unloaded bed issue

[Zorm]

Just thinking this morning. I really want to do a wood bed in my fleetside (non-stepside) but I don't plan on using the generic wood bed kits. I know a gentlemen that deals with old reclaimed wood and large tree wood. My thought is to get 2 or 3 planks from a large tree, these can be 30-60" wide, 12' long and plan them down to ?? don't know what the typical thickness is for a wood bed, don't know which type of wood yet either.

So back to the subject. When all of you with trucks that no longer haul anything or anything large in your bed, any issues driving with a light rear end? any creative fixes for it? I know its not too big of an issue, but I have had the rear end of a few trucks "come loose" from the road while I'm driving in rain or taking a turn a little fast. I know, "change my driving habits" but when you have some umph in the front, its fun to hit the gas sometimes.

again, just thinking.

[colnago]

A cheap creative fix is to get a couple hundred pounds of bags of sand, and throw them in the back. Anything to put some weight on the rear wheels.

Joseph

[Zorm]

well, yea there is that, but I was thinking if anyone put something like those tractor weights (used on pull trucks too) under the bed, or maybe like something heavy they could just fabricate a way to slide into or bolt onto / into the frame/bed.

[cep62]

Fill your spare tire full of concrete.

[1972hiboy]

Fill your spare tire full of concrete.

That is exactly what I thought this morning when I read this...........

[sargentrs]

Plane the planks a little thinner and screw some sheet metal to them on the underside before installing? I'd paint it first.

[Lone Ranger]

Put a heavy rear bumper on it with a way to add extra weight into it or onto it when you need it.
Maybe a tubular bumper you can fill with water?

[farmallmta]

It won't be that light if your mother-in-law rides back there. I give mine an umbrella for bad weather rides, since I'm a considerate fellow. And consider switching to glass bottled beer from canned: the empties you toss back there will accumulate more weight.

You didn't mention the species of wood you're considering, or how it's going to be processed to eliminate the possibility of shrinkage cracks and cupping which tend to be issues with wide planks. If you're interested in the look of a solid plank, you might want to consider a rot-resistant species that is also quite hard and therefore weather and load tolerant, such as walnut. Instead of the single wide plank, you could have it ripped into conventional lumber dimensions, properly dried, then formed into a wide plank, possibly in an interesting design like herringbone or basketweave. Any woodworker like a custom door shop or cabinet shop can do it. Pure raw tung oil combined with turpentine and pine tar (equestrian supply stores carry pine tar) applied to all sides and edges prior to installation is your ticket to preserving the wood.

I'm thinking that a liner underneath the wood, like the sheetmetal suggested in another post, could trap water and dirt, thereby contributing more to decay and mold and other problems.