Wooden Flatbed

[ShannonW]

Hey all! New here so I hope this is in the right place. 
let me start with giving you the info for my truck:

2002 Chevrolet Silverado 1500

4.8v8/4l60e

228,580 miles on the clock

it’s a single cab short bed.

yes....the bed...

my bed is all mangled up and it’s a good running truck, never gives me any problems and I thought about going to find a good bed at a u-pull until I seen a little s10 with a homemade wooden bed. 
will my suspension be able to handle the heavier wooden bed? How would I go about relocating the filler neck? What about lights? I have plans on how I am going to construct the bed itself but it’s the small stuff that’s getting me. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[Sharpz]

There isnt that much difference in weight maybe a few hundred pounds which isnt anything for the suspension.  If you wanted to be positive throw some bilsteins on your truck.  The filler neck would secure just under the platform, and there are various ways to anchor it.  If you do the bed right, it will be as wide as your cab. Most people will go with trailer type lights for your tail lights and reverse. Making a custom rear bumper is also something you should look at. 

 

From being an old farm guy, we used to do these on c10s all the time, some things to consider when using boards. If you are rear ended there is a good chance these boards can become spears, so be careful how you lay them out.  We would attach a custom front metal stop to the fronts, sides and back of the boards so the boards laid inside a track of angle iron. Also to note, a 4x4 pressure treated is actually only 3 1/2 inches and doesnt give you much room between your tire and the board.  We always used rough sawn Oak and had them sawn 5x5 (actual)  I suppose you could use a spacer to achieve the same height.  All in all, if done right these look great, and a cool old school look, especially if you run wagon mags.  Good luck and hope some of this gives you direction.