replacing toolbox on my truck(question)

[RollingsFarms]

i have a 2004 Silverado Z71 and when i bought it i had side boxes installed on it instead of the 'traditional' toolbox. what i was wanting to do was take the sideboxes off, put in a spray-in bedliner and then put on a regular toolbox. what i can't figure out is what am i going to do about all the holes in the bed from where the sideboxes were. is this even possible to accomplish?? am i just going to have to keep the sideboxes on and live with it?? i hope i've explained clearly enough as to what i'm asking, and hope that someone can offer me an opinion.

 

[DieselPower]

Weld them shut and grind smooth. No more holes.

 

[RollingsFarms]

Weld them shut and grind smooth. No more holes.

i thought about that, but wasnt sure who to ask to do that for me, much less how much theyd charge. i wouldn't bother with painting back over the welds as i'd be getting that spray-in liner.

 

[davkir]

Well, it's a truck so the holes will just look like they belong there. I would just grind them smooth and spray the liner right over them.
You might put short carriage bolts in to fill the holes and spray over them, or you could use S/S bolts, or you could buy bed rail caps, or tie down rails or......

 

[RollingsFarms]

Well, it's a truck so the holes will just look like they belong there. I would just grind them smooth and spray the liner right over them.
You might put short carriage bolts in to fill the holes and spray over them, or you could use S/S bolts, or you could buy bed rail caps, or tie down rails or......

the guy that does the Rhino liner in my town also does body work(i think) so i was going to go by there tomorrow and ask him about it. your ideas sound really good though, i guess i'm just trying to figure out the final route to go. out of all those options, which do you think would be the best?

 

[DieselPower]

Depending on how many holes you have to fill in and how big they are I doubt mig or tig welding them closed would cost you much. Like you said, you don't have to worry about painting them since your getting it lined anyhow.

 

[RollingsFarms]

Depending on how many holes you have to fill in and how big they are I doubt mig or tig welding them closed would cost you much. Like you said, you don't have to worry about painting them since your getting it lined anyhow.

there are 5 holes on each box (3 along the bed rail and 2 at the base of the support legs, or one per leg, that is drilled into the bed itself). so that would be 10 holes total. not sure what size bolts they have, they arent that big really. the ones along the rail are the hardest to figure out what to do with. keep the suggestions coming, ill find out what my options are tomorrow and keep everyone posted. been wanting to do this for awhile, just never really talked myself into it. side boxes are great, and mine have served me very well, but i just don't need them anymore and they are a hindrance with reaching over into the bed(impossible to do).

 

[ultrarunner]

I use Carriage bolts when I want to cosmetically cover a sheet metal hole... either in stainless steel or you can dip the bolt heads in paint to match.

 

[MrJimi]

I would just leave the holes there and let the bed liner cover them and if you ever want to use them, they are there
If you get into body work and paint it could start costing ya more $$
Jim

 

[2manyrocks]

could put rivets in the holes. If you need a larger size rivet than what you find in a box store, try a speciality fastner store.

 

[em14]

Some of the liner installers can bridge those holes and you would never know they were there. Ask your Rhino guy about the merits of welding them and about the bridging. A lot depends on where they are and if they could be punched thru later during the life of the truck.
Leo

 

[davkir]

the guy that does the Rhino liner in my town also does body work(i think) so i was going to go by there tomorrow and ask him about it. your ideas sound really good though, i guess i'm just trying to figure out the final route to go. out of all those options, which do you think would be the best?

Well, it's pretty much just your personal preference. The sprayin liner guys usually charge extra to spray the top of the bed sides and you end up with a slightly rough edge where they pull the tape off.
Plastic bed rail caps probably are about the same as the extra cost even if you don't weld up the holes. You can also get fancy aluminum diamond plate...there are lots of choices.

 

[KICK]

diamond plate covers over the sides of the bed.

 

[daveinnh]

I have a Rhino spray-on liner on my 2002 Chevy half-ton done with "over-the-rail".

The rail line is very clean and the installer asked to enlarge the bed drain-holes to allow drainage after the application.

I'll go w/ Rhino for my next truck.

 

[rback33]

How is it that I am the only fiscally responsible (read CHEAP) sucker who wants to know what he is doing with the OLD boxes?

 

[Lasgambler]

As`KICK replied, I put alum. checker plate rail caps on my dually. They are available with or without stake pocket holes. carraige bolts for the bed floor sounds like a "good idea".

 

[gemini5362]

I see a lot of posts about rhino liner. It is a good product we use it at work to cover doors that have forklifts going through them and it holds up very well to that. I started to get rhino liners on my new truck but my dealer told me about a product called Line-x I think both products are equally durable I went with line-x for two reasons. 1. rhino liner is put on cold and it takes it a few minutes to solidify during that time when you are doing the vertical surfaces on your bed it can run and get a bit uneven. Line-x is put on hot and dries much faster so less likely chance to run.

2. The biggest advantage of line-x over rhino to me is the warranty. Both have lifetime warranties. The difference is who honors it. Rhino is warranteed by the installer. If you have it installed by a local truck accessory place and they go out of buisness your warrany is gone. Line-X is warranted by the manufacturer and if your installer goes out of buisness look on the net and find someone that installs it and have them fix it if you have a problem.

I do not work for either company or sell either product. I have seen both used and like both of them. I think line-x is a bit more expensive and you can get rhino liner in different colors to match your bed if you want.

 

[dgl24087]

Line-X is available in color match, although not all dealers are doing the color liners at this time. I had Line-X color match sprayed on my new Ram, looks great, and the color match contains Dupont Kevlar.

 

[gemini5362]

Thank you for mentioning that line-x comes in colors. I was under the impression that it did not come in different colors. Is that something new or did my dealer just not have the capability of doing colors ?

 

[dgl24087]

Thank you for mentioning that line-x comes in colors. I was under the impression that it did not come in different colors. Is that something new or did my dealer just not have the capability of doing colors ?

It's a little of both. My dealer just started color match this year, and has been in business for quite a while.