I'm trying to decide on which way to go for the bed of my truck. I just missed out on a very clean bed for $500. In PA, a bed w/ almost no rust, that's a very nice find. Unfortunately, somebody in Jersey thought the same thing and jumped on it. Oh, well. Que Sera, Sera.

A $500 steel bed that is clean is the obvious choice to me when deciding upon steel or fiberglass.

However, if the price was the same, which would should I choose?

Should I go with a Rust-Free Steel bed like this one:




Or a fiberglass bed like the ones sold here:

http://www.bgfiberglassusa.com/products.html

The guy wants $2k for the steel bed, which I won't pay, but then again, the fiberglass bed is $1,600.

I'm trying to consider every aspect of this before I spend that much money on something.

Let me know your thoughts, Yotatechsters. Pluses and minuses of each.
Resale value? Forever free of rust, or having to deal with it at some point. Strength? Original vs. new, etc..

 

I went with the B&G fiberglass bed and have been super happy with it. I had him do a few extra things to it; more metal reinforcement ribs, Metal reinforcement in the tailgate, gel coat inside and out and tail gate hardware prep. It was basically a bolt on procedure after I painted it. I have had it now for two years, which includes the harsh Wyoming winters and it has held up great. If I wasn't at work and could access photobucket, I would post some pictures.

I would never go back to a metal bed. I tried for years to weld in patch panels and keep ahead of the rust to no avail. I love not having to worry about rust ever again.

 

That steel bed has been on eBay for over a year now. It's located right outside of WV in MD. I went up there with 1,500.00 cash and he would not sell it to me. He was dead set on 2,000.00 if I was gonna give 2,000.00 I'd buy a fiberglass one that way I won't have to replace it 5 years later.

 

Can't believe that guy wouldn't take $1,500 for that bed. It's made of steel, not gold.

Good feedback quickly. Thanks.

What about resale value? Not that I ever plan on reselling it, but just curious. Would a rust-free steel bed up the value more, or would a fiberglass one?

 

fiberglass for sure .. dosnt matter what people say .. metal will rust , unless your in the desert .
http://www.toyotafiberglass.com is my product , and I have had my bed on my truck for 13 years ..
there is absolutly a differance between B&G's product and ours , I have pics of BOTH beds that have been in collisions , and ours will absolutly stand up better .as well as ours has inner walls , and is built to almost exactly the same weight as factory + we also offer a tailgate and many other parts ..
check us out


.

 

I've checked you out for sure, Corey. Umm. I mean I've checked out your product, that is. And you've pointed me in the right direction a couple of times on a variety of items. I would prefer to use Toyota Fiberglass just from your support of Yotatech, the help you've given me, personally, and the product quality that many have attested to.

But you don't offer a US version of a 84-88 pickup bed, to my knowledge, and B&G is 30 miles from my house where you are 2,600.

how much does a factory bed, weigh, by the way?

 

That fiberglass bed looks pretty sweet! I would go that route if I lived in rust country!

Toyota~boy, you were willing to pay $1500 for a rust-free bed? Wow! How much is a rust-free truck worth out there?

 

I'm not trying to but in on your thread but I'm in the process of looking for a.bed for my first gen, but anyway what is the difference in the US version and the Canadian will it still bolt right up or what

 

I think it would depend on what you are going to do with the truck. Wheel it hard, haul stuff, I myself would probably lean towards the steel bed. But then again, I have never owned a Fiberglass bed so not sure how strong they are. I would be afraid of tearing it up the first time I put an engine in the back or scraped it on something going down the trail.
Yes steel will rust but can be cut out and repaired pretty easy.

But ultimately for me it would come down to price. Which one I could get a better deal on.

 

Slacker...this is why I couldn't go with one of your beds. I have a topper on my truck and need a US spec bed to rest the topper on top of. I would have nowhere to bolt the topper down on a Canadian/japan spec truck. Just out of curiosity, have you made a mold yet for the 84-95 US spec truck bed with the wide bed rails. My 88 is becoming too restored to take it hunting anymore and I have a 91 that will be filling this role soon. The bed is in ok condition, but I want a fiberglass bed and would not mind putting one of yours on.

 

I leaning towards finding a very clean steel one in NM, AZ or SoCal and having it shipped here. I can probably find one there for $200-$400 and shipped here for another three of four hundo. Total cost is $500 - $800 version $1,600 - $2,000 for a fiberglass one.

If I can start with one that's rust free then I can protect it quite a bit w/ undercoating and such to prevent rust to a large degree.

It'll be a very mild trail rig, so fiberglass would work fine from a functionality perspective. I'm just not sure it's worth two to three times as much money.

Oh, yeah - anybody know how much a bed weighs?

 

I had a fiberglass bed shipped from PA to WY and it was over $1,000. Steel is heaver than fiberglass, although not by much once gel coats are involved.

 

You find one and I will let you know

 

East coast and rust free....your talking serious cash!

Um kinda in the same boat as the thread poster so people, keep commenting
Also thought of having one shipped here, wasn't aware shipping was so severe..

 

I understand that completly , and I hope i'm not taking over the thread by answering questions ?
we have been looking for a USA doner bed for about 10 years .. but they are hard to come by up here , so no we dont have them yet . that being said , basically EVERYTHING is the same , but for a few minor things , and we correct these for our USA customers . only real differance is the "look" , and with that , it will make your truck stand out from the rest

basically the fuel door is the ONLY differance , and we "correct " that if you purchace from us

problem is , a rust free one , wont be rust free for long .. i have many customers buying cali or Arizona beds all the time , then in 2 years coming back to me and ordering one of ours .
one thing I like to say to customers/interested parties .. is how many times do you want to paint it ? paint isnt cheep .. unless your just rolling it on .

anyway .. not trying to sell you .. just inform you ..
and 84-88 can/jap bed , with gate runs @ 300lbs



actually , because of our mould design , our can/jap bed holds the topper exactly the same as the USA bed (exact same dimentions , and clamps to hold topper)



.

 

You can get a used step side ranger/s10 bed if you want a cheap fiberglass & galvi bed you just have to put a fuel door and cup on the left side or run your tubes to the right side, And like the way your truck looks with a step side

 

In the OPs first post, with the bed on the pallet, what is the panel on the inside of the bed? My '84 doesn't have that, nor provisions for it.

 

I think its a 85-88 thing my 84 has it but its had a bed swap b4. Not sure what its for other then to keep you from denting the bed skin

 

According to this site:

http://www.midatlantictoyotaparts.co...e/box-assembly

It's an "inner side panel".

My bed has it on there and it's the original bed. They are bolted on with little 10mm (I think) bolts in about 8 places.

They do just seem to be protection against denting the outer skins.
There is some nice space in between the inner and outer skins, and since the inner skin is removable, I've always wanted to make hidden compartments in there for tools and "such" (contraband ala Han Solo? )

Slap some hinges on the bottom of them, maybe cut them in half, in the middle of the wheelwell to have four separate compartments (two on each side) and make it to where I could lock them. That'd be sweet.

And everyone is welcome to thread-jack away. I consider this an open thread and all opinions are welcome, especially those that are informed (like Corey's, por exemplo)

 

Don't give up on finding a good bed. My current truck bed is missing half of the sheet metal due to rust. (My truck lived its first 25 years next to Salt Water). I found a bed around here (with minor surface rust, which I am fixing at the moment) for $100.00, just had to go and remove it off the guys wrecked truck.

-Wish I had the money at the time, he only wanted $700 for the whole truck, running 22re and all...