Sweptline.ORG

Hey All,

Scored me a Utiline short bed. Just the bed as I love step sides. After some repairs and a paint job I'll swap out the Sweptline bed on my 68' D100. It looks like setting it down on the fender bottoms will bend them up. Or is it correct to flip it over onto the bed rails for transport? Found it on a weekend motorcycle ride on the Washington BDR. Out in the middle of nowhere.

Thank you for any suggestions,
Jimharold

flip it over will be fine
those things are built to last

jimharold wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 30, 2023 3:29 pm

Hey All,

Scored me a Utiline short bed. Just the bed as I love step sides. After some repairs and a paint job I'll swap out the Sweptline bed on my 68' D100. It looks like setting it down on the fender bottoms will bend them up. Or is it correct to flip it over onto the bed rails for transport? Found it on a weekend motorcycle ride on the Washington BDR. Out in the middle of nowhere.

Thank you for any suggestions,
Jimharold

parade2 2016.jpg

If you plan to restore the bed anyway you could take it apart to transport it. It would take up less space.

Takes HOURS to disassemble an old bed with rust welded fasteners! Not a simple task out in the field.

It’s just an option.

Upside down. Ive transported more than one box that way. Can be done sitting on top of a pickup box with a couple boards with stop blocks to stop shifting when tied down.

Flip it upside down an make sure you put two or three 2x4s for it to rest on, and that will keep it off both the Utiline fenders and the Swepty bedrails. Strap it to your satisfaction and roll!

PwrWgnDrvr wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 01, 2023 10:16 am

Takes HOURS to disassemble an old bed with rust welded fasteners! Not a simple task out in the field.

Quoted for truth. I've taken apart three Utiline beds now, and they do not come apart gracefully. The metal trim that runs along the left-and-right floor of the bed is terrible, but the worst are the frisbee flanged screws and non-nuts that hold on the fenders on. I've had such a hard time with rusted frisbee screws that if I start to strip one I get a box of cheap Harbor Freight Phillips screw-tips and tack weld that screw-tip onto the bolt. For me that's simpler, and less damaging, than trying to drill and chisel the bolt head off.

I don't know what Dodge made their fasteners out of, but when they're rusted no amount of PB Blaster is going to make those nuts see reason.

Moving a bed in one piece is fine, but all of my beds have either needed new wood in the floor, the tail gate straightened, or new body strips put on the fenders, so I have to take them apart anyway.

rusted bolts....heat ,heat or more heat
old trick get the nut /bolt glowing then melt a candle on it ..then heat again