How to Build a Wooden Truck Bed

Give your little good buddy a big sleeper rig. Fit these flat, wooden semi-truck cutouts, made from Masonite, easily onto any bed frame to turn your child's bedtime into a night on the open road. The templates for this truck can also be used to make garden decorations, by adding support braces and a base.

Two 4x8-feet sheets of 1/4-inch thick Masonite
Truck cab and body templates (see images in Steps 2, 3 and 4)
Jig saw
Belt sander
Coarse, medium, fine and extra fine sanding belts
Black paint for tires
Silver paint for hub caps
Your choice of paint colors for truck cab and body
Box of 1-inch long, 1/4-inch diameter carriage bolts
Box of 1/4-inch diameter hole fender washers
Box of 1/4-inch diameter lock washers
Box of 1/4-inch diameter hole acorn nuts
Power drill, 1/4-inch diameter drill bit for metal
1/4-inch diameter drill bit for wood
Clear acrylic wood treatment

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the length of the child's bed. Adapt the measurement so you make the length of the truck cab cutout from nose to rear equal to one third the length of your child's bed. Leave a 24-inch wide gap between truck cab cutout and the truck body cutout so that your child will be able to get in and out of bed. The length of the truck body cutout should equal two thirds of the bed length. If necessary, move the rear of the truck body so that it extends past the end of the bed. The front of the truck cab can be moved forward in the same way, until the truck cutouts are in eye-pleasing balance.
- 2
  
  Lay out the shape of the truck cab onto the sheets of Masonite, using a carpenter's pencil. You will need to make two cabs and two truck bodies if you want the truck to be visible on both sides of the bed. If the bed will be against a wall, cut just one cab and one truck body.
- 3
  
  Cut away the gray areas on the nose and windshield area as shown in the image that accompanies this step. Miter the nose of the truck cab and the windshield area to a 45 degree angle. Do not cut away the hub cap areas. Use a jig saw to cut out the window.
- 4
  
  Lay out the shape of the truck bed, after adjusting the length so that the truck body length will equal two thirds of the length of the child's bed frame. Cut out two truck bodies with a jig saw if the bed will not be against a wall.
- 5
  Use a belt sander to smooth all the truck cab and truck body cut-out pieces, with a coarse, medium, fine and extra fine sanding belt, in that order.
- 6
  Paint the wheels black, the hub caps silver. Paint the truck cab and body in your choice of colors. Apply two or three coats of clear acrylic wood treatment once all paint has dried. allow acrylic to dry completely between coats.
- 7
  To attach the cutouts to the bed, drill at least three holes for each, 12 inches apart, beginning at the head end of your child's bed, into the long sides of your child's existing bed frame. Drill corresponding holes along the truck cab and body. Use carriage bolts to secure the truck pieces to the child's bed frame. Slide a fender washer onto each bolt first, then slide the bolt through the truck piece and the bed. Add a second fender washer and a lock washer, then secure with an acorn nut.

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