I found these cool fiberglass bed sides which are a lot more affordable than an entire fiberglass bed. I haven't looked at how I would attach the replacements or how the swap would go together. I'm probing for anyone who might have experience with this. I have just enough seam-area holes and little tiny holes and thinned out areas that continuing to mess with the original bed skins seems less and less appealing. Here's the link to the parts: http://www.toyotafiberglass.com/truck_12.html

 

If you search around here some the owner of that company is a regular poster. Here's his epic rebuild but if you search there are more threads:


https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f209...thread-131775/

 

That thread looks like a fun read, but a daunting haystack to look for a needle of bed side replacement in. I appreciate the reminder, I had clued in thathe was te fiberglass bed guy, I'll try messaging him directly for info. I also have a nearby garage with an all-toyota salvage yard that probably has a rust-hole free bed for around $500. The bottom of my bed does have some rust hole perforation in some of the washboard material, and the panel at the end that has the tailgate hinge mounting areas had been smashed by a tree trunk or telephone pole (probably backed into it or slid backwards in an off-road situation) and I have mostly bent it back but it is pretty much still FUBAR in my opinion. I can fairly easily fabricate a duplicate of that area though, if replacing the sides turns out still to be more economical than the more rustless replacement. I'm down for a rust-oration and fiberglass side retrofit if it seems like the thing to do, I'm pretty well equipped. I just need some guidelines and reassurance so I know what to look for and do my research beforehand so I don't get stuck.

Slacker= owner of Toyotafiberglass.com, right?

 

sounds like you're on the right track and have the right mindset. Talk to Corey and see what you learn. He's a real nice guy to talk to on the phone, just hard to get a hold of as he works so much.

 

Corey AKA Slacker AKA ToyotaFiberglass makes some quality stuff. I bought the bed for my truck from him. Messaging him won't get you very far - he's rather busy and typically doesn't do business over PMs. Your best bet would be to email him at the email address on his website or bet yet, call him. I'm not sure how much bed sides cost, but I'll be honest, you'll likely be better off just buying a complete bed. After you figure in the time and money it takes to swap the bedsides, you probably could have spent the same money that you would have to get the full bed. If you do decide to go with bedsides, I'm sure that Corey will point you in the right direction for installation. His service after the sale is really good - I spent quite a bit of money with him and he is always there to answer my questions.

 

Sides are $280 each, for a total of $560 for a pair plus rear valance panel. Less than a third of the cost of an entire bed. Still think I'd spend that much labor installing that it wouldn't be worthwhile?

If I run into any major blockage to getting an original used Toyota truck bed from a nearby toyota-only shop/ salvage yard, I'll be e-mailing Corey unless he's got time to post here. I'd rather know ahead of time instead of "after the sale" what's involved in the swap.

I'm one of the types who likes doing a lot of different stuff and learning as I do it, so if I was offered extra hours at work which could earn me the money to get the bed done for me, I'd probably elect instead to do i myself just the same. I like having hobbies that save/earn me money :-).

 

You sound like me - jack of all trades, master of none! I always learn as much as I can about anything I do. You can go either route if you are comfortable. Personally, I was at the point in my build where I just wanted something done for me after the amount of fabrication and modifications that I had done already. Corey would definitely fill you in on the process before the sale so that shouldn't be much of an issue. I think that with the sides you will need to add some reinforcement to have something for the sides to mount to, but I'm not sure. I know he uses some ridiculously strong panel adhesive to mount a lot of his panels so they literally last forever, but at the same time the bedsides are single walled so you'll need to figure out how to remove the old ones so that you can retain the inner walls or build new inners out of steal. The panel adhesive is key - you MUST use hood panel adhesive or it won't last long at all. The adhesive is moderately priced, but the gun you will need to shoot it is retardedly expensive. Honestly, at one point I contemplated getting bed sides and just mounting them to a box built out of steel for rigidity, strength and durability, but like I said, I just wanted it done. Either way, give him a call. You'll likely be surprised as what you find out.

 

hey sorry for my delay in getting here ..
as some of you know I was off with an ankle injury for a couple of months but I'm back at er' ... and I thought I was busy before my injury !!!

zombie_stomp , got your PM and replied .. We do have the sides available for the DIY people .. we wont do them in our shop though , just simply because of labor costs . as kawazx636 says install time is a big part of the cost . 79-88 trucks , the bed sides are really not replaceable like the 89 + trucks , so there are many modifications you may need to do .

I do have 3 different ways I can share with you on how to install .. but typing them all out on here , with my typing skills would take me an hour ...
I have no problem sharing , so please shoot me an email with your # and i'll give you a call


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talked to Joel today ... hope the info. helped in your final decision




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