99-03 Bed dimensions, it is just me or is it small

[zamanica]

Hello,

I keep getting confused. I have a 2000 350 PSD 8ft crew that i am using for a work truck. the tail gate has been bent and dented, so off it comes and i bought a used tommy lift for it, with plans of getting a contractor canopy with the double doors on the back.

Well i got a great used lift from an older chevy, which still had about 2" of air gap on both sides, i swear i measured it and it fit when i bought it, now i am at home and my truck must have shrank.

At the opening of the tail gate measured from just inside of the tail lights it is 64", then there are those large bulkhead's just inside of the gate that come in 3" more on each side. My lift gate is 68ish which i can fudge with new brackets but not 4" worth. Is my box small, or are all of these smaller than the other brand truck beds? I also was looking at several other lift gates and canopies all said to be off f250/350 most in late 90's to 03 and they all say 65"-66" mounting width on the tailgate with some air room of 1-2" to spare.

WTF i am so confused, my truck has a dent on the rear corner bit the floor of the bed is perfectly flat, nothing that would indicate the whole thing is bent or tweeked, any suggestions, am i just crazy?

Thanks so much.

[ETChipotle]

My 2000 F250 Regular Cab XL Powerstroke bed is measuring about 64" and the tommy lift insert that goes in between there is about 61 inches. It's dark and really cold so I didn't look at how it's all mounted in there.

My truck was a fleet vehicle, so I'm pretty sure the lift was put in when the truck was brand new.

I would say that while your post doesn't prove you're not crazy, there's nothing in the discussion of your post that would indicate that you're crazy.

[ETChipotle]

My Tommy Lift gate sticks out the back end a little bit, which is nice, because it gives me several extra inches of length in the bed. That makes me an my wife happy. But I can't imagine that standard toppers and tonneau covers would work that well with it the way it is.

[zamanica]

Ha!,

Thanks Chipotle,

i kinda like the idea of it sticking out a little bit, but obviously then i need to fill in the gap on the floor so you can roll or slide things off the gate in to the bed. It is just that when i measure it all out the gate mechanisms on both sides would go basically infront of my tail lights, then in addition you have the chains and the switches that are outside of that so i would need to make new brake lights, and i really dont want to get in to this that far.

The other photos i have seen
Tommy gate lift gate

are like you say yours mounts, but i have gone to look at 3 lift gates and each time they look good and once i measure them out the math does not work, Some one said that our trucks have the largest beds, but apparently not the widest.

[zamanica]

Hey ETChipotle, what year truck do you have, and what brand gate?

[ETChipotle]

I have a 2000 F250 2WD Regular Cab XL.
There are thousands of these trucks around owned by cities and counties and various other fleets. They get the tommy lift to avoid workers compensation claims I think.
There's no gap, it extends the bed, floor and sides, and it's awesome. I'll try to take a picture of the floor/sides where the lift gate is installed. It's too dark right now to take a picture of a black truck bed and a black liftgate.