Level the Bed

[tuned88]

I had a local bodyshop replace the cab mounting hardware on my '71 F250 and straighten the cab. Now that that's done, it reveals the out-of-level bed.
Is it possible to shim up the bed when I have the bed mounting hardware changed out? The frame checks out straight and the truck drives true.



I bought the doors from a vendor in L.A. The driver door bolted up square but the passenger side door is a little off. I'm assuming a body shop can adjust?



Finally, can anyone identify what year truck this tailgate belongs to? Thanks ! ! !

[hazelnut]

The bed can be shimmed to level it, But what it looks like to me is the supports on the bottom of the bed have rotted and started to colaps and now the bed is unlevel. A body shop should be able to line the doors up if everything is good. And the tailgate is correct for your truck, It was used from 66-72.

[tuned88]

If the supports are rotted, is there a weld-type repair that can be used? The bed is pretty rough, I'm going to start searching for possible replacements. Thanks for the info on the door and tailgate.

[elgemcdlf]

If the frame is straight it looks like they messed up doing the cab. The rear bumper assuming straight has the same gap all the way across the bottom of the bed.This would indicate the bed and bumper (again assuming mounted straight) are correct and the problem is elsewhere. A bad spring on that side could also be the culprit. You can have a straight frame but these frames are designed to twist under load. You may be looking at a twisted frame due to a weak spring on the left side of the truck. Tailgate is correct for the truck. Bodyshop should be able to handle any sheet metal alignment issues you have.

[tuned88]

I measured different reference points on either side of the cab and used a bubble level to confirm that it's just about level, about 3/8" low on the driver side. Then I measured the distance from ground to top of leaf spring clamp on each side of truck and they are dead on equal. The attach bolt for the driverside corner of the bed however is rusted out, the bed has a hole in it and the cross support member is rusted out. Perhaps a body shop can weld in a new piece of steel at the correct thickness to take care of level and structural integrity?

[hazelnut]

Mine was rusted worst than that, Someone put some wood between the bed floor and the frame to level it. It did level the bed but sometimes you got to love the way lasy people think when they fix things

If your going to take off the bed just cut off the bolts from the bottom and drive them up, Because most of the time there frozen and just round out the hole in the bed floor when you try to turn them, Then it take 2 people to tighten the new carrage bolts becouse theres nothing to catch it to keep it from spinning.

[tuned88]

And it's not like they use rock maple or redwood but pine ! ! ! Thanks for the install tip. I just mounted the tailgate on LMC polyurethane hinges and the noise dropped big. Once the bed is secure and the rattle stops, I'll be able to sneak up on the neighbors.....thanks for the installation tip.

[elgemcdlf]

I measured different reference points on either side of the cab and used a bubble level to confirm that it's just about level, about 3/8" low on the driver side. Then I measured the distance from ground to top of leaf spring clamp on each side of truck and they are dead on equal. The attach bolt for the driverside corner of the bed however is rusted out, the bed has a hole in it and the cross support member is rusted out. Perhaps a body shop can weld in a new piece of steel at the correct thickness to take care of level and structural integrity?

[ Image ]

Measuring from the top of the spring clamp to the ground will only tell you how tall you are to that point. You will be taking no spring measurement at all. It should be the same unless you had different size tires on it & even then it would show very close. Measure from the ground to the bottom of the frame rail. That will give you a measurement with whatever spring compression is present. A level showing the cab lower on the drivers side is your same problem. If it is a rear spring problem you will find a larger difference at the rear gradually tapering away as you move towards the front of the vehicle. From what I see in your picture while you do have an issue the bed has not dropped any at that point. You appear to have roughly a 3" drop. That is a pretty serious difference & nothing that should be shimmed. You should locate the real problem and resolve it.

[Whateverman]

this is what i think i see going on here :the front of the truck is out on the street in the pic ,the driveway looks level,the street not so much & ,the frame flex is making things look worse than they actually are (but supposedly i've been wrong before) - looks pretty harsh from the pics though -
- have you put the truck on a level surface and done any measurements?

my box has a rotted front crossmember and floor - as a temporary fix i knocked the rotted carriage bolts out and shoved an angle iron up in there ,tacked it to the remains of the crossmember,blew some holes in it and bolted it down again - and voila! - good enough for now

[tuned88]

Thanks to all for the interest and input. I'm going to retake some photos and measurements. Will post shortly....

[flyboy71]

From the rear pic it looks like the entire side of the bed is lower. One rusted thru mount wont twist it off that much, it would take at least the front two or more.

[tuned88]

First off, sorry for the lame photos. They weren't representative of the truck as it actually is which is bent but not that much. Here's a better shot.



I measured from the ground to the bottom of the frame (towards the rear) and found the passenger side to be 5/8" taller than the driver side.

From the photo below, you can see the bed referenced to the horizontal line on the cab. That difference is about 1/2". I can lift the bed from just behind the driver door and lift the bed about 1/2" due to the rusted and not-supporting-anything bolt.



I'm guessing I have two issues, the failed/rusted bed support and leaf springs that aren't equal left side to right side. Thots......

[Whateverman]

thats looks way less tragic now

[sargentrs]

That looks much better. I'd address one thing at a time. Once you get the bed support rail fixed it may straighten right up. How's your leaf spring bushings look?

[elgemcdlf]

That looks much better. I'd address one thing at a time. Once you get the bed support rail fixed it may straighten right up. How's your leaf spring bushings look?

I would attack it the opposite way. The leaf springs are his problem. Raising the bed & then fixing the springs will leave him lowering the bed on that side later. If money is an issue you could try this. Take both sides off and take them apart keeping the pieces separate now swap every other leaf from 1 side to the other. So keep the main leaf on the same side, take the 2nd rt leaf and put it on the left side. The 2nd left side leaf to the right. 3rd leaves leave as is. 4th swap side to side & so on. I am not saying this will work but if time is no problem & money is it would be worth a shot. You may also find when you take them apart you have a single leaf that is broken.

I am guessing the frame measurements were made at the rear of the frame. We know where you made the cab measurements If you remember I said these frames will show more difference the farther back you go. So... the 5/8" difference near the rear could very easily be your 1/2" at the cab. I hope this makes some sense.