Does anyone happen to know the length of the running boards on a '55 1/2 ton? Long story short,my '55 came with a homebuilt wood and steel stakebed on it,and last winter I put a '57 style stock "step-side" bed on it. Now when I try to reinstall the running boards on the truck,they are too long,almost to the rear wheel. I just need to know how much to trim off.
They should be the same as the 57?! maybe its off a longed I will go measure my 57 shortbeds to compare...
They may have been off a longbed,who knows. Here's how they looked on the truck when it had the old bed,almost to the rear wheels. they measure out to 5'8". Anyway,thanks for the measurement.
yeah no problem as far as I know the 57 and 56 are the exact same bed/cab so It is correct for your truck, looking at those steps those have to be long bed steps.
Hey, I just measured the ones on my 57 which is a long bed and they are 5'8" so that must be what yours are off. Your truck looks good!
Interesting! I have a 56 long bed original and the running boards are 5'. Big rear fenders (stock), 7 1/2' bed and 116" WB.
X2!! Mine is 116" wheelbase, 7'6" bed, I bought it from the original owners with 54,000 miles so it's defiantly original.
Pic attached. I measured again. It is 60" and goes to the front of the door. Measured bed as well. 7 1/2'. Looks original, and I have ownership and maintenance records going back to the original purchase and there is no indication that it is not all from the factory.
That's interesting....mine is all apart so I can't take a picture to compare, I'll have to see if I can find one....
Thats weird I measured mine again and its a 6-1/2 ft bed with a 60inch/5ft step. and 57 and 55 should be the same frame but maybe they kept the rear axle closer to the cab in 55? and later moved it back?! mine measures 3 ft exactly from my center of my rear wheel to the back of the bed/tailgate .????????? this is kinda freaky....
My mistake-- bed is actually 6 1/2'. Previous owner told me 7 1/2 and that stuck in my mind because it looks that long w/o tailgate. Also, the tag and original title show it as model C3-B8-116, which means that it should be 116" WB which should mean a 7 1/2' bed. I just measured, and it is actually had a 108" WB. Looks like Dodge was a bit sloppy. Sorry to confuse HAMBers with my confusion--and Dodge's apparent assembly line mistake! Bob
I was going Crazy trying to think of how those dimensions were possible! .....lol good to know Im not totally crazy! Short beds are cooler anyways....
just a little update,my buddy came over with the welder this past weekend and the end result was a sectioned running bard,reusing the end curve where the running board meets the fender. turned out good...
I didn't mind the missing running boards,but anyone who went for a ride would bitch about the lack of running boards. Besides,the truck looks more complete now.