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Bed rail Rot

7769 Views 123 Replies 26 Participants Last post by  Tom M
My 05 super duty is deteriorating under the bed.

I've taken such good care of this truck to I never plowed with it either.

I'm getting surface rust at the base of the doors the tops of the fenders in the back the more importantly the bed is sinking I won't be able to get a penny for this thing if I were to sell it without fixing it.

Rumor is there are aftermarket bed rail supports I don't think we even have junk yards around anymore thanks to the EPA.

Has anyone else dealt with this.
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I never saw a 16 year old truck without a bunch of rust (especially a Ford, lol. I drive really old Chevys). They still sell pretty well around here. 4 or 5k?

Haven't seen bed rail support products but we still have junk yards in Cleveland.

Interested in the answers to your question.
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The truck was detailed twice a year and kept clean. Half of its life it was part time as I used my other one for work. Now the bed is sinking towards the cab. I've seen other people with this and though they overloading their trucks. It's sucks to waste money on this. I have about 110k on this which will tell you by it's age the wear.

The guy was telling me these trucks new are impossible to get of late and a 40k truck is selling towards 60k if you can find it. WTF.
No in fact I remember asking about that at the dealer and they said no. I wasn't convinced with that but before I got a bed liner I considered a spray on one and they too said underneath was better than the old days. Pricks
I dont think any amount of detailing is going to address the undercarriage rusting, unless you get up under it and wash/rinse that off.
Saw lots of replacement rails on Google.
Oh yeah, I was just noting that I kept it clean. The self serve drive through washes I would pressure wash gunk out the wells, ect .. this seems to be a Ford defect for this time era.
Its a known problem with the older Ford truck beds. My boss has a 2004 f250 Harley edition and the bed rails are all rotted. Also, a neighbor of his has the same problem. His truck looks like it is bent in half due to how bad his bed rails are rotetd.
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Road salt and sand kills Ford and chevy alike.

Chevy is easier to deal with.

Finding a good bed for something that old can be tough. If it's same factory paint, it's worth a trip to another state to get it.
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Here's what I meant.

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Ford, Chevy, they all do that. Those are hollow all the way across, and they don't usually get cleaned out.
Poor design, sleeved think metal.shpuld be solid one piece for starters

I'm going to swing by my steel fabricators and see if they bite. The auto body places around here want nothing to do with it. Winter is on its way
Auto body would just put a bed in it if they can find one.

Chevy you could just slide hat channel over it, no clue about Ford.
There are a couple salvage yards down this way.

Check with Lentini in Flemington, I got a drive shaft for my old Dakota there. I'm pretty sure they are part of an online network with other yards, so you can do a pretty wide search area

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My 05 super duty is deteriorating under the bed.

I've taken such good care of this truck to I never plowed with it either.

I'm getting surface rust at the base of the doors the tops of the fenders in the back the more importantly the bed is sinking I won't be able to get a penny for this thing if I were to sell it without fixing it.

Rumor is there are aftermarket bed rail supports I don't think we even have junk yards around anymore thanks to the EPA.

Has anyone else dealt with this.
This guy is in NJ too.
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I have 5 rails, I saw a lot on line some seem painted. Not much info on steel gauge
Wish I learn how to weld. Can't find anyone that would do this. Everybody is like, no thanks........get a new bed.

Internet turned a source saying it can ship me a rust free bed for $2,900. Now how much would a spray job cost??????
Wish I learn how to weld. Can't find anyone that would do this. Everybody is like, no thanks........get a new bed.

Internet turned a source saying it can ship me a rust free bed for $2,900. Now how much would a spray job cost??????
Here you go, there is a place in Sparta or Randolph that has beds also they are truck upfitters who put boxes or flat beds on trucks
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Make sure you have your factory color code, sometimes you can get an exact match and save a bunch of paint.
I am so glad I live on the West Coast. No salt, no real rust.

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