Still Having Problems With TC and Truck

HadEnough wrote:

NRALIFR wrote:
Oh, sorry. I thought this was all caused from rust. I guess I have your situation confused with another member’s.

In that case, I’d be reluctant to replace the bed with another factory bed. Maybe a flatbed is in order

:):)

No worries. I just get a little excitable. Appreciate the help and ideas.


Hmmmm. I’ve been intrigued by a flatbed setup. They look kinda weird since the TC is made for a standard bed. Do people usually build some boxes around the edges or something for looks?

I carry campers on an Aluma single wheeler flatbed on a F350. I have boxes under the camper wings - one side is camp kitchen stuff the other is tools and what not.

Aluminum Aluma flatbed pros:

light weight -350 lbs +/-
tail skirt sits above the factory bumper/trailer hitch equipment on a pickup
don't rust
LED lights and headache rack equipped.
Very easy to set up so it can be lifted off the chassis for fuel tank repairs etc
Sills are adjustable for different width frames - pickup truck vs cab & chassis trucks with SAE standard 34" wide frame.
Don't need to be painted but can be.
Frees up all the wasted air space inside a pickup box to be used for storage with a pickup box type camper.
I tie down direct to the rub rail/stake pocket area with short Fastguns - no "tie downs" required.
The whole area of the bed is usable there are no enormous wheel houses stuck up on the hauling deck.
You don't have to reach over chin high best in class box sides.

Cons:
Fenders / mudflaps / trailer hitch / trailer electric connection not included.
Aluma decks do not accomodate or have factory installed gooseneck hitch. They can be modified to use a B&W type.
Some welding and frame attachment fabrications required
Fuel filler fabrications required
Tool boxes can be added below deck. Stock toolboxes are not that common seems like due to the narrower distance from frame to the edge of the deck vs decks made for trucks with dools. $$$ for custom ones where I am at.
Aerodynamics are poorer than fleetside pickup beds.
Some people don't think they look as nice as a fleetside pickup box.
They raise the camper higher in the air by the depth of the sills, bed deck, and mounts fabricated to suit your truck. On my truck the bed is 4" higher than the bed of a pickup.
You cannot haul unsecured cargo.


If your box mounts are damaged you will be into the job of exchanging boxes for repair or replacement of those as well. And then you will have the same equipment that sounds like eventually fatigued and started to fail.

The floor and mounts of a fully loaded pickup bed are being worked and flexing as the truck travels - once fatigue begins to take hold a pickup bed will fail without being rusted. We have a local company that has installed treated plywood box liners in oilfield pickups for years to give the floor especially additional structure to stand up to carrying full payloads of tools, subs, pup joints, valves etc etc on rough pavement, rough gravel, and snow drifted and mud well access roads day in and day out.

Why? Because the stock pickup boxes were failing prematurely.

Anyhoo that's my 2 cents.

P.S. I have seen a left front wheel removed from an 8 month old GMC pickup by a kettle pot hole that was deep enough the tire and wheel fit waaay down in it due to LOW SPEED. Tore the ball joints apart. They had grease.

The truck owner called the little city hall and asked if they intended to plant a spruce tree in the hole if not maybe slide over and fix it.

So do I believe it could damage a 3/4 or won ton fully loaded with a camper in the same manner? yep I do.