Ford uses the term Flareside to describe a stepside truck bed while using the term Styleside to describe a conventional truck bed. The names stepside and fleetside are used by Chevrolet and GMC, respectively.

The Flareside truck bed is characterised by fenders on the exterior of the bed and typically has a ribbed step built into the side of the bed between the cab and the rear axle. The early pickup trucks had this kind of configuration. The Flareside is also known as the “sport model” after the introduction of the standard bed. The Flareside bed’s interior has straight walls, allowing lengthy things to rest flat over the bed’s entire width. The bed’s overall breadth is, however, narrower than the Styleside.

On a regular, or Styleside, truck bed, the fenders are located inside the bed itself. Unlike the Flareside, the outside sides of the bed follow the cab’s lines. On each side of the bed, the fenders shape an arch. As a result, there is less room in the bed for lengthy things to stack, but the bed as a whole is wider. To create a multilevel loading space, some truck models, however, incorporate these arches into the design of the bed. The interior of the bed has moulded channels on the front and sides that allow for the addition of a piece of plywood or sheet metal to create a level deck the whole width of the bed.