Aluminum vs Steel flatbed

[NorseNW]

Making a transition to an F550 chasis cab and flatbed with storage boxes. I'm going with the Stable Camper bed kit with the CM flatbed. Here is my struggle - aluminum or steel?

I live in Vancouver, WA so plenty of rain and damp. We do about 4 trips a year to the coast to go clam digging and drive the truck on the beach. The truck gets sprayed down as soon as we return. I take it to a car wash and spray the undercarriage out. We tow a boat to the coast 4 times a year, so it sees saltwater environment a bit.

I plan to have the entire bed and boxes sprayed with a bed line regardless of what I go with. I don't have a need for the shiny finish on the bed and boxes so no reason to pay for that.

My main concern is having the steel turn into a rusty nightmare. Just curious what folks' experiences have been with different type beds. Clearly aluminum is more expensive but maybe it's worth it???

[mkirsch]

Depends on where you get the steel flatbed from. If they use garbage metal and paint, it will be rusty before you can blink.

[mellow]

jimh406 wrote:
do you know that 19.5s aren't very good for the beach?

This is not true, I have run into many guys running 19.5 aired down on the beach with big rigs, and this is in sugar sand not hard sand, so it CAN be done, I couldn't believe it till I saw it.

[jimh406]

I wouldn't be worried about a steel aftermarket bed any more than the rest of the truck/frame/wheels.

Since you said F550, are you going with super singles or similar and do you know that 19.5s aren't very good for the beach?

[Papa_Wheelie]

My 10th truck in my life was my 1st flatbed and I love it! It was the neighbor's truck and had already been converted from std to steel flatbed. If I were to do it again, I would go w/ aluminum, for the reasons stated above, along w/ weight savings.

[covered_wagon]

I think the weight of the aluminum is worth more than I paid for my flatbed 25 years ago. The aluminum still looks real good used every business day. A bit scratched up but still looks good.

[ticki2]

I have had the same aluminum flatbed for 20 years . 15 of those years it has been on a plow truck that saw many many mile on salt laden roads . The underside of truck was sprayed with fluid film every year . The flatbed and truck have held up extremely well under those conditions . I did take some pains to isolate the aluminum from steel where ever I could . Under the use that stated I don’t think you will have a problem with the aluminum .

[mkirsch]

Aluminum is not immune to corrosion either. It can be worse than steel.

Aluminum + steel + salt + moisture = battery = galvanic corrosion.