Managed to do some cleanup, removed more chrome junk and think I have most of the gremlins out of the tail light wiring. Going to try and go to the local car wash soon to spray off the red dirt underneath so I can see and finish installing all of the bed bolts.

The color wasn't what it looked like in the craigslist ad, but still managed to get a good deal out of it all. My paint code PRV was only available in 02-03, so the likelihood of finding a match was slip to none to begin with.

If any of you have photoshop skills, please feel free to try and come up with a good looking transition that will help me avoid painting the entire bed, cab or whole truck!

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps04b81afa.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...psd8b2cf89.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps0bd75fab.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...pse105bc5f.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps605624d6.jpg

I have a pretty good idea for the transition. It might still be cheaper to paint the bed, but we will see.

be interested in seeing your idea...although cheap is my priority right now. Thinking of bedlining inside the bed and over the rails then trying something to tie the colors together or just paint the bed to match the cab.

honestly for the price of the half gallon it will take to color match the bed you can get a gallon of black and do the whole truck.

paint is not that easy ... you'd also have to jam 4 doors and engine bay as well for it to look right plus black obviously is the hardest color to prep and paint ... it's not as simple as buying a gallon of paint and walla you have a black truck it's alot easier to screw up a paintjob then make it look good ... if it was me i would try to find another bed or paint it to match

you dont have to explain to me how hard it is, ive worked in a body shop since i was 15. i've prepped and painted trucks. you'd be amazed how expensive red is. he's already got the bed why hunt for another one just because its a shade off?

bc selling a bed and buying a new one that's the right color is quite a bit cheaper than painting and blending his current bed and much easier .. that is if he can track one down ...

thats a big if considering this is a one year only color. he's been pulling the chrome trim off of this truck maybe a it would wear a flat black well. its an option, he did say he was open to options and opinions

without some sort of design breaking up the 2 colors it doesn't matter what color you paint the bed it won't look good and if you're going to paint it flat black why not just paint it to match.. since you do work in a body shop you know how hard a matte finish is to get perfect since you can't sand and buff out imperfections

I'd have the bed painted to match and the cab blended in. That's a good looking color.

I agree with this. I like that color. It's not really super common and looks nice.

my wife really wants me to go white....like the entire truck which I feel is a little bland. I tried countering with a 2 tone kindof thing with a dark sand lower and maybe a stripe or block of the same color on the hood (or as a racing type stripe) to break up glare on a white hood. Not sure why she wants white soo bad.

I do know that I want to go with a tan/sand interior or something non-black/gray. Not sure why it's a big deal right now, I know it looks a little ghetto with the 2 color setup, but she HATES it! I'd rather spend some coin on the trans, a goose, some steering upgrades, etc rather than paint...hence my looking for a simple, cheap way to do a transition. Maybe a simple small wrap??? Need something to appease her! LOL

Oh by the way....we have a little girl due in Dec, hence my sudden jump for a crew cab. Looking forward to it, already cleaning my shotgun!! LOL

congrats on the baby Kyle, i think the white gold 2 tone would look real good.

Okay, so after being lazy and not posting these up and being out of town without internet, here's the flatbed! If any of you guys can help me find some quality LED lamps for this that won't eat up all of my money I'd be very appreciative! I also need some help figuring out exactly what resistors or any other parts I may need to add to convert over to LEDs on my '03. Heard a number of people say it's a little bit of work since the lighting setup is all weird computerized and crap...

Anyways..here's the peep show! Gonna start working on the paint job here soon as I'm getting hammered by my wife on this thing looking like the "Joker Mobile" with the almost purple and green :shaking:

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps4ae45b9c.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps2fcaafd8.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps64f9a4a0.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...pse86af2ee.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps789f393c.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps07113435.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps00aae0ec.jpg


Have 4 2.5" stop/turn/tail lamps at the bottom rear, 8 smaller 1" or 1.5" marker lamps (3 in rear, 4 on each side) and 4 2.5" white reverse/cargo lamps on the top headache rack.

Need to figure out how to do the gas filler as well....suggestions are appreciated!
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps25a8ce0f.jpg

Unfortunately, the one thing I'm not sure about is how the bed is mounted to the truck. The previous owner had it setup as a bolt-on flat-bed with a crappy weld on a nut and square steel over each bed mount.... I don't know that it is capable of handling a large weight on a gooseneck with this setup, just not looking all too safe in my mind!

Here are just a few pics showing how BAD this is setup!! :pissed: :roflmao: :jerkit:


http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps27657221.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps592410dc.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps9c3ec62e.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps29692db2.jpg

it looks like a really bad lift attempt...

The flat bed is located in the correct position for the truck at least, just need to redo the brackets to make it strong enough to haul on the goose. Thinking of going to a local flat bed dealer and ask what they would charge to fix it. I have some ideas myself, just not sure I have the time to do them here right now...

Gonna be cool to see what you got in store!

Well....unfortunately my good luck finally ran out and some punk kid decided my truck was too nice! Pretty bad situation; kid made an illegal u-turn, everyone steps on the brakes, trailer jack-knifed after someone hit it from behind and took off, I hit the Ford in front, then skidded to a stop on the shoulder after sliding through the right lane.... Fortunately there were no injuries. Unfortunately the White Ram had no collision coverage so I am fighting insurance tooth and nail!

So here's the damage, nothing super serious, but biggest complaints are flat spots on tires, front bumper/headlamp/fender and something wrong on the driver side front axle...ugh! Hoping just a warped rotor from the heat of locking everything up.

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps734b6b1e.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps4fa3310b.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps29b19a6c.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...psd9d28ef1.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps897e711d.jpg
http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps7281153e.jpg

I hate people sometimes. Looks like that beefy bumper saved you from a lot more damage. Good luck with your insurance...

damnit, that freakin' sucks man! sounds like that kid needs to have taken a header off your bumper....

Yeah...it did. I've met the owner of Road Armor, Mark, a few times and try to use products from guys that I have met personally. I went ahead and posted up how well it protected me on his Facebook page, so hopefully that helps him sell a few more.

My one concern is still the front axle and frame horn. The left front tire has a BAD flat spot and I'm thinking the rotor warped enough to add some resistance..which is scary to think of what could be wrong with the unit bearing. But it vibrated bad and I could only get it up to 55mph on the way home. Steering was obviously off as well...

If anyone has some E rated tires for 17" wheels, I may be needing some soon!!!

Hoping State Farm accepts liability, but if not, my insurance better believe me when I say someone hit my trailer and ran away.... An empty trailer doesn't just jack-knife when you lock the brakes!!!

I'm really sorry to see this.