I need to replace the whole side of my bed (got punched in the side hard while parked...hit and run.) One on ebay says "ready to bolt on." I assumed there would be some spot welds to cut out and some mig/tig work to be done. Does anyone know if the bedsides truely bolt off/on?

 

No, its spot welded on.

 

Any chance it could be jury-rigged to bolt, or rivet on?

 

I'm sure you could, but spot welding would only take a few minutes, and be much more secure.

They also make special drill bits for cutting off spot welds very easily, and you might try searching for the truckin episode when they replaced bed side on a red ranger, they explained the whole process, and went through it step by step.

 

thats a lot of work to change out the intire side.a friend of mine is a body man and he said thats not a job for a rookie.after you drill/cut/chisel out the damaged tin dont expect the new side to just slide into place and look perfect.sorry for this answer but you asked.

 

Thanks, I didn't see any way that was possible.

 

Have you thought about replacing the entire bed of the truck?
You might be able to find a good truck bed at the local salvage yard. Many vehicles end up there for reasons other than rear-end damage.