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PS. I have done amateur body work on mine myself. Just so it looks better. No perfect by any means but it looks 100% better.👍✌️
so have I. In fact, I worked at a body shop as a teenager years ago, and still managed to retain some of that knowledge lol.
But this is above my pay grade. Rusted completely through on both corners. Years ago, in my gravel driveway, I tackled wheel wells and fender corners on an old Nissan Axxess minivan, built up the missing areas with fiberglass and smoothed with bondo, then painted them and bottom of doors with bed liner to make it look kind of off road (it is a 4WD, after all! 😂 like the old Volvo XC70. Turned out great and lasted years (until it was traded 5 years later), but this job on my truck is gonna need metal welded in, and idk what to use on the inside to prevent it from going bad again; there’s so many opinions as to what chemicals to use!!! Encapsulators, converters, cavity fillers, etc.
Would any of you guys tackle this yourself? I was considering buying a Harbor Freight welder, or maybe even one of those hand held arc welders that look like a drill, order the parts (again, idk who sells or makes the most solid pieces) myself, and just see what happens? Or possibly do a lot of the prep myself (remove bed, grind out damaged metal, etc)? Or just leave it all to the pros and have peace of mind but a thin wallet? I’m so frustrated with this!
You're not getting at the corners without pulling the bed, and you can just assume that your bed bolts aren't coming out, so prepare your body for that fight.
But, if I. Bought it new, I would have been severely disappointed and upset. You would think for the price of these trucks, they could do better with rust prevention. Other trucks I see are much better. Are the just cheating out on them? If so, very sad. Fastest way to lose loyal customers is RUST.
Supercabs are a design flaw, rusting from the inside out. Ford solved the rust issue in 2015 by going aluminum. And I don't have any real data on this, but I'd bet Dodges have it way worse for rusting out within a few years.
I just did the same, filled with, ahem, SCREEN, then BONDO, sanded and rattle can paint. But I also only had minor experience w/bodywork in a friends shop 40 years ago as a teen but I just did cab corners, fender above rear wheels and painted. The rockers are shot. I didn't to those. Hope to use a cover up kit but I know someday it will need to be done correctly. But with 155k on it and only $3500 invested, it probably won't be by me.😏 I hope it lasts me a few more years, like 3-5, then I'll buy a newer, SUV as I don't really NEED a truck. I no longer work it, don't tow, so it's a bit more than I need but the price was right and luckily, it runs GREAT and has been super reliable since purchase 16 months ago. !!👍✌️
Another area to look at is under the plastic bed caps.
Especially behind the wheel wells.
I have used the cheap bent metal rocker panels and the factory style stamping. I would recommend the later to anyone because it requires less welding overall and looks better at the end. When I replaced mine on my supercab, it wasn't on the road yet (so I didn't need to use it on Monday) and it took be a full long weekend - about 32 manhours to cut out old and reweld new in for both sides. I pulled doors and front fenders but left bed in place. Final body filler, sanding and paint was on a later weekend.
Old rockers removed New rocker in place - rear view New rocker in place - front view
One of the best things I did on my truck is just cut off the cab corners. No more rust! My truck is black and it really isn't noticeable until you open the rear doors and really look for them. Was tired of grinding, sanding, bondo-ing and painting every year...such a bad design.
like the old Volvo XC70. Turned out great and lasted years (until it was traded 5 years later), but this job on my truck is gonna need metal welded in, and idk what to use on the inside to prevent it from going bad again; there’s so many opinions as to what chemicals to use!!! Encapsulators, converters, cavity fillers, etc. 
My truck is black and it really isn't noticeable until you open the rear doors and really look for them. Was tired of grinding, sanding, bondo-ing and painting every year...such a bad design.