Yeah, got it planned out for aluminum. Picked up more 2" square steel Wednesday, went with 14ga as it will save almost a pound per foot and will be using this for bracing, cross beams under the bed for the deck. Gonna try and work on it tomorrow/sunday if I can get this handrail knocked out today and if the weather this weekend is decent. Gonna move it out in the drive and build the boxes, etc and hit it with some red oxide primer so it don't get all rusty between times to work on it.
Had the tig out cause, it was hooked up and the mig welder I got is whimpy and did not feel like running the gas machine and ln25 to get good penetration, so tig it was. Took a bit longer but what the heck, not a rush job! LoL!!
The plan is, gonna break protocol here and spill the beans. The plan is to build a light weight steel skeleton(saves money) and then I want to sheet the outside in aluminum. How will I attach it might be the next question. I have decided on polished stainless steel button head bolts with allen socket. The plan, get aluminum cut out, holes drilled in frame, attach aluminum with temporary bolts. Then wherever the aluminum meets I want to weld the plates together, almost giving me a sort of aluminum dress. Then paint the bed the same color as the truck and install polished stainless bolts in the sides, back, kinda like a rivet look, except shiny! Don't know about my current tsc boxes, paint them red too or leave them black, still on the fence with that. Going to do the inside of the boxes out of a 16ga sheet steel probably, bottom of boxes maybe 1/8th. I've actually toyed with the idea of doing the sides of the truck in 16ga as it is lighter than the .190 aluminum(cheaper) but don't want to do the deck out of that. I know some guys will say that is to thin, but I don't beat the crap out of my bed and throw things in the back, typically place it in and climb in and move it where I want it. I throw stuff in and I risk scratching my tsc boxes and dinging my welder...don't want that for sure! I've got a few other tricks up my sleeve that I am going to incorporate into this bed that I have not seen on anything yet, more convenient but those will lie burried in the vault til I get the bed done.
Funny thing is some folks I tell ask why I want to get rid of the "nice" bed I have now. I tell them that diamond plate is as ugly as a mud fence and I just can't stand it! Get the new bed done and installed and gonna patch up the "hay hauler" and shoot some new paint and sell it, plenty of farm trucks around here would like a good gooseneck brand bed for sure and make some of my money back on the new bed!
You still in the secret society! Hahaha! Staying busy? You get back out on that small job near your place? I keep hearing people talking about it and a lot of people ask me, have you tried such and such up in...... Figure I don't have a snowball's chance in hayde's of getting on that one!! Shoot you ever get down this way give me a shout we'll have to sit around and B.s again, got a bed down here that needs building!! Hahahaha!! I see ya later!
Shawn