Repair Bed with Aluminum Panels

[backporch]

OK. I admit that I didn't give this enough thought, but before I continue I thought I would pass this by the experts.

My 99 bed has seen better days but is still straight and I would like to beef it up before putting it back on the frame. The areas by the frontmost bolts are especially bad on the driver's side.

I was going to use left over parking signs to do the repair. I didn't think about the evil side effect of joining aluminum to steel when I first started planning and cutting...

I consider the bed ( and the truck ) to be somewhat disposable. I don't care about the look of the repair because it will be covered by a bed liner.

I am worried about how long this might last before the aluminum rivets break down. My plan was to encase most of the rusty metal with aluminum sheet. Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Bgunner]

Just food for thought and I will let the fabricators give more informed advice but I personally have never really had a problem with aluminum rivets in steel but understand your concern If you were planing on keeping this bed outside for 20 years plus but if this is a repair on a 5 to 10 year keep aluminium rivets shouldn't be an issue.

 

[19Walt93]

If they use road salt where you live don't do it.

 

[Dirtman]

The rust will just continue to get worse under the repair, and probably faster than leaving it exposed... The only way to solve the issue permanently is to remove the cancer.

 

[backporch]

Thanks for the responses. Yes to road salt and I know the rust will continue. Just trying to reinforce for a few years

 

[sgtsandman]

I would not use aluminum. Aluminum and steel in contact with each other and being sprayed with road brine is going to cause dissimilar metal corrosion. Get some steel panels or flashing and use steel pop rivets. Coat all the contact surfaces with RTV and then coat the repaired area with rubberized undercoat. It's a longer term repair than what you were proposing and the cost should be very similar. Like dirtman said, the permenant solution is to remove all the cancer to do it right but that might not be in your budget and/or your skill level.

 

[Shran]

I dunno if I'd use aluminum either... my experience with that is with those little trim panels in 1st gen trucks that hold the weather stripping and carpet down. They are aluminum. I have used zinc coated self drilling screws to hold them down - the aluminum corrodes under the screws in the winter when the floor gets wet with snow and road salt off my shoes. I thought it was a fluke at first but then it happened again... those trim panels lasted 30 years in the vehicles I pulled them from and then maybe 6 months in mine? Definitely a chemical reaction between metals.

 

[Dirtman]

Stick a sacrificial anode on it.

Street signs are made from 6063 aluminum which is quite corrosion resistant. Much more than typical 6061. If it's painted I doubt an issue with galvanic corrosion would be the concern. You could use basically anything and it would still corrode the underlying metal though because its creating a moisture/salt trap. Anytime you sandwich 2 peices of metal together this happens regardless of a galvanic reaction.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I own a 1989 Grumman Kurbmaster. Aluminum body on steel frame. Galvanic corrosion is a thing...
Isolate the two metals.
Paint works until it rubs thru.
Gasket materials work.
Wood works....its what they used between the frame and body mounts on my Grumman.
Use stainless rivets.

 

[backporch]

Ok. I like the suggestions. I will look to continue with the aluminum and separate with a layer of paint and also adhesive. Will look into stainless fasteners. the aluminum sheet is easy to work with so far

 

[Shran]

You could use sheets of plastic

Race plastic, at that. Makes it faster! Adds horsepower!

 

[backporch]

I now have a combination of metal for the deck and aluminum for the tube and below deck supports. I picked up some stainless rivets and painted as much as I could get at. I hope this will give me the few years I am looking for. A much easier path would definitlely have been replacing the bed with one in better shape, but I do like it better when the colors match. I will post a picture or two when it is done.d