[AT] Flat bed trucks

[jahaze at aol.com]

I've been thinking about replacing the bed on my 1997 F250 with a flat bed.  My box is starting to rust out and needs a new tailgate and rear quarter panels.  I think it might be more practical (and cheaper) to replace the box with a flat bed instead.  Can anyone point out some good reasons why I wouldn't want to do this?  I have an 8-foot box, and am not concerned about re-sale value.  The truck has 300,000 miles on it and I hope to keep it for a while.  Oh, it's also a single wheel rear end.  I have seen the aluminum ones, but I am afraid they may be too light as the front end is already to heavy with the 7.3 Diesel engine in it so I figured steel would be best.

What have been your experiences with flat beds vs. traditional?

Enjoy, Joe