Bed Removal

[chevyemt]

I am going to remove my fleetside bed off my 73 C20 for paint and bodywork. What is the easyiest way to do this myself. Also How many bolts are there and are they easy to remove? Will I need any special tools? My bed is herculined so I wasnt sure about the heads of the bolts(if they need to come out).

[90Accord]

ive seen people use engine cranes, and fork lifts

ive always used manpower 2 or three buds will be able to take a SB

[chevyemt]

I was hoping to jack up all 4 sides and suspend it so I can drive out from under it.

[90Accord]

yeah i guess that could work too, i dont think i ever see that though, youre going to have to run something between the jacks so you can have them outside the wheel like 2x4s or square tubing

[chevyemt]

I was going to use 4 x 4's. I have some 8ft 4x4 layin around. What about the bolts? Where are they and how many? Will I need a very large socket with extension on my impact or are they hard to get to?

[Joe]

Heavy duty tie down straps and a cherry picker will work if your truck is low enough

[vic_V8]

Heavy duty tie down straps and a cherry picker will work if your truck is low enough

I do that every time when I'm by myself, otherwise I use a couple buddies

[90Accord]

is it a long bed or short?

on the short bed i think there are 8 4 in front of the wheel wells and 4 behind, im not sure there may only be six

im not in front of my truck right now, and even if i was theres about 6 inches of snow in my bed, but i can take a look when i get home

[Landchipper]

couple of buddies. one at each corner no problems. simple.

[chevyemt]

Its a long bed. Biggest worry I have is not being able to break loose the 36 year old nuts. As long as they are visible and easy to get to I can use my impact.

[kirk]

8 bolts, just take the nuts off from underneath and pull the bolts out from the inside of the bed. Spray them with PB Blaster and let it soak a little bit before you try to take them off, it'll make it easier.

[chevyemt]

K sounds good but can I leave the bolts in the bed when I break the nuts loose so I dont mess up my herculiner?

[chevyemt]

What else needs to be disconnected? The fuel filler neck and wiring? how does the filler neck detatch?

[kirk]

What else needs to be disconnected? The fuel filler neck and wiring? how does the filler neck detatch?

The filler neck has a clamp on it, like a hose clamp, easy to take off. And there's some wiring at the back for the lights that will have to be unplugged.

[kirk]

K sounds good but can I leave the bolts in the bed when I break the nuts loose so I dont mess up my herculiner?

I'd take them out, makes it easier. I'd bet you'd pop a couple of them out anyways trying to line everything back up when you put the bed back on.

[Swims350]

well on the 76 we had, the 86, and 84 you can remove the filler neck from the bed by taking out the 3 torx head screws that hold the plastic funnel to the bed side and 3 small like 7mm head bolts that hold the funnel to the filler hose. The taillight harness unplugs or you can unbolt it from the frame in back.

As for the bolts they are carriage bolts and most of the time you need someone to stand on them while you try to take them loose because they'll spin. Some may anyways, if they do cut the side off the top of them to get a wrench on em, then let somebody hold them while you take em loose on botom with an impact prefferably. Also you'll probably need a swivel for your impact, I did.

Then as mentioned some guys, cherry picker or what we did....

build a big a frame over it with wood like a swing set and use straps on that to ratchet the bed up and drive out, or you can get some 2x6's 4x4's anything that's like 10 foot or maybe 8, enough to get you past the tires, have someone lift the bed, slide the boards under, between the bed and frame. You grab the board or boards, and lift one side while someone stacks blocks under the board to raise the bed, go to the other side and do the same, keep doing this until the bed is high enough to clear, then drive out. It's also handy to have a friend steady the bed while you drive out and to watch for snags or anything left behind. I think we used 6-8 on each side of dad's 84 to get it up high enough, and 2 2x6's to help balance it out. We did an s-10 same way with landscape timbers ad saw horses. We put it back on the same way, raised it up, backed under, let it down block at a time.

[K Berg]

I second the PB Blaster, that stuff is great! Also, it may be worth it to pick up one of those cheesy little craftsman torch sets that use the little BBQ cylinders of Mapp gas and Oxygen. They get hot enough to get the bolts to glow, then blast them off with the impact gun or ratchet if its all you got.
If you have for buddies help you lift it, make sure they lift it high enough in the rear to clear the bumper and not scratch the hell out of your bed. Also check for ground straps and the diff breather hose. Should be a 1/2" socket to remove that bolt. Like the other guys said, drop the filler neck. I like being able to keep the cap on the hose on the neck to keep crud out of the tank. When you plug your taillight harness back in, put some dielectric grease in there to keep the moisture out.

[chevyemt]

Wow thanks for all the input. This should be much easier now that I know what to look for.

[XLR8N]

chainfall on a tree limb, build a brace out of 2x4s to support the bedrails while lifting.

[billywilly92]

Big saw horse on each side and then run wood planks under the bed. We did that and we made them just tall enough so that we could lift it up and drive the truck out from underneath.