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Flatbed

1K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  BFD 
#1 ·
Any experienced fabricators in here? Im building a flat bed for my 95 3500. The truck has been converted to a single rear wheel, four linked and custom coil overs. Since my coilovers are tuned for the weight of the truck as is Im trying to keep weight to a minimum. Im looking at using 3"x4.1# C channel for the frame runners, 2"x1"x1/8" C channel for the deck frame and side rails, 1/8" sheet for the side panels and 3/16" aluminum sheet for the deck. I feel like the 2x1 C channel for the frame will sturdy enough once it's all tied together, if not adding gussets would still be lighter than using heavier material. I could up to 2x1x3/16 C channel to get a little more strength and only slight weight increase. Plans for the frame are attached.
 

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#2 ·
Just throwing it out there. Wouldn't retuning your coilovers (heavier main and secondary springs and valving) by less expensive then some of the higher end materials you are trying to use? I obviously don't know all your reasoning, nor am I questioning, just looking at numbers.
 
#3 ·
I've built several 8 foot beds on 2500 and 3500 trucks, srw and drw, using steel frame works and aluminum tread plate but I never tried to keep them lightweight like a pickup box because I didn't want a rough ride. Plus I build all of mine with a lot of steel frame work under the hitch area for a gooseneck socket and I can drill holes to bolt on any kind of fifth wheel hitch I want .
The back end of a pick up box is fairly heavy and the front end weighs nearly nothing because they have such a flimsy front wall. Plus you usually build a fairly heavy bulkhead on a flatbed and don't have a tailgate so that makes the front to rear weight distribution even worse. I build sides on my beds because I Still want to have somewhat of a box and not just a true flatbed and my beds end up weighing about 850 pounds. Even with the rest of the bed being heavier I still pile on as much weight as I can on the back end for a bumper and receiver hitch to get them to ride better. The main point is… Don't build it too light on the backend if you want it to ride decent. Craig

Oh yeah, my avatar shows the latest bed on my LB 12 Dooley.
 
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