The most important part of the truck is truck bed. Truck beds are the one which gives practicality to the truck by carrying all sorts of objects conveniently and securely. But with every passing day the truck bed receive damages like rust, dents, scratches, which results in the losing the practicality of the truck. The minor damage to the skin of the truck bed can be repair easily but the major dents and wear and tear is a bit hard to handle.
You Need
Drill
Wiper
Sand paper
Tools set
Dent puller
Body filler (for pitted areas) etc
Air ratchet
Metal cutter or plier
Mallet or hammer
Steps to Follow
Preventing from Rust
The first step is to remove the rust or rot from the surface of the truck bed. The truck bed receives a lot of rust coating due to the exposure to different elements like rain, sunlight throughout the year. Following are steps you can use to make your truck bed free from rust.
1. Remove the rusted or rotted pieces with the help of plier or metal cutter.
2. Take a rust free metal piece. Cut it in the way that it is 1 or 2 inches wider than the required hole.
3. Use carriage bolts to fasten the metal sheet with the bed.
4. It is better to use the liner or paint the metal sheet and rest of the truck bed to protect it from further damage.
Repairing Dent
Dents are very common feature in truck beds. With continuous work or usage, truck beds often receive dents. But dents can be removed easily. There are different methods to repair the dents lets us discus few of them:
1. The first method is to knock out or heap the dent. For knocking out the dent you need an access to the underside of the truck bed body. Once you get there use mallet (wooden or rubber hammer) to knock the dent back.
2. You can even make use of the gadgets which are meant to suck or pull back the dent. But these gadgets are useful only for mild dents not for hard ones.
3. There is yet another away of repairing the dents. Drill a hole in the center of the dent and make use of the dent puller and try to pull out the dent. Now fill up the hole with the help of body filler. Sand it down until the surface becomes smooth and apply paints on the affected area.
Replacing the Truck Bed
1. Get access under the truck bed and make use of air ratchet to remove the bolts of truck bed from the frame.
2. Ask three of your fellow helpers to lift up the truck bed from each of the other corner of the frame and walks backward. Be careful truck beds are extremely heavy to lift.
3. Place the truck over the sawhorses where you can repair it easily.
These are the few points with the help of which you can repair truck bed.