Posted by Ed C. on Wednesday, February 28, 2001 at 1:41PM :
I pulled the tank on my PW firetruck and now faced the inevitable: rust removal on the bottom of an all steel 47+ year old bed. The rust is contained to the area of contact from the water tank (lined with moisture soaked plywood - not the design I would have chosen). All external panels and support braces are fine. Given similiar circumstances with your PW/M37 would you:
1. Replace the floor and affected 12" of internal side panels with steel (diamond plate)? 2 4X8 sheets would do it, one weekend and a lot of sawzall blades.
2. Replace the floor with Oak wood and the affected 12" of internal side panels with steel? Wood plus 1 4X8 sheet of steel, probably a few weekends.
3. Remove the entire bed and replace with a flatbed? No idea what kind would fit, how much this would cost, or how long it would take.
4. Remove the entire bed and replace with stock PW 8' bed? This appears to be the most expensive and will take the longest to accomplish. Cost estimates anybody? Anyone sell reproductions?
5. Other? Feel free to blast away!
I plan on using the PW for hauling and carrying tools (2T max). I would like to keep the original bed style out of respect for the truck but that limits me to options 1 & 2 above. I am planning on mounting the tank and hosereel on a trailer and doubt it will ever be mounted on the PW again. Thanks!
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