Altering Your Truck: How To Do It Legally
When you buy a truck, you have lots of ideas and intended purposes for it. However, if you wish to alter the truck for other uses, know that many states have restrictions on truck alterations. These aftermarket truck beds and truck bed alterations have to fall in line with your state's restrictions or you could be fined if the police pull you over.
Consult the D.O.T.'s Regulations
Before you start cutting away at your truck with a blow torch, consult the Department of Transportation's regulations on truck beds and alterations. Usually, these restrictions limit what kind of materials you can use to build onto your truck, such as other truck beds from salvage yards or illegal truck bed extensions that go beyond the allowed length. Every state is slightly different, which is why you need to check to be sure.
Consider Hiring an Auto Body Shop Expert
Sure, you salivate at the idea of deconstructing your truck and remaking it, but you might have some problems getting parts to stay on. An auto body shop expert already knows how to take pieces off your truck and add things to it. Plus, he or she knows what you can and cannot do so that you do not get fined or end up taking your truck apart again.
Adding a Truck Bed Where There Was None
It is unusual for any truck to be sold without a truck bed, but it does happen. Most consumers can purchase these bare trucks and then add aluminum flatbeds or other kinds of flat beds for pick up trucks. It does make things a little easier for choosing what kind of truck bed you really want and installing it yourself. Additionally, these aftermarket truck beds are pre-approved for installation and will not be breaking any vehicle or transportation regulations.
Measuring Twice and Cutting Once
As with any deconstruction and construction project, always measure twice and cut once. Truck beds are restricted by length and you are not allowed to have a truck bed longer than the length stated by the D.O.T.. You also do not want to cut your truck's current back end only to find out that you cut it too short. Give yourself just enough extra metal to attach your alternative truck bed accessory. If you build your own aftermarket truck bed for a customized truck, you still have to follow the stated regulations for length and height.