Cargo Seat Repairs

[Tinwoodsman]

Time to address the cargo seats on my Deuce bobb project. The wood was in very poor condition but the fact that I could cut off one 36 section made my repair options. I started by removing all the slats. This in itself was no small job since the nuts were near impossible to get off with further damaging the wood. Solution was to drill a pilot hole in the bolt heads that were stuck and the insert an Easy Out to hold the bolt while I removed the nut. A dose of PB was helpful. Once removed, it was a trip through the wide belt sander and then I repaired the bad sections by installing a half lathe joint, followed by drilling the bolt recesses as required. I will post more pictures once I apply sanding sealer and paint.

My original plan was to go with fiberglass slats or new wood once I got pricing, creativity took over.

 

[4x4 Forever]

Looks good Tin, keep up the good work! Please post the 'after' as well.

 

[stancanpara]

I replaced all my wood with white oak last summer.... didn't think about taking pictures at the time.... now I wish I had.

When I took the old wood off, I just ground all the bolts off. Interestingly, for my troop seats, all the lumber was black walnut....

 

[Tinwoodsman]

Mine is mostly hickory with some oak and B/W.

 

[Westech]

you dont want to use pine lol its Cheap but it dont hold up.... well it was good for a while.

 

[stancanpara]

As far as I'm concerned, there is nothing more durable and appropriate for this application than White Oak.

Red Oak will not last unless it is sealed very well and KEPT sealed...

Just about any 'hardwood' is acceptable but, according to what I've been able to learn (in other words, my humble opinion) over the years from various reading and talking to some old folks that used to build them on contract, Oak, Ash and Hickory were the preferred woods. A laymans definition for hardwood is any tree that looses it's leaves in the fall (even Poplar and Basswood though they are NOT acceptable hardwoods for this app) so by definition, any trees with needles (evergreens) are 'Softwood'...

Your budget is probably the deciding factor.... If I didn't run a sawmill, I'd probably NOT have been able to afford good White Oak and gone for the fiberglass replacements...


I applaud your hard work in saving are repairing your existing lumber! It's a LOT of work and it looks like your doing an outstanding job! Please keep us updated with pictures! Thanks

 

[Bill W]

Ipe wood is also a great wood for troop seats, its just as strong/durable as white oak and it costs less ( at least it did back when I did my m-37 troop seats

 

[Tinwoodsman]

I was considering Ipe but was not sure how it takes paint.

 

[maddawg308]

That's what they make primer for, Tinwoodsman !

 

[Bill W]

I was considering Ipe but was not sure how it takes paint.

Usually with a paint brush

Hey nice job on splicing that wood together

My wood is horrible
I bought a nice 13"Ridgid planer at a local garage sale ( $70 ) with the intention of running my wood slats through it to clean them up but I ended up severing a tendon in one of my fingers while adjusting one of the (frigging sharp ) blades so that went by the wayside

 

[Karl kostman]

All the troop seats in my Deuce were white oak and in terrible shape, I dissasemble everything and after pricing all new white oak to replace the original I ended up going with Red oak some of the nicest I have ever seen it actually felt a little odd to paint it all OD but the end result turned out very nice! Its a lot of work but sure looks nice when completed!
KK

 

[stancanpara]

All the troop seats in my Deuce were white oak and in terrible shape, I dissasemble everything and after pricing all new white oak to replace the original I ended up going with Red oak some of the nicest I have ever seen it actually felt a little odd to paint it all OD but the end result turned out very nice! Its a lot of work but sure looks nice when completed!
KK

I presume you went with Red Oak due to cost? Remember, you get what you pay for 'most' of the time... the market see saws every few years as far as demand (i e cost) for the Red and the White Oak, depending on what the Chinese are buying...

Red Oak is a heck of a lot easier to work with and is easier on wood working tools. As long as you sealed it well (specially around the bolt holes and ends) and keep it sealed your Red Oak should be fine. Just remember, if the paint chips around the bolts (or elsewhere) it will create a pocked for water to sit in and the end grain will act like a straw sucking moisture in. Red Oak will begin to rot relatively quickly, specially if it's left outside vs garaged...

At least you didn't try to use pine....

 

[Karl kostman]

Thanks stancanpara you comments concerning price were dead on, red was about 30% less than white, the truck sits in my shop all the time and has a cargo cover over 90% of the time it is outside. I did not realize that Red was that much more prone to rot than white, consider it duly noted and I will most definately keep it very well covered and sealed with paint! Thanks for your thoughts on this it is much appreciated!
KK

 

[paulfarber]

SO you only seal with paint?

I have some TMs from the 40s dealing with wood cargo beds and it listed a preservative mix prior to painting. I want to say turpentine but its been a while since I read it.

 

[Karl kostman]

Paul what I did was to first use a oil based primer on the wood and after that was fully dry I painted every part of the wood with an oil based OD paint, That was all I knew about and for that matter still know about the subject?? I work better with metal than wood! Well NOW I have this wood all painted all beautiful and all do you have any suggestions on how best to maintain it?
KK

 

[Lex_Ordo]

Nothing will ever compare to a beautiful plain piece of wood! Stained, or painted, it always looks nice.
However, due to my truck living outside, It just wouldn't live up to the elements and would eventually start look crappy. So I went with Synthetic.
I bought new fro mthe factory, and now my side racks and troop seats are maintenance free.

 

[Karl kostman]

The synthetic/fiberglass material would have been the best I agree but I could not find them even close to locally and the shipping would have put thme out of my price range but I did look and then ended up putting red oak on them it was kind of a comprimise in my case!
KK

 

[Tinwoodsman]

Lex, where did you purchase your synthetic slats?

 

[paulfarber]

I have a wooden Ben Hur and a CCKW wooden cargo bed to restore and I read TMs on wood repairs and I though it mentioned a preservative mix.

I guess that modern 'stuff' if better then anything they had way back when... but with the costs involved I just wanted to double check with someone who did some wood work.

 

[DHennon]

I just finished my wood. I used 1x6x12 Yellerwood decking from the Happy Depot. I cut each board in half lengthwise, 1/4 rounded the edges, primed twice with Zinzer exterior and had Ace Hardward match my rattle can Krylon Olive. Aftyer painting with 2 coats, sandblasting and painting all the metal hardware, I put everything back together with new hardware. I finished it 2 days ago, and painted the bed with two coats of Herculiner. I will post some pictures tomorrow. The worst part was getting the old fastners out. I used a air cutoff wheel and visegrips.