Looking for some advise on flat beds / cab and chassis

I have an Aluma bed on a F350 cab and chassis model. Light and simple aluminum bed.

1. Bed is just long enough for the skirt to clear the end of the frame rails.

2. Too tall is sticking up or out beyond the cab or roof. Wind noise when unloaded.

3. I use Fastguns - short model - tied to the rub rail on the bed. Rubber mat under the camper. My camper is a pickup model. I have some boxes that sit on the bed under the wings.

That is slick RICKIM . Do you have any idea what the body weighs ?

RICKIM wrote:
I built my own bed as I couldn’t find any beds that would fit my needs or wants.

Seriously nice work!!!!!!!!!!!!

Only way to go for sure. I like the comment about not wanting to hyjack the thread...therefore, you need to do your own. Come on, gotta see the rest of it!!!!!

I built my own bed as I couldn’t find any beds that would fit my needs or wants.
I don’t want to hy-jack your thread but here’s some pics that might help with some of your questions.
I made my bed 9’-6” not including the bumper, the spare is mounted up against the cab which left 8’-6” of useable bed space for the TC.

Here’s a pic of the tie-down points incorporated with the body to frame points.



With the Headache rack I matched the contour of the cab and made the height two inches higher.



I had Linex sprayed on the bed interior during the painting process.



Finished product.

I'm running a ram 5500 with a flat bed. I just use a short turnbuckle and tie right to the stake pockets on the bed. One watch out is the beds are higher. I had to use 6" spacers under the jacks to get the camper on the truck. I'm running the 60" CA version with a 9" spacer between the front of the bed and the camper.

Flatbeds vary a good deal in construction and size , so do TC' s . The best thing you can do is measure , measure and measure again . Most TC' s drop down after the eight foot Mark so they cannot be pushed forward if you get a longer flatbed . While this gives you extra storage space up front it will probably put more weight behind the rear axle . As mentioned , Ford's seem to have a higher cab than the other two so the camper may have to be raised some to fit over the cab . You want to limit this as much as possible because the flatbed is usually higher than a pickup bed , add to that a basement model TC and you are really getting up there . The headache rake will be dictated by the height from the floor of the camper to the underside of the cabover .

That being said here is what I have and done. I have a 60" CA with an 8-1/2 ' aluminum flatbed with 1/8" diamond plate with 3" I beam cross members . The camper has 3/4" x 1-1/2" wood runners under the floor every 12" running front to back . The diamond plate holds it like glue , no rubber mat . For tie downs I used 4 short ( front ) spring loaded Anchor Guard turnbukkles from Torklift , same as front Happijacks . On the bed they attach to 1/2" D rings bolted through the bed to a reinforcing bar that spans three cross members . Over a decade and nothing has bent twisted or broken . Good luck

7.3driver wrote:
Not that I can answer any of those questions but I have been thinking of the same thing.
Don't know if they have any distributors in your area but CM truck beds, in OK, have the AL RS Series that I have my eye on.

Got my eye on a truck that has everything I think I need already on it (except tiedown points) at a price I think is good.

Kayteg1 wrote:

Newer Fords are famous for taller cabin, so some TC require shimming, but flatbed elevates the camper already, so as long as headache bar will not to go above the cabin, you should have no problem with it.

Already looking at the headache bar height and getting measurements - then looking at truck campers to see if it will fit under the cabover.

For ties, I am afraid you are looking at custom stuff, but members who did it might add more details.

I am hoping to get $0.02 from someone how has done that on the forum here!

I had TC on steel flatbed for 1 trip and that thing was "walking" like crazy, so make sure you have good rubber mat.

I was thinking about putting Herculiner on both the bed of the truck and on the bottom of the TC. I had a bed mat in my last truck, but I put the Herculiner on the bottom and up a few inches on the sides of my last TC and it sealed all the seams very nicely and looked very clean.

You can put TC on any length of flatbed. You will need to manufacture some kind of front bumper, but securing the sides will be an issue as well.
Newer Fords are famous for taller cabin, so some TC require shimming, but flatbed elevates the camper already, so as long as headache bar will not to go above the cabin, you should have no problem with it.
For ties, I am afraid you are looking at custom stuff, but members who did it might add more details.
I had TC on steel flatbed for 1 trip and that thing was "walking" like crazy, so make sure you have good rubber mat.

Not that I can answer any of those questions but I have been thinking of the same thing.
Don't know if they have any distributors in your area but CM truck beds, in OK, have the AL RS Series that I have my eye on.