Thinking about going with an aluminum flatbed on my 06 Tundra. I am trying to decide if I want to go with a custom flatbed or if I should just buy a premade Ute bed. Here is my truck....





Here is a custom aluminum flatbed I like on a Tacoma...



Here is the Ute...








[img]http://i24.photobucket.com/alb...-AE51-9207BDD090C7_zpsavwghljr.jpg[/img]

Anybody have any thoughts or suggestions?

The Ute without a doubt!

Have a set of bows and a fitted canvas top made for it.

You can also use the stock bed to make a great matching trailer.

True! Only problem I have is the big ding in the rear of the bed that is on the truck now.

That Ute looks pretty darn utility!

I need to figure out photo shop so I can see what it will look like

Ute looks good

I would go with the Ute..The beds on newer trucks are junk. my next new truck will be a cab and chassis and I will add my own bed....

What's wrong with the bed that's on it?

http://www.uteltd.com/pgs/02-ute-bed.html

So...what's wrong with the bed on that again? I vote for the ute based on looks, but it may be the Power Wagon it is mounted on that is swaying me.

This is whats killing me! I LOVE that PW and am worried that the bed on my tundra may look too clumsy

You have your answer. Sell the tundra and get the power wagon!

The reliability and longevity of the Tundra is too much to give up. This truck only has 55,000 miles on it

Of the 2, I like the ute. The custom box has no headache rack. I like the concept of removable sides, but in practice, they flop around too much. In fairness, it's hard to see the custom one with the factory box on top of it.

Or you could quit backing into shcidt.

Fix the ding on the oem bed. That Tundra config and color is as handsome as they come.

I assume you've considered the bed height of a flatbed? The Tundra sits as low as any of the newer trucks but it would still raise the bed 8 to 10" maybe. If I put one on my 2500 Ram, I would need a 6' ladder to get in the thing.

I have and I have a 3" old man emu lift on my truck but I'm 6'4" and not too worried about the height of the bed. I will post a picture of another tundra with a flatbed but it's an access cab. The height looks about right to me

I just can't get into the flat beds. It must be regional. I'd get a lot more use out of fixing the factory bed.

I do like the way that one on the white Tundra looks though.

I have always thought that a flat bed would be about the most usefull bed on a truck I could come up with. That being said I think the only way I would get myself to buy one would be to ding up the factory bed bad enough that I could justify it. Id do it if I was in your place with a bed thats already dinged up.

I would only go with the flatbed if you have a use for it. If you haul round bales of hay, equipment that hangs over the side and has to be strapped down, a water tank for getting water to animals then they make sense. They look great but its pretty hard to beat a pickup box for all around usefulness. JMO of course.

I'm with ya.

Flat beds are pretty cool but everything has to strapped down. Regular beds are far more useful for most occasions.

I have an F-150 with a flat bed that is my daily driver and really like it but for vacation type trips I use my other truck that has a hard bed cover to protect our gear.

You should check with your insurance agent to see if the flat bed would raise your premium...a couple of years ago the ins. co. that we had been with for many years decided that all flat beds had to be insured as commercial and the rate for that one truck was going to cost about 21/2 times more than it did for the previous 6 months,no wrecks,no tickets,and no claims just raised it for no reason.Got no where talking with the agent(who I had done business with for many years)or corporate.Told them that they were going to lose my business and I don't think that they believed that I would go elsewhere so I shopped around and found a co. that I went with,5 vehicles and my house for less money and a better package. The original company still sends mail trying to get me to come back.

Terry:

Any chance we could see photos of your bows and fitted canvas top for the Ute? Would be interesting to see. I was gonna get a Ute bed for my Tacoma years ago, but sold it. My thought was to try and build a fiberglass shell for it, but the canvas top sounds intriguing.

Thanks,


Jordan

Sorry, not a Toyota. Years ago i had a set made for a steel flat bed on an F350.

It looked sort like a Soft top.
Softopper

Scroll down to see.

Some strategically placed aluminum diamond plate on the wheel wells/fender to match the bed and or some spray on bed liner could be made fix that. Could still put a low top on it and have a lockable and weather proof storage spot. Matching wheels on a drop axle, maybe reinforce it underneath for dirtier jobs. Bet it would look good.