Flatbed progress from weekend
 

As mentioned in my last post about my ugly new green paint job, I started on the new flatbed for my '82 dually this weekend. I got the hydraulic pump and scissor lift installed, bed framed out, dump bed functional, and gooseneck hitch and bed locks installed (to secure hitch directly to frame when pulling a gooseneck). Hope to start framing out the headache rack after work this week.

Here alittle video of my progress:


Scott
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Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

That would be sweet when you help people move.

Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

Here's a shot of the lock pin setup I am putting in to lock the tilting portion of the bed to the truck frame when pulling a trailer so there is no load on the hinges or scissor lift:

http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps60d6bdab.jpg

Here's a shot from tonight, I got the headache rack tacked into place (still needs several braces & brackets, ran out of daylight):

http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/a...psccb8d1f3.jpg

Scott
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Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

Here's another short video update on my dumping flatbed project. Getting closer to completion!




Scott
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Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

A couple pics of progress:

http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps1877bc01.jpg

http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/a...psa3bee56d.jpg

http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/a...psd754281b.jpg

http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/a...psc3038787.jpg

Scott
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Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

Looking good.

Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

that is a great looking flatbed.
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Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

Add a ramp for snowmobiles and it could be my new winter hauler! Love it! Nice workmanship too.

Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

Nice!!! That rear bumper is bad ass

Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

Yeah I like that rear bumper. What type of work are you going to be doing with the truck?

Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

That is one sweet flatbed!!! Love the wood, the rear bumper, the lift, the headache rack. That is a great job. How do you release the lock pins when your ready to dump it?

Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

By the way, no Chevy Square body youtube video is complete without a dog panting in the microphone of the camera. Classic!

Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

Thanks for the compliments guys.

The deck is actually thick gauge 4" c Purlin, not wood. Plenty strong for what I'm gonna do with it but much lighter than wood. I did this to try and keep weight out of the bed to keep more lifting capacity.

As for the locking pins that pin the dump bed to the truck frame when using the gooseneck hitch, there nothing fancy there. I am putting handles on one end and tractor clips on the other end, and just store them under the back seat when not in use.

I am probably gonna cut the wings off of my bumper. I had built this wraparound style bumper to protect the fiberglass fenders, only to have a blown tire trash them.

Weather permitting this weekend I am going to try and get the stake pockets & rub rail on and fab up some removable sideboards so I can start cutting firewood for winter.

Scott
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Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

nice work & i see you a A-body fan..

Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

So I finally got most of the odds & ends done on my dumping flatbed project and got to do some load testing to see what the bed will actually dump today after work. I started small, 2 full heaping buckets of dirt from a CAT 299D skid steer, made sure it would, then on to 3 full buckets, then on to 4 full buckets, then on to the 4.5 buckets of dirt shown in the video below. I wanted to go for more, but this much had the truck sitting on the overloads so I decided not to tempt date.


The hydraulics dumped the load without any problem, but I definitely need to put a piece if expanded metal across the bottom of the headache rack before I haul more dirt, had alittle scare when a large rock fell on the exhaust pipe as the bed was going up.

Now that I know it works I need to start getting it ready for paint.

Scott
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Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

Need to cut stake body hole in the bed and fab side boards to use when hauling loose loads. Could easily remove them when towing the gooseneck. Nice work on the dump bed. Ain't it great when all the hard work works as intended.
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Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

It does have side boards in the video, but they are short. I made a set 4" tall that drop in the stake pockets. I think I may need to make them alittle taller for hauling loose material.

Scott
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Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

And thanks!

Scott
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Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

Any information about your hydraulic setup and controls? I've got a weird idea in my head to make my 1/2 ton into a flatbed now for some reason. But, I want the bed to push back away from the truck and tilt down instead of dump. I've got the pivot points worked out that I can do it with 1 ram, but I know nothing of hydraulics as of yet.

Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

quite simple if you use a power pac. our dump trailers at work use these. very simple, hook up power , ground, & your remote. 1 hose from pac to ram & your done
http://www.princessauto.com/pal/en/D...Unit/8178998.p
we lift 4-5 tons daily with these trailers
Bowedup, that is one nice crew, love the dump. now that you know it works good, time to make it look nice. your right, expanded steel on the front will look good, ever think about skirts on the flatdeck?
btw, nothing wrong with your green, looks better than the forest ranger green on mine

Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

I'd need a 60-72 inch stroke. Longest I saw on that site is 48 inches. Cheapest 60 inch stroke I've seen is over a grand. Dang. I don't need a cool tippy custom flatbed that badly.

Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

wow, thats a long stroke, but i guess if your sliding it all the way down the truck...still nice to dream though

Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

Not quite all the way down but yeah, 60" is about the shortest I can make it work to push and tip down to the ground. At the 35-37 degrees it would tip, I would need 60" push to clear the frame.

Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

The kit I used is one of the dump bed kits from Pierce Sales. There's nothing fancy about the kit, just a scissor lift & electric driven hydraulic unit (http://www.piercesales.com/Hydraulic....htm#gsc.tab=0). If you pick up one of these pumps you can build whatever you want.

In regards to your requirement for a 60" stroke, could you incorporate a linkage or lever into your plans to use a shorter stroke cylinder and still achieve the 60" of travel?

Scott
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Re: Flatbed progress from weekend
 

Yes, but it would require the very large 5" or 6" bore because the weight then becomes multiplied by the lever and puts a higher stress on everything, which doesn't make it any cheaper. Since it's wouldn't be a commercial application it's hard to justify something like I have in my head just to haul snowmobiles in the winter. Probably just going to have to remain a dream for now.