The upside of stuffing big wheels under the bed of your truck is how cool it looks. The downside to this mod is how much cutting you must do in order to make massive rollers fit. The amount of sheetmetal that gets removed depends on the model of truck you're working on. What doesn't change is the fact that once you cut out a sizeable portion of your truck's bed to make room for all of that rubber, you invite dirt and road grime in as well. The solution is to tub the bed, which sounds easy, and it is-if you know what you're doing. There are a lot of pre-made wheeltubs that you can trim to fit that will do the job. We are going to show you how to build your own set of tubs that will do the same job while looking much better than those prefab tubs.
1a.Boat trailer fenders work...
1a.Boat trailer fenders work great in this application. They come in many sizes and radii, and are made of 1/8-inch-thick steel, which is easy to weld to.
1b.Start by tracing the curve...
1b.Start by tracing the curve of the fender onto 16-gauge sheetmetal. 18-gauge steel is usable, although it will take longer to weld to avoid warpage.
2.The easiest way to cut this...
2.The easiest way to cut this curve is with a pair of double cuts or air shears. Cutting through the sheetmetal by hand with tin snips will be very hard, and possibly distort the metal. The air shears don't distort the metal because they set the sheetmetal between two plates with the blade cutting between the plates, which keeps the metal flat to the blade.
3a.Ryan uses the shears to...
3a.Ryan uses the shears to cut on the outside of the line he traced and then finishes off the edge precisely with a pair of tin snips.
3b.Then the parts are test-fit...
3b.Then the parts are test-fit to ensure there aren't any large gaps between the fender and cover piece.
4a.Ryan will slowly stitch...
4a.Ryan will slowly stitch weld the parts until they are completely welded with no gaps in the seams. You have to let the metal cool between welds, as rushing here will result in a warped wheeltub. The entire welding process might take as long as 1-2 hours for both tubs.
4b.
5.Once fully welded, Ryan...
5.Once fully welded, Ryan grabs his trusty Makita angle grinder and a 45 grit flap disc. Sanding the welds with light pressure, he makes sure not to grind all the way through the welds into the sheetmetal.
6.On the backside of the tub,...
6.On the backside of the tub, you should see heat markings where the welds have penetrated the sheetmetal. Since most of the welds have been ground down, a few extra spot welds are placed on the underside for added strength.
7.After Ryan sands the entire...
7.After Ryan sands the entire surface with 80-grit DA paper, the wheeltubs are ready to be installed into the bed.
8.To prep the bed for the...
8.To prep the bed for the new tubs, the factory wheeltubs are cut out using a die grinder. A plasma cutter or reciprocating saw also works well here, especially if the bed is removed from the truck like this one is. Most of the bed floor is missing from this truck so Steve just has to make room near the side walls for the tubs.
9.The tubs are then trimmed...
9.The tubs are then trimmed on the inside edge to fit around the 8-inch step notch that will penetrate the bed floor once Cando builds it.
10.The finished tub fits the...
10.The finished tub fits the bed perfectly and is now ready to be welded in place. This will happen when Cando builds the bed floor for this Toyota mini.