Differences in inherent weather and rot resistance are well documented for various kinds of wood. Of the woods you mentioned, all of them except a few certain species of pine and cherry, don't tolerate weathering well. But as you point out, an appropriate finish that is well maintained can make a lesser wood last a lot longer. That's how very well maintained log houses made of pine logs can theoretically last as long as ones made with unprotected white oak. That said, there are good reasons why things like boats, semi trailer floors, wood car wheels, and durable picnic tables, are made of more durable woods than pine. While I'm sure what you are doing is fine for how it is being used, protective coatings and faithful maintenance aren't enough to make a wood like pine a good choice for the average truck bed.
I agree that better wood is harder & tougher to damage than soft pine but our trucks generally aren`t used without regard to protecting when hauling and most are stored inside so protection is much better than originally encountered in their past life. I kind of liked the way the pine looked when done.
The treated wood will need to be completely sealed from the steel of the truck or it will eat the steel. A roll of rubber over the frame and stainless or well painted on the underside bed strips. I would go hardwood over softer pine unless you could get a good southern yellow pine which is harder.
My son (Rich) and I have identical '55 F100s, other son Tory has one also... Rich did his bed with a large sheet of black walnut, treated and varnished. It's beautiful, as are most of the others in this thread. Mine needs it, after a few years of indecision (hauling Hemis, flatheads, rear ends, etc.) I was contemplating exotic woods and stainless slide strips...instead of the 1/4" steel diamond plate that has covered the original wood since 1959! I still use my truck for hauling engines, etc. This is a real dilemma. Great thread, thanks, guys.
" height="90">" height="640"> Spray on undercoat. Red oak stained black, 200' of leather. 934 gromets.
I'm way more positive on wood durabilty.... My 56 Mercury pickup had an oak bed finished with about 6 coats of top quality spar varnish - the type that's maxed out with UV inhibitors. I put 72,000 miles on that truck in all sorts of weather and never had to re-finish the wood. It even sat outside every day for the better part of 2 years. My woodie is Maple finished with house of color UC-35 clear coat. This stuff has lots of UV inhibitor to protect candy base coats. I have 7500+ miles on the car and it has sat outside in heavy rain more than once. All looks good so far. So, don't be deterred by the horror stories.... wood is just fine if you finish it right.
Although not the cheapest options, lpe, purpleheart, and jarrah are strong. hard, and very rot resistant. A bed made with one of those would probably outlast the vehicle or its owner.
My ol' buddy, Eric used black walnut and religiously kept it treated with tung oil. The truck was kept inside it's whole life and only came out for summer trips, cruises and errands in good weather but damn! That floor always looked like brand new and it existed for 20 years I know of. Once, when filling up with gas, the gas nozzle stuck on [under-bed tank with filler in floor trap door] and Eric had 2 inches of gasoline on his bed floor. Besides the obvious fire danger, I thought the bed floor was history but the fuel didn't seem to bother it. Another 20 minute coating of tung oil and the wood was good to go. Tung oil is a great product to protect unfinished, stained wood. Sorry, I don't have an image of the bed floor. Wish I did as Eric passed away last summer.
When my wife and I built our log home we researched long and hard as to what woods are the most resilient to rot and insects. One of the woods that kept coming up as one of the best as far as weather durability was Cypress. Because it grows in the swamp lands of Florida it is highly resistent to moisture and insects. In fact if you have ever seen the show Swamp Loggers, a lot of the wood they pull from the swamp has been submerged for 40-50 years and still looks like new wood. Long story short.....After getting quotes from log home builders we realized we couldn't afford Cypress as it was nearly triple the cost. So we went with Engleman Spruce.
Put a sheet of thin diamond plate in there, bolt it down, and put a bed liner in it. I did that in my '36 (although it came with a metal bed to begin with) - best thing I ever did - but I used it as a truck.
Some woods are rot resistant but not very hard. For a truck bed that is being used normally a soft wood isn't the best option. That means woods like cypress, cedar or redwood wouldn't rot, but they wouldn't tolerate a lot of abuse as well as harder alternatives. I like your house. If you keep it stained, oiled, or coated, it will last a long time.
I just got some wood from a bowling alley they were dismantling. How would that hold up? some of its maple I'm told
Heartwood is better than the outer wood, and some types of oak, maple, etc are more rot resistant than others. All that aside, maple is tough and hard, but it has low rot resistance.
My father uses his 56 gmc a lot to move stuff around. He used marine plywood painted black and just put the rails on top of it... looks great and still holding up since 1969. Being a daily driver it is out in the rain as well.
I used a 4 x 8 3/4 sheet of oak ply on my 55 f-100 but measured and found out that the bed was 4ft 2 wide...RATS.So I bought another ($88 ea.) ,ripped it to width,glued it so that the seam was under the one of the bed slides. 5 coats each side with spar varnish .I have a tonneau so it really protects it from the sun,the underside still looks new. I used the oak ply because it was left over from the builder who made our mantle. It was cheaper than a bed kit and looks great. Somebody told me that plywood is weak and wont last but I use my truck as a truck and hauled a 390 and c-6 in it with no problems.After all it does have more than a few crossmembers under it.
The wood bed alone is never strong enough so trucks do have cross sills to support added weight. My brother used a sheet of plywood on his 51 A.D. some 30 years ago and the wood is still in good shape (he put all the metal strips back on, so you can't tell it's a sheet of plywood) just needs to be refinished again but there's no rot and it's not warped. Not bad for 30 year old plywood (the truck has always been parked outside).
Apitong is a wood often used on industrial trailer decks. It is very hard and strong, but has mediocre resistance to rot.
I have built quality, high end, furniture for 40 years and know a bit about wood. Any outdoor wood will benefit from an oil finish that is renewed occasionally. UV rays will destroy any clear finish. If you are dealing with a garage queen any wood with a piano finish is OK. A really hard and scuff resistant finish is Behlens rock hard tabletop finish. It's a bit pricey and calls for a special thinner (which is in actuallity mineral spirits). It can be brushed from the can or sprayed when thinned. Dont know much about this newfangled computer stuff as I'm about 8 years from rotary dial BR549. I hope that the PDF's come through. One is info about rot resistance and the other demonstrates shrinkage and warping due to seasonal changes. You will want wood sawn in the manner demonstrated in the 2 left images. Ask for quarter sawn and the dealer will know. If anyone needs specific help in this area PM me.
I tried that, but it shrunk to much in the cold, ba-da-ching!!! Thanks for all the great advice guys. What else have you seen used on a bed floor. I've come across guys using checker plate, metal screen, and even have pictures of a 56 Ford with the plastic deck boards for bed wood. It really looks cool when it's paired up with a show winning truck.
Pressure treated wood CAN be used with good results. Check out this thread... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=463308&highlight=bed+wood Things to keep in mind... New pressure treating chemicals are hard on steel, especially screws that go thru the wood, but you really don't have any bed parts going thru the wood, just touching it, and even these are probably epoxy primed. Yes, there will be shrinking, but if you fit everything tight when building, the schrinking will not be an issue. I did my bed three years ago, it sits outside all the time, gets used, and it still looks good. Rich
An old neighbor gave me some planks of mahogany that he salvaged out of a boat some years before. I coated them with polyurethane and they have been in place 20+ years. I have a rubber mat over them when i do haul something.
I used 1in treated ply wood and welded angle iron to the sides of the bed to mount it. All my stainless trim is dummy holes and it looks like the wood slats for a hell of alot cheeper and easyer. As long as you know someone with a table saw your golden. I used fence stain I think I got less the 60$ makeing it!