Knightstockterrier,
Troughs seem to be black and white, love em or hate em...
Here is the deal for me regarding troughs. I don't run a leveling kit on my trucks, so the rear sets up about 3-4" higher at the edge of the tailgate, than it does at the GN hitch. As it is, I can clear the ball, and pull the truck out, without hitting. I have used a recessed ball in the past, and it seemed like I had to have the coupler a good 6-8" higher than the ball to clear the rear of the bed. May not seem like much when unhooking an empty trailer, but put 300 squares on a 32' with single speed jacks, and I bet you will appreciate my predicament.
Here is a pic of a year old CM that my bud picked up at a local junkyard for $500.00 from a wrecked truck. We had to reattach the headache rack and improve the bracing. I was surprised out how lightly the beds are built, but also took into consideration the number of satisfied customers out there too... I guess they are built stout enough???
My bud ended up selling this truck shortly after we put the bed on, so I don't really know how it would have held up to our kind of abuse.
Initial quotes.
CM Skirted, trough, four boxes.
Midway - Madisonville - $3775.00 + 475.00 install
Big Tex - Mt Pleasant - $3700.00 + 420.00 install
Texan - Tomball - $4000.00 + 500.00 install
J&I skirted, trough, four boxes.
J&I - Madill - $3692.00, did not quote installation.
I have also attached a pic of my Bradford Built bed, and the trough I put in it. The sideboards on the Bradford Built are the cat's meow as far as I am concerned. They are built with spring loaded slam latches, do not rattle, have flush mount dees, an slotted front and rear for a 2x6.
