VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Trucks and Vans Factory Stake Bed for mid 30s

Does anyone have a truck with a factory installed flat bed from the mid 30's? I believe the side rails are 3" to 4" tall with ribs at the top and bottom. Thanks.

Mike

The corners of the bed are also round and not square.

Don,
I think the round front corner bed is the next generation after the bed I want. The side rail on that bed had a round profile instead of the two ribs I described. Can anyone clear this up?

Mike

If there's anything in these pictures of a 36 that will help, you can save them to your computer and enlarge them.

Thanks for the pics. That is not the bed I am looking for but I like all old truck photos.
That bed is much like the one on Sam's '38 1 ton. It has devices to lift and hold the upper wide sideboard to make it taller for hauling small livestock.

Mike

My 37 1/2 ton was originally a flatbed but do not know if it had a factory bed or aftermarket and no pictures,I still have the side racks but the bed was shot and long gone.

There were a lot of aftermarket companies that made flat beds & stake beds for cab/chassis trucks {not to mention all the homemade ones.

Since the original question involved only factory produced beds....

Best I can tell, the '41-'53 trucks used the smooth convex rub rails with the rounded end caps up front...
These beds may have also been used in the mid to late 30's but, my literature only goes back to 1941.









According to the GM literature.... the ribbed rub rails were not offered until 1954.

Are you giving up on the trailer or did you pick up another truck.

The stake bed on Lurch (my '27 1 ton) originally was on a '28 1 ton truck. It has three sets of sides: a cattle cage (which I use for shows), solid grain sides, and a set of short one-board sides to keep stuff from sliding off the bed.

The bed is rectangular, made of wood (oak I think), and has cast iron pockets bolted on.

Here's a pic I found in the Smithsonian magazine that shows a bed that is similar to Lurch's.


Here are a couple of pics of Lurch that show his cattle cage:





Cheers, Dean

A local junkyard has a 39 or 40 cab over that still has a flatbed on it and can check it out to see if it looks factory.I think its a long wheelbase.

I took another look at my '36 Gold Book and there is more detail than I remembered. It is a ribbed side rail but narrower than later beds. It also has stamped steel cross supports and wood stringers.
I still have my Fruehauf and it is slated for a new floor whenever my Brother and I can saw some lumber for the deck.
I want a regular bed to swap out so I can use the tuck for some chores and local hauling. Naturally, I would want a factory bed, if possible, but a period correct bed would suit me as well. I posted to find out if a factory bed was out there some where looking for a new home.
Ford must have done a better job of selling their factory beds in those days. They are everywhere. I have owned several of them through the years.
The convex rail, round corner Chevy bed of the 40s (possibly from
'39 on) as pictured above, is also pretty scarce around here.
Thanks to all you truck guys for the input.

Mike

My local old yard has a few big trucks and will look at the beds the next time I am out there,I might go next weekend to get some exercise since I am not walking like I did back when it was warmer. It has a 39/40 cabover and a 41-6 GMC that have flatbeds on them,I think both are a long wheelbase but probably easily shortened.

I would check out your local library for advertisements on your truck. You can see a lot of detail in the old ads. Also, found on the internet are old news papers.