I have to remove the outside panel from my 87 fleetside truck bed to do some body work. I can see it is bolted to the front of the bed. ZAre there any tricks or secrets I need to know that will help? thanks
The bedsides are entirely bolted on but also have welds at the rear. Per each side, there are typically two welds at the junction of the rear channel with the bedside near the tailgate pivot. There are also typically two welds in the back at the junction of the bed floor and the bedside just in front of the tailgate, partially or entirely covered by seam sealer. All these welds need to be cut prior to bedside removal. A cutoff wheel works well. I would loosen all bolts and remove most but leave a few until the seamsealer bond is entirely broken, so you have control over the bedside and it doesn't drop as the entire bond is broken. At that point, remove remaining bolts. Good luck!
