Flat bed questions

[Chevyboy_0]

I was thinking about building a flat bed for my rig, I have a feeling someone has done this I just need a jumpstart. What have guys done and such, I want to put a headache rack, and tool boxes on the side of it.

I'm thinking of using 2x4 square tubing but I'm not sure of what wall thickness I should use, Im also thinking is laying down some diamond plate on the deckand maybe adding a gooseneck hook up. Like I said before I just need a jumping off point and some pics if anyone has any

 

[frank-id]

In my experiences, it is far more costly to build a bed than to buy a bed and make it your way. I am a pro welder with lots of experience. I looked for about 3 months and bought a truck with a bad engine and trans for $800. The bed needed some repair and changes. Frank

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

I have built numerous steel flats.

Where you buy the steel is the maker or breaker; fortunately, I am within fifteen miles of the biggest wholesale steel dealer in the East, where I can buy a 21' length of whatever for less than one of those little 2' sticks at the hardware-store.

The absolute best frame material, for both the runners and the joists, is good old channel-iron.

I usually use four-inch for the runners and two-inch for the joists; this yields plenty of height above the tires.

I like to also make the perimeter with the two-inch channel so that anything that hits the flat will push the truck sideways, instead of making a dent.

Lots of gussets and a heavy gauge floor-covering also help.

Design the gooseneck-hitch and a receiver-hitch as integral parts of the flat, then fasten the whole works SECURELY to the truck-frame.

 

[skintbackfarms]

I have built numerous steel flats.

Where you buy the steel is the maker or breaker; fortunately, I am within fifteen miles of the biggest wholesale steel dealer in the East, where I can buy a 21' length of whatever for less than one of those little 2' sticks at the hardware-store.

The absolute best frame material, for both the runners and the joists, is good old channel-iron.

I usually use four-inch for the runners and two-inch for the joists; this yields plenty of height above the tires.

I like to also make the perimeter with the two-inch channel so that anything that hits the flat will push the truck sideways, instead of making a dent.

TWO INCH? ARE YOU SURE? What are you using for the runners? What is the distance in between? How do you lay your gooseneck out? What's type plate do you use? Thickness? Come on when somebody ask you a question...............

Lots of gussets and a heavy gauge floor-covering also help.

Why do you need alot of gussets? Just $ if you built it RIGHT.
Design the gooseneck-hitch and a receiver-hitch as integral parts of the flat, then fasten the whole works SECURELY to the truck-frame.

How would you FASTEN it to the truck?
Just asking questions since you have done this numerous of times? JUST MY 2cents........................Again

 

[LCAM-01XA]

How would you FASTEN it to the truck?
Just asking questions since you have done this numerous of times? JUST MY 2cents........................Again

1/2" grade-8 bolts, and many of them, not just 6 like the factory pickup box has.

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

How would you FASTEN it to the truck?
Just asking questions since you have done this numerous of times? JUST MY 2cents........................Again

Usually, I weld thick flat bar-stock, maybe 3/8 or 1/2 by three or so, to the outsides of the lengthwise runners that sit atop the trucks frame, maybe three or four to the side, spaced as evenly as obstructions will allow, such that they reach to the bottom of the truck's frame; then, I put two or three 3/4" grade-8s through these and the trucks frame, using any already provided holes whenever possible.

Note that these brackets are bolting flat to the SIDEs of the frame, NOT the top flange as a factory sheet-metal bed would.

Fastened thus, a crane can pick the truck up by the front-bumper and hang the trailer, with nothing coming apart.



It is a good idea to line the runners up with the truck's frame and get them where you want them, then make/weld-on/bolt-on these brackets with a couple of flat-washers between each bracket and the truck's frame, then securely tack-weld on at least four of the joists, then remove this from the truck and finish building the flat, turning the whole thing upside-down, side-ways, whatever makes what you are doing easiest to do right, then sand-blast, rust-proof, prime, and paint before mounting on the truck.


The reason for the flat-washers/spacers between the brackets and the truck-frame is to allow a smidgeon of clearance for whenever the flat is installed or removed; you can try to slide the washers between there when installing, or leave them out and let the tightening of the bolts/nuts simply pinch things together; no one will ever know the difference.


With a little ingenuity, and whatever odds and ends you might have laying around, a rotissery can be built such that it can be fastened to both ends of the flat, allowing you to turn it upside-down and back easily at will.


I always weld a BUNCH of single chain-links, at least one-per-ten-inches, in the hidden inside corners of the channel-iron, such that wire can be routed through the links in any direction necessary.

I have seen (and used) short inch-long cut-offs of tubing, both round and square, but the smooth rounded chain-links do not have the razor-sharp wire-cutting edges that the cut-off tubing has.