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turning-stock-bed-into-flatbed-year I am adding the stake pockets, bump rail, and a higher headache bar though. Or is the way it is now not good and I need to improve? I have a mechanical mind and constantly think of things in my Turning Stock Bed Into Flatbed Case head I would like to build. Most of the time people drive too fast anyway. Email this Page. After the paint drys I will bolt the wood deck turning stock bed into flatbed year down.

What if I had a horse truck, like they did in the not-so-distant past? I had seen the loading ramps at different Forest Service cabins in the mountains, where truckloads of hardy pack animals had descended from the back of two ton grain trucks and pickup beds.

What if, instead of having to worry about tipping my big gooseneck rig off the side of a mountain road, I could simply squeak around the tight corners in style? What if I got a killer deal on a milk cow and needed to get her home? What if I decide to raise a whole herd of goats for weed control? Images of showing up at the sale barn with an empty truck and leaving with a few promising kill-pen horses behind the cab ran through my head.

Before I knew it, a small set of working pens adjoined the round corral, fed by my ramp. I bought a couple of horses that were in a tough spot, and used my new pens.

To top it off, I have an old F with a flatbed sitting around most of the time. The truck is cool in a kind of Tonka Truck way, with its bright yellow paint job and chrome stacks that rumble when the old lights up. In fact, she was supportive of it. I laid it on pretty thick about how she and her girlfriends could just load up and go, too.

No trailer, no problems. Anyway, I had the green light to go ahead, and there was a little spare time and money here and there. First off, I had to iron out a materials list, so I got out my tape and a pad of paper. There are about five iterations of this stock rack in notebooks in my office, and each one would have worked. I kicked around the idea of using channel iron and carriage bolts, along with full-dimension 2-by lumber, but decided against it. This turned out just how I wanted it.

The center bar is 42 inches high, with solid sides below. Then I had to fabricate a base and make sure it fit like a glove. It took a lot of figuring, but the rack sat perfectly on the truck. I write books and occasionally swing a hammer for a living. Throughout the project my ability improved, but the angle grinder still got a workout. I did all of my welding with a Hobart Turning Stock Bed Into Flatbed Model Handler running flux-core wire. Now, with a high lifter jack, I can have the rack off in about as much time as it takes to unhook a trailer.

Unfortunately, I had to bump the legs out a little farther so I could avoid rubbing on the truck bed. It cost me 4 feet of steel tubing, but gave me second opportunity to angle the front legs for stability when the wind picks up. I got the base all set, then put my effort toward raising the roof, so to speak.

Uprights went in and more horizontal pieces followed, until I had a cage framed up. The truck has a custom diamond-plate aluminum bed on it, and I wanted to keep the look in some way. Welding aluminum is not something I should consider right now, but mild steel checker plate would work. In addition to the exhaust stacks, I have two tanks beneath the bed for fuel, with the filler tubes right at the corners.

I had to angle the front of the rack on either side to keep the fuel fill tubes accessible, and to protect the horses from the hot exhaust. In the rear, I had to come up with some sort of gate. After perusing Google Images for years with this project in mind, I had some sort of idea of what to do. I fabricated a gate out of lighter steel, then created tracks for it to ride in by welding on some Turning Stock Bed Into Flatbed Light flat stock. With our dry climate in Montana, I figured that untreated plywood would last quite a while, particularly with a good coat of paint, and it saved quite a bit of money over buying treated stuff.

Little details, like cutting out a rear-view hole and mounting expanded metal over it, took a while. I started this project because of a ramp I have, so I welded on a pair of vertical bumpers to protect the aluminum truck bed when I back up to load or unload. I had to make a ramp that would go along for the ride. But I am pretty much self-taught so I am no expert.

Basically I am here for advise. What gauge do you recommend? Do you know what most flat beds use. I don't want it to weigh like a tank but I don't want it to be weak either. Have not gotten exact measurements but I was thinking 3" rectangular tubing for the frame. For design something like the one in your sig Mostly I see 4" rectangular tubing for flat bed frames.

Mine is still a long way from finished. I am trying to carve out some time to do this So if I make a 4 in tubing rectangle, how many cross pieces do I need for central support? Or maybe a better way to ask it is how often should I put a cross piece. Thanks a lot for the help! And any tips on keeping it flat would be great. What will the length and width be? Is it going on a dually? Will you need heavy capacity on the rear bumper for towing?

Just measured it You planning on a sunken hitch like mine? You want your deck as low as possible or about same as where the stock bed puts it? The hitch will be sunken. I am assuming that it will be somewhat taller than stock because I do not want a hump for the wheels. I posted some pics of it to see if yall think it will work the way it is, or if I need to take it out and redo it. Messages Reaction score 0 Location Kansas Topeka. You should not have to raise the bed at ll to clear your tires, the only reason yuo want to do an arch for the wheels is if you want to skirt the bed.

You can use a standar ball just make sure it is raw steel not chrome, your welds will be pathetic and penetration will not be as good as a raw steel ball, get a very strong one overkill IS needed here drill a hole throught the channel and weld both sides of the ball. Why would you need to weld a ball in? I don't understand this thinking I concur, welding in the ball is feasible though it's not something I would leave up to someone who was not experienced.

Most of the flatbeds I've seen or been around have something like this:. Yes, that is what I was kinda getting at I have welded some in, but I ALWAYS recomend that the perosn replace the ball if there is a problem rather than "weld it out" for them. What I was thinking was leaving the ball like it is now Or is the way it is now not good and I need to improve?

Correct me if I am wrong but it looks to me like the deck will need to be slightly higher than where the top of the ball is now. That way when I load it down and the springs get squashed the tires won't be up against the bed. Use 2 pcs.

The 4" will be set the frame rail width the length and be against the frame rails, then your cross.

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