F450EC1165 wrote:Fastbrit wrote:
Just ordered one with heavy duty 1/4 square tubing and extrude plank floor since it is stronger than regular diamond plate . My problem is that with my heavy camper I notice that the regular bed had suffered. Some spot welds have broken. Will pick it up the first week of may in Pennsylvania.
I will post pictures on here and my first impression
Do you know how the weight compares to the OEM truck bed?
The flatbed I ordered is 96"x106" and 375 to 400 pounds w/o any tool boxes. Regular truck beds are built with flimsy sheet mรฉtal. 4 men (2 at the tailgate and 2 each side of wheel arch) can easily remove them from the truck frame. If you add the bumper and tailgate it is heavier with the weight mostly concentrate to the rear.
Before you go for cab & chassis do your homework.
Those usually come with longer wheelbase design for 10' body. I was able to put 8' bed on mine, but I had to custom weld brackets and I can't use tailgate as frame stick behind the bed.
Love the beefed up suspension and lower purchase price, but custom welding is not for everybody.
Coming back to flatbeds. They usually add 2-3" height to the floor. Not a big deal for average camper, but mine camper come with basement and attic, so even with regural bed I am over 12' tall.
Those usually come with longer wheelbase design for 10' body. I was able to put 8' bed on mine, but I had to custom weld brackets and I can't use tailgate as frame stick behind the bed.
Love the beefed up suspension and lower purchase price, but custom welding is not for everybody.
Coming back to flatbeds. They usually add 2-3" height to the floor. Not a big deal for average camper, but mine camper come with basement and attic, so even with regural bed I am over 12' tall.
Fastbrit wrote:
Just ordered one with heavy duty 1/4 square tubing and extrude plank floor since it is stronger than regular diamond plate . My problem is that with my heavy camper I notice that the regular bed had suffered. Some spot welds have broken. Will pick it up the first week of may in Pennsylvania.
I will post pictures on here and my first impression
Do you know how the weight compares to the OEM truck bed?
Just some observations and experience with a flatbed .
Mine is a dumping aluminum flatbed . The dump subframe raised it 5" so it is at 42" .Total height is 10'-8" without air . Not too much more than a one ton srw . As an added benefit the dump body acts somewhat like a three point connection and allows some flex to ease some strain on the TC .
The sides are enclosed providing a lot of storage . The danger of overloading is always there if one does not use common sense . Fully loaded for camping , with extras , I am 500# under GVWR of 12000#
The width of the TC is the same as the flatbed , and at 42" offers some protection from brush .
Does it look pretty , that's for your eyes only . I think so
Mine is a dumping aluminum flatbed . The dump subframe raised it 5" so it is at 42" .Total height is 10'-8" without air . Not too much more than a one ton srw . As an added benefit the dump body acts somewhat like a three point connection and allows some flex to ease some strain on the TC .
The sides are enclosed providing a lot of storage . The danger of overloading is always there if one does not use common sense . Fully loaded for camping , with extras , I am 500# under GVWR of 12000#
The width of the TC is the same as the flatbed , and at 42" offers some protection from brush .
Does it look pretty , that's for your eyes only . I think so
I'm really not very happy with the stock Dodge 6'6" short bed. It gets a terrible beating where we go, and looks like a dog's dinner after throwing hundreds of pieces of firewood into it over the stake sides (and sometimes missing), and hauling 5000 pounds of crushed rock on many occasions. I use both the rubber bed mat and the plastic bed liner when hauling bulk items around. The passenger side front tie down bolt sheared off and was replaced with a thick fender washer and a grade 8 bolt. Only 4 bolts hold the whole thing on. The factory bed is flimsy and will contort following the twisting frame and if the tie downs for the camper are too tight, eventually pull your camper apart.
Which brings me to this post. If I were to start over (not likely), I would aim for a flat bed. But not the ones listed above. It would be a 3-point triangle, or 4-point diamond shaped pivoting flat bed. Why? The bed stays flat and will not contort to the frame's command. Selecting a camper to go on your flatbed is another roadblock. There are precious few, maybe none right now that are specifically made for flat. That leaves your regular camper with those large holes in the sides. What to do? A friend with an UniMog plus Alaskan uses the folding side gates on the Mog:
Good storage behind the fold-up sides.
XP camper has a great system using a flat bed and the camper part is built for a flat bed. Just some ideas.
jefe
Which brings me to this post. If I were to start over (not likely), I would aim for a flat bed. But not the ones listed above. It would be a 3-point triangle, or 4-point diamond shaped pivoting flat bed. Why? The bed stays flat and will not contort to the frame's command. Selecting a camper to go on your flatbed is another roadblock. There are precious few, maybe none right now that are specifically made for flat. That leaves your regular camper with those large holes in the sides. What to do? A friend with an UniMog plus Alaskan uses the folding side gates on the Mog:
Good storage behind the fold-up sides.
XP camper has a great system using a flat bed and the camper part is built for a flat bed. Just some ideas.
jefe
Bedlam wrote:
It works well for me. Once I upgrade my TC, I will have false walls or tool boxes to take advantage of the extra space. Tie downs can go to the stake pockets like mine with the short range FastGun turnbuckles. The only down side will be the height of the TC - It will sit higher than in a bed between the wheel wells. I am around 12.5' high at the A/C.
Whassup man! Took you 9 min to respond to this thread! You're slipping....and might get accused of posting too many pics of your rig and being part of the RAM MAFIA! Lol
Seriously though a flatbed is imo the ultimate TC hauler for many reasons.
By way of comparison they don't sit toooo much higher than in a pickup bed.
Same ht camper on my non lifted 2500 Dodge, suspension leveled up is just over 12 ft. I have to drop all my air and let the springs bottom out to clear a 12-0 opening by like 2".
Towing, hauling, campers, everything except the show n shine and parking in the city, lol, the advantage goes to a flatbed.
