Teuck bed to flatbed, would you convert?

[Whitnel]

Here's the deal. Truck got damaged at a job site yesterday. The bed took most of the damage when a load of trusses slid into the truck. Bed is just about shot. Cost to repair close to a new bed. Would you take the insurance money and put on a flat bed. Always sorda wanted one but really have had no reason for one. Truck is a SRW F250, there are very few flatbeds that look good on SRW trucks but when the fit right they look good. Opinions?

 

[mfreund]

I would put a regular bed back on if only for resale value. Flat bed will kill the resale value. IMHO

 

[Whitnel]

Had not thought of resale value. It's a 2000 with 380,000 on it. KBB said it was worth $10,500. I have put 300,000 of those on it over the last 10 years and intend to keep it. If I were to get a 1/2 ton at some point I would probably keep this truck it's paid for pulls the jeep and tractor really good. But you never know how things will play out.

 

[mfreund]

Ok, with those miles and age I would put the cheapest bed I could find. It could be a flat bed or a different color from a auto recycler.

 

[/pine]

Go for the flat bed...add some stake pockets and chain loops on the sides as well as some buck boards...you'll love it...even more so if you make if a dumper...!
FWIW...Some states require mud flaps...

 

[dieselcrawler]

With thoes kinda miles I bet its got a 7.3 psd under da hood!

Flat beds are handy.

Its hard to make one look right... and real easy to make one look bad.

 

[JJZ 109]

Depends on what you use it for. Do you use it for stuff that could be loaded on by forklift often? If so a flat be could be considered. There are some decent looking commercially made ones out there, but from what I've seen they're kinda pricey.
If insurance is paying up and you're hanging onto the truck for a considerable time, I think I'd get a nice used bed from an auto dismantling place and have it painted to match the rest of the truck. Or maybe even have the whole truck painted so there's no mismatch.
Like dieselcrawler says, I've seen a lot of real unattractive home made flat beds out there.

 

[HHR]

You are going to have a hard time finding a good used bed these days. I have been looking for one for a friend and they all seem to be either trashed, rusted or the seller wants over $2000 for them. I would find or build a nice flatbed and be done.

 

[schmism]

Sounds like a contractor rig to me.

how about a service bed.

I always like that drop side bed you see on the home depot rent-a-trucks

 

[motownbrowne]

I'm not sure, but I think having a flatbed, and maybe a service body too, raises your insurance rates. Just something to consider. With 2 foot bed rails on my regular bed, I can haul a lot more wood than my buddy's flatbed, but like was mentioned above, if you're loading and unloading with forks, they can be slick.