Yetti's 2004 Chevy 2500

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

The deck is off, and I welded in extra angle iron for supports on the front and back. It won't fit 2x4;s as it's not deep enough for that. I will use marine grade plyboard, coated with rubber. I agree, I have never liked the steel deck. But since I bought one and did not build it, I was stuck with what I got for the time line I needed. It won't all be wood as you can see, as the hitch and mounts for the camper I still wanted in steel, and the edge was fully box welded. I know she won't be pretty, or flush, but close enough for my needs.

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[Pacific Northwest yetti]

I'm not worried about it as a departure angle. The hitch is lower then that, that rear is pretty high off the ground. Unless I remove the hitch and drag in across rocks only I don't forsee it being too much of a problem. That entire thing still had all the paint on it, and it's gone over/through some rough trails.

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[chilliwak]

I am looking forward to how you build this Mr Yetti. Please post a ton of pics showing the play by play details. Cheers, Chilli...

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Yesterday I took some 3/4 inch marine grade ply wood. 2 sheets, placed them on top of the bed and cut them out. Just using a skill saw, and a piece of straight steel clamped down as a guide to keep the cuts straight.

It's going to look like two horse shoes, the bottom one opening toward the front of the truck and around the gooseneck hitch, the front portion being the reverse of the bottom or rear one.

Took two sheets, which is a shame. A lot of "wasted" wood, I'll stack it in the barn and find a project for the leftover pieces. The steel decking I weighed after pulling was 200ibs. More than I thought.

I'll grab a few more pictures when I swing by work this weekend, to add another coat of flex seal to it.

I'm coating the top and bottom of the deck, and sides with a black flex seal. I'm not sure, it's worked well on the camper so far. I think it will be fine on the decking, it's thick like syrup so takes some time to dry. And I applied it even thicker than usual.

Typical PNW winter, as it's been drenching rain for two days now.

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[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Added the layer to the opposite side today. Will hopefully be dry enough tomorrow to put on.

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[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Also* the " missed" part- is so I know which side I want up, was the treated side.

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[chilliwak]

Looking good Mr Yetti... Cheers, Chilli..

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

I also did a brush stroke on the inside frame of the flatbed, and truck. Just to see how it holds up, I may end up painting the flatbed frame with the same stuff. Who knows, and it probably would not be a bad idea to do something with the frame of the truck. I am not happy with how the bumper and bed turned out after I repainted last spring, so looking for other options. I may try it on my stock trailer and see how it is. My weekends have been booked for the next two months, so I'm not sure.

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[locrwln]

That is one issue I have with GM. The frame coating is very disappointing on the 800 series trucks. Don't get me wrong; it's miserable to clean off, but overall, it's not very durable. I coated everything on the frame I could reach when I had the bed off of mine.

Jack

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Just discovered that my underbody box's will fit these clear storage bins!!! Really excited about it.

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[chilliwak]

Thats a snug fit but looks excellent as if it was made for your truck. Cheers, Chilli...

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Well she is dried, and installed. The pic w/ the shavings you can see where it was bolted down. I used a specialized pretty much a self tapper but designed to come back out again. W/ a beveled head. Not much will slide on the surface, I think I'm going to like it but time will tell.

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[Pacific Northwest yetti]

I got the new door seals for the front in today, I will get those put on this weekend. That should help, after 240k she is having a little more road noise from the front. Back doors are still tight, cant stick my finger in between the seal and closed door like the front.

I also need to get the rear box's on, but want to get some more projects done first. I checked a few places around town as I want to get a two gallon air tank for the compressor i have on it, have not found anything yet. I was hoping to get that finished now that my weekend opened up a little.

 

[chilliwak]

Good to see you busy my friend. Keep those posts and pics coming. Cheers, Chilli...

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

It only took about 20 mins, but replaced the front door bulb seals on the driver and passenger side. Wow, I can't believe how much of a difference it made. I should of done that 100K miles ago. Probably one of my favorite " mods" to date.

I than, took the old ones and used them on my underbody tool box's, still good enough for that and better than what was there!

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