DIY Custom Wood Bed Separator

[cmlumley]

Where in sconnie? I grew up there. Appleton and Oshkosh.

Horicon. Been interested in checking out the air shows in Oshkosh eventually.

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[JBerd81]

I had this board unfinished in the bed through the winter too, but eventually the salt water and sun started to take a toll on the bare wood. Was just going to seal the wood, but one thing led to another.. Sandbags definitely help for traction here in Wisconsin too.

Wisconsin is a beautiful state! I played Hockey up there a few times when I was younger. I’m just down in Iowa, the winters aren’t terrible here too often, but the wind is ridiculous compared to 40 years ago when I was a kid!

 

[WILDHOBO]

Horicon. Been interested in checking out the air shows in Oshkosh eventually.

We used to watch the planes practice above our house. We usually ran away from Oshkosh during the actual show. So many people. The museum is so cool.

 

[Advntrbound]

I keep a pair of foldable crates between the wood bed divider and the tailgate. Perfect for a run to the grocery store. OP you did a good job on yours. I made a single cut and said goof enough.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

They work as a separator, but the design point of it is for hauling 4x8 sheets with the tailgate in the mid position. That being said, I use mine for both.

I've done both - several sheets of 3/4" oak plywood (a few hundred dollars worth!) but since I don't haul plywood daily, I use it as a barricade back there so things don't slide forward.
When I had the sand tubes in the back for snow plow ballast, a board made sure the sand tubes stayed behind the wheels.
We often buy weeks worth of cat supplies - you don't want 40 pound boxes of litter sliding forward.

Fantastic work. Thanks for sharing. Really nicely done. Projects like these are maybe my favorites. Extra functionality with very little cost, and great results.

Yeah, it's one thing I try to check out any time someone has an idea like this.
This is a really cool idea - especially the hooks for bags like that. Really like this one.
This is more useful than some of the projects that come with my Woodsmith magazines every few weeks.

I’ve been there. This weekend I was too lazy to walk to the back of the garage. We were working hard though.

My wood shop is upstairs, above the auto area. So I climb up a flight of steps to the 2nd level that's 15 feet above the ground level. Lots of steps and I don't do stairs that well these days. (that, and the shop is 200' back of the garage)

 

[JeepDaddyJT]

man , I'll be the first to say i miss the 'old" Pirate 4x4 forum days

 

[Moby]

Nicely done. Looks good, and the hooks are a nice touch. I keep wanting to make something like this for my JTR, but I’ve had sooo many health issues the past couple of years I just haven’t been able to get any projects like this done. It’s hell to get older…

 

[Chuck]

man , I'll be the first to say i miss the 'old" Pirate 4x4 forum days

Haha!

 

[JeepDaddyJT]

Woulda got flamed

 

[Chuck]

Woulda got flamed

That’s from ‘99-2000 timeframe

 

[Vtur]

The board should rest on the bed floor to avoid damaging the thin sheet metal wall when supporting heavy items. The bed cutout is not square top to bottom. I makes contour cuts to the 2 bottom corner edges of a 2x6 board.

 

[Mad Mac]

Not creative here. Just a couple of 2x4s for the divider and one to bridge the fenders.

But with my Tractor Supply truck box in the way, I can't put a 4x8 sheet of plywood in there anyway.

The divider is very handy however for keeping things from sliding all the way to the front under the toolbox where I can't reach them. A couple of old black rubber floor mats further discourage sliding.

I think tie downs or paracord may tie around a 2x4 so I'm postponing eye hooks for the time being.

 

[RidinDirty]

Very nice. I'm sure there's a market for something like this if anyone was willing to make more than a one-off (raises hand).

 

[Bruiser 281]

Super happy with how this little project turned out. I still need to clean the board up and apply a clear coat but the weather isn’t cooperating at the moment.

 

[biplaneguy]

I would have started with a 2" thick board instead of 1"x7". The 1"x7" works fine, but going with a thicker board would help fill in the extra gap and keep the board from leaning or clunking around over bumps.

Yes, the slots in the bed are sized for a pair of 2x4s (actual size 1½ x 3½"), which is what I used. Also if you chamfer the bottom corners to clear the radius in the bottom of the slots the board can then drop all the way down to rest on the bottom of the bed instead of digging into the corners. If your brass hooks were slightly lower you could rest a sheet of plywood on it as intended (with another 2x4 across the notches on the wheel wells and the tailgate at the 45° position.

But nicely done, much prettier than my rough cut planks.

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