Welding a cage to a hacked up Toyota Tundra truck bed - tips and ideas? Project Super Chinook

[Enyar]

Hi there,

Already bit off more than I can chew but YOLO. I have a Toyota Chinook camper that I have cut in half with plans to bolt it to a 2013 Toyota Tundra. I have a boating background so fiberglass doesn't scare me and it was the reason why I wanted to use the Chinook shell. I didn't realize the Chinook had a steel frame inside of it and my goal is to use that for a little extra support/strenght.

There are a lot of details that I am leaving out for the sake of not wasting all of your day but basically I need to attach the 1"x1" vertical steel frame of the chinook to the truck bed that has had its bedsides hacked off. Originally I wanted to weld but now I am a little concerned about the thickness of the truck bed / it being some sort of alloy. I've also never welded before but I've always wanted to learn. Would it be better to find a way to bolt it together? Tips and ideas?

 

[redthies]

As someone who welds, and owns a custom rv buidling business, I’d love to offer some help, but your pictures offer zero clue as to what you have to work with…

 

[BajaSurfRig]

Ditch the truck bed and mount the chinook to the frame of the tundra

 

[dstefan]

+ 1 on this ⬆️. The bedsides are an integral part of the strength of modern truck beds. The minute you attempt to remove the bedsides you lose the structural integrity of the floor, which isnt great to start with.

 

[Ole Chipper]

Would suggest making a frame and mounting everything to that then the truck frame. Like a flatbed. That thin cheap steel has virtually no strength.

This is just a guess as I really don't know what's going on.