aburger Posted December 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2019 After I ripped the box out and tore out the frame, I removed the boot. WOW, so much rust. I really thought I sealed the hell out of the boot when I installed it, but holy shit balls, it was bad. The sheet metal on the bed and cab wasn't as bad, but the metal teeth in the boot that keep it attached were completely corroded. This is one of the pitfalls of going this route I guess. Not sure if there is any real way to 100% water proof a rubber boot when you can't really seal off the edges in between the cab and bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aburger Posted December 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2019 To fix the rubber boot issue, I had my uncle fabricate a sheet metal flange to weld to the inside of the cab and protrude into the bed. This way, it'll strengthen the back of the cab and keep the water out, and I wont have to worry about rust or deterioration. Still working on how to keep water out of the bed, but that's an easier issue to fix since I don't really use the bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aburger Posted December 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2019 I ground off all the rust and crap from the previous build and sanded to bare metal. I also had to trim a bit for the flange to fit, but eventually was able to get it test fit and ready for welding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aburger Posted December 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2019 Before welding on the flange, I got a bug up my butt and decided to spray herculiner on the bed. This is something I probably should have waited to do, but I had some downtime so there you go. I sanded and bondo'd the bed, taped up the garage and sprayed away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aburger Posted December 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2019 Time to weld on the Flange! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aburger Posted December 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2019 With the flange installed, I removed the bed. Removing the bed by myself turned out to be a big pain in the @ss. I had to cut my exhaust and trim down the flange in order to be able to lift each corner of the bed and slowly slide it back to rest on the tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aburger Posted December 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2019 With the bed off, I used seam sealer to seal up the old holes and the joint between the flange and back cab wall. I wanted to make sure no water got in this time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aburger Posted December 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2019 Decided to use Carriage Bolts to attach the box to the cab. Had to drill through the cab to attach them. I should have had them welded onto the flange, but unfortunately, I didn't think of it in time. For the top of the flange, I had to grind the bolt down a bit. but they're pretty sturdy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aburger Posted December 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2019 With the bed off, I used Herculiner to cover around the cutout. Don't want any rust messing up the plans! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aburger Posted December 19, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2019 Finally got the new sub box frame attached to the cab wall. Got tired of driving around with a hole from the cab into the bed. Plus it's finally getting ready for building and installing the new system. Cut out the frame for the sub box to fit through. The box will drill directly to the frame, so it doesn't put any new holes in the cab sheet metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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