Just wondering if anyone has ordered a wood bed kit for their Stepside ?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

roguewave

Full Access Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2016
Posts
66
Reaction score
166
Location
Texas Hill Country/South Portland, Maine
First Name
Bobert
Truck Year
76,83,84,87,87,88.
Truck Model
4X4
Engine Size
350,383,454
I’m doing a restoration on my original no rust truck and was going to mill some wood and and clean up the metal strips and repaint them black. Don’t have a lot of time to do all that so I was looking at these bed kits that include everything. Has anyone bought and used one of these kits? We’re you happy with it? I don’t want any chrome stuff, going back as close to factory as I can, except I’m not painting (sealing) the wood black as it came form the factory.
Thoughts?

You must be registered for see images attach
 

AuroraGirl

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2019
Posts
9,121
Reaction score
6,038
Location
Northern Wisconsin
First Name
Taylor
Truck Year
1978, 1980
Truck Model
K10, K25
Engine Size
400(?), 350
I’m doing a restoration on my original no rust truck and was going to mill some wood and and clean up the metal strips and repaint them black. Don’t have a lot of time to do all that so I was looking at these bed kits that include everything. Has anyone bought and used one of these kits? We’re you happy with it? I don’t want any chrome stuff, going back as close to factory as I can, except I’m not painting (sealing) the wood black as it came form the factory.
Thoughts?

You must be registered for see images attach
Are you saying you just want a hardware kit.. or wood too?
 

Ken B

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2019
Posts
1,061
Reaction score
1,242
Location
indiana
First Name
ken
Truck Year
81
Truck Model
c10
Engine Size
250
I have purchased but not installed parts from classic parts.com
Got wood. Bolt kit and strips
 

sirweesarunch

Full Access Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2019
Posts
366
Reaction score
843
Location
Oceanside
First Name
John
Truck Year
1980
Truck Model
K30
Engine Size
454
I put the oak kit in my 66 gmc and that was the biggest mistake ever. Oak is a highly reactive wood to temperature and moisture changes. It cracks like a mother——er. Epitong is the correct wood for truck beds. I dont know if these kits come with that wood. I havent looked at those kits in 20 years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Bennyt

Full Access Member
Joined
May 17, 2019
Posts
1,018
Reaction score
1,397
Location
Surprise
First Name
Ben
Truck Year
1977
Truck Model
C10
Engine Size
350
I haven't personally used either major brand, Bedwood or Mar-K, but I know a bunch of people that have locally and they have no complaints about either however most seem to seem to prefer the Mar-K brand. I have spoken to the guy from Bedwood multiple times about some stuff for my son's wood floor fleetside and he has been very helpful and polite if that means anything.

I think that since you are doing your own wood as you stated in your post, you probably can't go wrong with either for the strips and hardware. While, it isn't factory correct, you can hide the bed mounting hardware and use shorter bolts from the bottom up and use nuts on the crossrails as opposed to through bolts and offset washers.

I believe the reason, and I could be wrong, that the wood was originally black was they painted it body color after assembly. i know the fleetside was done that way at least.
 

peats

Full Access Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2016
Posts
288
Reaction score
236
Location
Pennsylvania
First Name
john
Truck Year
72k5, 81c10 short step, 83k10 short fleet, 03 SSR. 25 chevy doodlebug
Truck Model
k5 c10 k10 SSR doodlebug
Engine Size
406 360 6.2 5.3 171
i did the bed wood on my '81 myself. it takes a bit of precision to get it right. used Bruce Horkey on my '69. he has been doing it for a long time and will get it right the first time but might not be the cheapest.
 

Raider L

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2020
Posts
1,892
Reaction score
994
Location
Shreveport, LA
First Name
William
Truck Year
1974
Truck Model
C10
Engine Size
355
I got a wild hair and looked into redoing my long bed floor in wood. I contacted Mar-K and got a good email from him. I didn't know how to do something like that myself and have NO wood working tools except a circular saw and a couple of jig saws, some people call them "saber saws", whatever, and a hand saw or two. I'm talking about routers, plainers, jointers, and all that sort of real wood working tools stuff.

He even had a hardware kit that was for doing some metal work in the fact I don't have a step side but rather a fleet side long bed. I would have to cut the floor out to accommodate all the stuff for a complete new wood bed floor. But it was high as HELL!! Thousands of dollars. I looked all over trying to find the email, it had prices and everything, dimensions and all for my truck. But I think I chunked it because it was just a fantasy anyway and very expensive, it's gone. I didn't think there was a such a thing as a long bed with a wood floor, but of course GM does, it's a step side long bed with a wood floor. You just don't see them much.

Mar-K only offers the bed floors in Oak, or Pine. Now, what kind of Pine I don't know. It could be Douglas Fir or some other kind of real good "Pine". It couldn't be regular 'ol Louisiana White Pine, that stuff is soft and rots in wet conditions, and ain't good for nothin' but pulp wood (furniture) and making paper. lol
 

roguewave

Full Access Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2016
Posts
66
Reaction score
166
Location
Texas Hill Country/South Portland, Maine
First Name
Bobert
Truck Year
76,83,84,87,87,88.
Truck Model
4X4
Engine Size
350,383,454
I got a wild hair and looked into redoing my long bed floor in wood. I contacted Mar-K and got a good email from him. I didn't know how to do something like that myself and have NO wood working tools except a circular saw and a couple of jig saws, some people call them "saber saws", whatever, and a hand saw or two. I'm talking about routers, plainers, jointers, and all that sort of real wood working tools stuff.

He even had a hardware kit that was for doing some metal work in the fact I don't have a step side but rather a fleet side long bed. I would have to cut the floor out to accommodate all the stuff for a complete new wood bed floor. But it was high as HELL!! Thousands of dollars. I looked all over trying to find the email, it had prices and everything, dimensions and all for my truck. But I think I chunked it because it was just a fantasy anyway and very expensive, it's gone. I didn't think there was a such a thing as a long bed with a wood floor, but of course GM does, it's a step side long bed with a wood floor. You just don't see them much.

Mar-K only offers the bed floors in Oak, or Pine. Now, what kind of Pine I don't know. It could be Douglas Fir or some other kind of real good "Pine". It couldn't be regular 'ol Louisiana White Pine, that stuff is soft and rots in wet conditions, and ain't good for nothin' but pulp wood (furniture) and making paper. lol

the proper (factory) pine to use is yellow pine, quite durable.
 

Ken B

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2019
Posts
1,061
Reaction score
1,242
Location
indiana
First Name
ken
Truck Year
81
Truck Model
c10
Engine Size
250
I got pre drilled
 

Bennyt

Full Access Member
Joined
May 17, 2019
Posts
1,018
Reaction score
1,397
Location
Surprise
First Name
Ben
Truck Year
1977
Truck Model
C10
Engine Size
350
...I didn't think there was a such a thing as a long bed with a wood floor, but of course GM does, it's a step side long bed with a wood floor...

Wood floor was available in Long Bed Fleetside from 73-7?. I've heard only about 3000 were made before the $100 option was dropped. By the late 70's, pretty much every farmer/ rancher had a livestock trailer and didn't need the benefit of a flat wood floor for their animals so sales were probably minimal for that reason. GM built 18 million(?) of these squarebody trucks over 20 years so 3000 is a pretty small percentage. I think Mar-K or Bedwood said they have only sold 1-2 wood kits for them ever.

That being said, we have one that we cut down to a shortbed for my son's truck to make his truck unique. Almost nothing is interchangeable with other wood floor beds other than some hardware and the chrome bedstrips and no other parts are available. And there is zero resources so it has been a PITA to work with on a modified truck as it interferes with some suspension and frame mods. It will be worth all the hassle in the end but It definitely added a lot of time and expense to the build so far.
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
41,850
Posts
903,460
Members
33,362
Latest member
Dhatch84
Top