran a green wire from the switch, down the dash, under the carpet to the drivers side, and out the grommet for the e brake cable. Then along the frame rail and up the front of the bed, where I put in a grommet and pulled the wires into the bed.

Power came straight from the fuse box under the hood. I used the powered stud at the back passenger side of the fuse box. The wire is ran down the firewall and along the frame rail with the green wire.

Now to make the washer fluid button from the blazer tailgate switch work the way I needed it to, I had to do this:


The information on this is here: http://www.the12volt.com/relays/page5.asp#lsp
I used the "Latched On/Off Output Using a Single Momentary Pulse" method.

The relays and the bracket they are on came from behind the glove box of 88-98 Chevy full size trucks. Take the glove box out and you will see it. I got mine from the junkyard. Other options are available, but you will need to keep you eyes peeled at the junkyards. I mounted my relays just above the rear window of the topper on the trim piece that holds the gas struts. It is out of the way and the elements.

I used one of these at the front of the bed so that if/when I take the bed topper off, it's a simple unplug the wire deal:


For the ground wire, I used a quick disconnect plug from under the hood of a 90 suburban. Any quick disconnect would do. I should have just used a trailer wiring plug, since it has 4 wires, that way I could have had just 1 plug, and it would have an extra wire for future use.

All connections are crimped and have heat shrink tubing put on them. Here is the end result:



The one thing I am not sure about is that I can only switch it on and off when the ignition (and the retained accessory power) is off. I do not know why. At first, this irritated me, but it has grown on me and I don't mind.

So, if you are coping this, the 2 things I would do differently are use the LED strip lights and use a trailer wiring plug. Other than that, I am very happy with it.

[ApproachMedium]

We use one of them LED strip lights on a $9 dimmer box at my train club to illuminate the operating booth where we dispatch the trains from. Its amazingly bright and can be dimmed really well. The reason we used LED is we used to have a flourscent light up there but the lack of headroom had us smashing in to it so often. The LEDs take up no room and dont cook anyone.

I want to do the ammo cans but I just still have not gotten around to buying the darn things. None of my local army navy stores have that size.

[LMs10CrewCab]

You could buy a square bed extender, then you have a full 6 foot bed and mount a tool box up front.
It would be like a short bed s10 with a tool box, chances are you only need the extra 2.5 feet when your working, then you can just extend it.

I was thinking maybe if you get some sheetmetal, you could custom make a " tailgate skin" around the bed extender, paint to match vehicle, cut a strip out of the middle and mount some LED tailgate lights up the middle for looks and safety reasons. Just a thought.

[mars2878]

lights look good

[_STUCKY]

I just had an idea.

I wonder if the relays will fit behind the taillight. I will check sometime in the near future.

If it does, that gives you guys without a bed topper a dry place to mount the relays. I think you could put the LED strips that I linked above underneath the lip of the bed rails and still get pretty good results.

[ApproachMedium]

I wouldn't be able to fit anything behind my taillights because the resistor boxes for my LED tail lights take up some of that space. I would love to find a way to do what your doing with all them big honkin relays but with a small microcontroller. I am sure its out there, I just need to look harder in that phone book sized digikey catalog.

[HenryJ]

... I would love to find a way to do what your doing with all them big honkin relays but with a small microcontroller...

Bi-polar latching relay.
I never did find a reasonable alternative to five relays and building it myself.

[ApproachMedium]

Yea seems like I am finding plenty of ways to build them with flip flop circuits, and they would be fairly small but I would still have to build it. Once its built then only one relay is needed to take the lower power output from the circuit to trigger the relay to power the higher power for the lights. One I saw is small enough it could probably fit inside the rear wiper switch.

EDIT: Found exactly what I am looking for on ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PLRC-Pulse-Latc ... c8&vxp=mtr

[intimidator4x4]

Stucky, I have a friend that sells those ammo cans. Picking 2 up tomorrow. Thanks for the idea