Does anyone know if the beds for the 2wd truck beds will fit on the 4wd correctly? I have a long bed right now and I started to do some rust removal, but it turns out that the roll on bedliner the PO did trapped rust and it ate its way out to the paint pretty bad. I don't mind body work, but this isn't worth the time to repair everything that needs to be done.

 

If the replacement bed is a long bed as well it will go on without a problem, the only difference between the two are the size and shape of the wheel wells. The 2wheel drive have smaller openings. Easy to swap though. 8 bolts mount it to the frame. Count on snapping a few of them off.

 

Are the wheel wells drastically smaller, like the would look funny?

 

I have half a dozen locally to choose from, just no 4x4 long beds.

 

Your can make the 2WD work, you just need to trim slightly and add your existing flares

 

I'm about to do this swap myself, actually. I've got an '81 2wd for parts, and I'm putting it's bed onto my '83 4x4. It appears the only part of the wheel well needing cutting is the lower half, because on the 4x4 they flare outward at a much bigger angle. I'm personally going to swap beds and leave the fender as it is for now while I search for a new set of fender flares, so I'm hoping they'll clear my 31s. Looking at everything the beds are identical, except those lower half of the fender well, and the front lower bed sides appear to be a half inch shorter on the 2wd.

 

The lower bedsides next to the cab is what I wondered about. I had a 74 2wd and it bugged me that the bed and cab didn't line up at the same height.

 

there is no problem there ...

2 and 4WD beds are interchangeable .. with just a few exceptions

1. wheel wells on the 2WD are "cut" for a 14" wheel , 4wd's are 15" and larger .. so take a cutoff wheel and "open them up "
2. stock 4WD bolt on flares will need to be added , so you'll need to "fit" them
3. fuel filler lid is different , so you need to switch to a 4WD lid or bend it


then sit back and watch the rust progress



.

 

A comparison of the front lower bed panel between 2 and 4wd. The difference isn't much, but it's there. I think I measured it at 1/4 or 1/2 inch. These next pictures show the wheel wells with the fender flare removed from the 2wd, ignore the part about my front lower panel falling off when I took the flare off. It appears just the lower panels are cut differently.





The differe

 

Different how? I notice the flares are notched for the filler lid.

 

because the actual fender is a different design ..



.

 

I've got a 2WD bed on my 4X4 and my 31's dont even come close to hitting the fenders but I do have a 2 inch lift. Never got around to putting flares on it. After finding a pristine bed I couldn't bring myself to drill mounting holes for the flares!

 

Got any pictures of it? So we can maybe see how the uncut, unflared fenders of the 2wd bed match up to the rest of the truck?

What interference does the 2wd fuel lid cause? The flares are notched to avoid hitting them.

 

Please post a hoot or your 2wd bed on your 4x4. I can trade mine as scrap for a 2wd, so that would be a huge help. Also, does anyone have a pic of the flares on a 2wd?

 

Here are some different angles of the truck concerning the 2WD bed.

 

Lets try this again!

 

I also need a bed and all I can get is 2wd I wish someone would post pics

 

I actually saw one driving in town today, but I couldn't get a picture. It doesn't look as bad as I thought it might. I could always make a small panel on the bed side that gradually corrects the height difference. I'm still not sure if I want to hold out and try to find another 4x4 bed. I ended up finding some floor board rust and replacing the floor has taken most of my focus right now. But I did get a call about a possible 4x4 bed at my local scrap yard, so I'm going to take measurements and investigate.....