Bobbed Toyota Bed ('89-'95)

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Index:
Background
Preperation for Cutting
How to Cut
Cut One
Cut Two
Cutting the Frame
Welding it Together
How Well Did it Work?

Background

I had seen a few Toyota pickups with bobbed beds and I was very interested in doing it to mine. I met 2 people at the Great Smoky Mountain Trail Ride (GSMTR) that had bobbed their beds. I talked to them about how they did it and how they would do it differently. I recall the one guy saying that he had chopped exactly 12" out of it, but I was only able to get 11". It ended up being 10-7/8" because I cut on the wrong side of the line…..but anyhow.

Preperation for Cutting

I started out by removing all of the lights in the rear (tail lights, license plate lights). After I had all of the lights out and all of the wires disconnected from the rear of the truck I proceeded to measure and mark off where I wanted to cut. When marking where to cut you must be very careful. The cut has to be placed at the right spot in order to make the whole thing work. If you cut too far forward you will end up running into the flare that the fender has for the wheel well. I only marked the first line off before cutting. I marked the second line by scribing off of the first one in case my original measurements were off. To mark the first line I tied a string around the outside of the entire bed and ran masking tape along the string. Now I was ready to cut.

How to Cut

To cut through the bed I used a grinder with a cut off wheel. I found this to be about my only way of cutting. I am not handy with a torch, I don't have a torch, and I have no idea if you could even use a torch for this. Each cut took me about 30 minutes. One thing I learned through this is that safety glasses are very important. I have never been a big fan of them and find it very annoying when they fog up, get dirty,or fall off of my face. I ended up at the eye doctor on Sunday morning because I refused to wear them. He had to go into my eye with a tool that looked and sounded a lot like a dentist drill to remove the metal chips.

Cut One

Cut Two

Cutting the Frame

After I was done with the second cut I cut the rear of the frame off to the spring shackles with a Sawzall.

Welding It Together

I then proceeded to weld and grind for what seemed like an eternity. I accomplished the welds by cutting strips of the 11" piece that I had cut out, and tacking them in behind the bed walls. I then slid the rear of the bed over them and seam welded the two pieces together. I am not positive if this was the best way to do it so if anyone knows a better way, let me know and I will post it here. I used a gasless MIG to weld it back together. It worked out quite well and I am pleased with the results.

How Well Did It Work?

I was told by other people who have done this that everything lines up well. As you can see in the picture it does not line up on the indent or at the bottom. With more cutting and grinding I was able to blend in the bottom pretty well. I have not put any body filler into it at this point. All I have done is weld, grind, and spray with some spray paint to hold me over till I have time to do the rest. I am not sure what to do about the indent on the side that does not line up. I am thinking about just filling it in. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

After I was done welding, cutting, and grinding, I undercoated the bottom of the bed to protect against rust. Undercoating is much easier if you take the bed off of the truck (30 minute job).

I really did not like the look of this on the '92 extended cab. It looks better on a standard cab truck of that body style. I have since transferred this bed to my '84 where it looks great.