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2018 Chevrolet/GMC stepside


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I like the look, though It needs the black trim around the wheel well opening like the front has.  I rarely ever see regular cab short bed regular bed pickups anymore.  I wonder if it bolted right up or is some mods were needed, the '14-19 generation short wheelbase is an 1 1/2 inches longer than the '73-87. 

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10 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

I like the look, though It needs the black trim around the wheel well opening like the front has.  I rarely ever see regular cab short bed regular bed pickups anymore.  I wonder if it bolted right up or is some mods were needed, the '14-19 generation short wheelbase is an 1 1/2 inches longer than the '73-87. 

Honestly, I think the cab might make up the difference there.  Honestly, I dig the look too.

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Just now, Joe Handley said:

Honestly, I think the cab might make up the difference there.  Honestly, I dig the look too.

Yeah, I can see that...cabs are larger now than 30-40 years ago.  Since I've occasionally seen beds of different generations on trucks, it seems like the positioning of the mount points for the bed maybe haven't changed much over the generations..would make sense to standardize the mount points to make it easy to attach 3rd party utility beds. 

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3 minutes ago, Rob Hall said:

Yeah, I can see that...cabs are larger now than 30-40 years ago.  Since I've occasionally seen beds of different generations on trucks, it seems like the positioning of the mount points for the bed maybe haven't changed much over the generations..would make sense to standardize the mount points to make it easy to attach 3rd party utility beds. 

I wouldn't be shocked if that was the case, I swear the bed portion of the different brand stepside bed assemblies were all used from the 50's into the 80's until GM started using those 'glass sided "Sportside" beds in '88.  IIRC, those Sportside beds fit the '68-'72 Shortbed chassis surprisingly well.

 

CHIP.jpg

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i love stepsides but they just dont look right. as was mentioned above, it doesnt line up with the bottom of the truck. If GM was to make a stepside that looked right i would buy it in a second. even with losing the 2 feet of usable space in the bed, i just love them. 

 

meh, now i want to pack up my nearly completed ramcharger and build a stepside

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Interesting idea, but putting the old square body bed on the new truck just doesn't work for me.

I think a more modern looking stepside could be something worth officially bringing back. It was a popular option for a number of years, and on a new reg cab "sport" truck, I think it would still sell. Take a reg cab truck, throw the shortbox stepside on it, the big 6.2L V8, 8-speed tranny, bucket seats, and 22" wheels. I think that would sell.

As an aside, so many people dump on the new trucks due to the square wheel well openings, yet look how square they used to be! And no one rags on those.

 

Anyway, I like the new GMC trucks. And because pics are fun, here's the truck I had a couple of summers ago. 2016 Sierra 1500 SLT All Terrain X. And for the record, this would have looked horrible with a stepside.

 

IMG_20160813_1112417.jpg

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One thing I noticed with the step not lining up with the cab, take a look at the Square C/K trucks I posted, the set is just as out of line with the bottom of the cab as on those as it is the 2018 Sierra. Don't get the bagging on the square openings either, don't see much wrong with them.......now that ugly first couple feet and 22" wheels on the other hand...............

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I guess I'm one of the few that like the Step Side look. It can be both a personal and even a regional styling statement. I have owned two, a '74 and a '79. I was living in SoCal and was being transferred to Northern California and wanted a Step Side bed and none of the dealers stocked them. I got to Santa Maria and that was about all the stocked anywhere in a short bed. The '74 had duel gas tanks and there was just a simple gas cap affair sticking out of the front side of the rear fenders on both sides. By '79 they had a nice square gas door with the filler inside. In the pictures of the new Step Side it looks like they have added a round door now. The Tail Lights are the same as I recall but the rear bumper is a little more substantial than before and it has the steps on the ends of the bumper to help getting into the bed and that's an improvement also.  It might be interesting to go into GM's web site and see it they're offering a Step Side bed again. Most people today seem to want as big a cab as they can get and a Step Side would look a little strange on a truck with a great big four door body truck.

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I honestly had to look at the date of the OP to make sure that this wasn't an April Fool's joke. IMO the vehicle in the original pictures looks like garbage. It has a completely unfinished look with the mismatched wheel wells and the bottom not lining up with the cab. Too, it is too much of a contrast between old and new. I do agree with iamsuperdan in that I think a newer style stepside bed pickup would sell. I preferred the 90's style stepsides to the 90's style fleetsides myself, for looks. They didn't work well for hauling compared to the fleetside. 

Later-

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I'm not a fan of the new Chevy's design at all. *edit* that said, I still like it MUCH more than the 2018-19 trucks.

So...I'm OK with this!

The proportions are pretty lazy on the rear fenders, though...they should really be extended vertically to bring the step level with the bottom of the cab. Why the heck not. It's not any dumber than 99% of what people are doing with their trucks and cars these days, from mall-crawler Jeeps to lifted bro-dozers, to sticking fake eyelashes on headlights, to buying buying bloated luxury SUVs that are pure caricature. 

For all the "useless size bed" comments: you thought new pickup trucks were actually being used for work? Lololol!

Let 'em have their fun, I say. Might as well go all the way....2018 Ram Warlock, perhaps? 

 

Edited by Spex84
correction
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15 minutes ago, Spex84 said:

 

Let 'em have their fun, I say. Might as well go all the way....2018 Ram Warlock, perhaps? 

 

A couple of years ago, Ram did a Power Wagon concept...stepside!

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And the custom guys have tried it too. 

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rss02.jpg.8f9bbf2cf9abd7db7d641dfb338afff1.jpg

 

I kinda dig it. I think.

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I want one, that is, I want both (or maybe all three). The Ram looks cool even if it is a bit stubby looking without a tailgate and rear bumper (a step bumper would do well) and even if I agree with you guys that the Chevy/GMC needs a little tweeking I think it is really cool and if it had been for sale here and I had the money I would buy it. Sadly, in this country that thing would cost something like 110-120 000$ if it could be classified as a van.

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