allright i am thinking about removing the rails above the bed, but i am assuming that they will leave some nasty looking holes in the body, what should i do to cover those up? will i have to use the dreaded bondo w/ touch up paint? thanks

The proper repair would be welding, prepping and painting. The quick and dirty repair would be to use a decorative screw in the remaining holes.

hmm im not too fond of "decorative" screws heh...

and i do not have the resources to weld and prep, sooo in the rails stay in suppose. thanks!

A less proper repair would be to take a tapered punch, place it in the hole, then dimple the steel around the hole just a little (hammer the punch into the hole to make a small dent). Then prep around the hole & fill it with Bondo or the like.

That type of repair is very risky. "Bondo" or almost any body filler is not meant to be left uncovered because it soaks up water like a sponge. If you leave the underside of that bondo repair unfinished it is only a matter of time before it fails and the possibility of rust damage is highly likely.