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Truck flatbed and build for the camper

Just like everything else, just got a little busy last year and couldn't get to it. Dang truck sat for 12 months patiently waiting...

Anyhow, had to start with ripping the springs out and getting the suspension system on. Pretty easy stuff, 3/4" air gun is nice for breaking the nuts.





Lay out all the parts and start drilling.









Dry fit for where to fit the air unit. Last one had it on the outside of the rail..had to remove a box, which meant cut and weld, to get to the unit. Wanted something different, so figured a way to mount it within the rails.



Start in on the flatbed build; keeping it simple, and understanding that this is not a work truck with concentrated, possibly offset loads, I was comfortable building it on the light side.







Details take waaaay longer than the big stuff. A little buck out for the hatch for the air unit.



And some indented wings..bed is only 10' long, and the wings sit lower. And I didn't think it would look bad.





New hitch. I thought about taking the one off the '07, but what a hassle. So, new it is. Dropping the tank made it easier for the drilling.



Exhaust didn't fit so well; needed a little heat and adjustment.



After;



Time for the headache rack.











Rear bumper;



And time for box brackets.







700 pounds of boxes..



Hangers for the mud flaps.



Had to work on a latch for the trap door to access the air unit.



And then we get to put on the skin; 98 holes later, for the spot welds.





And lots and lots of grinding..





First time for me; I've always sand blasted, and then used etching primer, primer and good paint. The price I got from the powder coat sub was about 3 times just my cost in paint and blast material. Add in a long day where I'm not having any fun, and it was a quick decision.



In the mean time, stuck on a new bumper and 17,500 winch:







Worked on some interior wiring. Have the camera's to install, the Air link dump system and the aux fuel tank gauge and pump wiring. I have laying on my back on concrete and feeding wires. Just plain sucks.









Painted and ready to install;



Flatbeds and fueling are always an issue. Since this was a purpose built bed, I wasn't concerned about the 'usability' of top side for anything other than my use. The boxes aren't going to be coming off. So, I stuck both fillers on top; I can use truck nozzles full speed, and she fills quick. The mounts were on before the bed went to the powder coater, but I cut and installed the piping after the bed was installed.







And then the wiring...



At the tail is the standard ******** RV plug, along with a second one wired up near the front filler neck. And then our standard 7 pin Pollack that all of our trailers have. A ton of wiring loom and electrical tape and ties. Ugh.

With boxes:



First fill up; 78 gallons, loving it!



Up near east Mt St Helens a few weeks ago:



Hoh river two weeks ago:



Have some things to work out, like always. Going to reposition the top boxes two inches just because, and I have two outfitter switches on the truck that are sporadic which I need to chase down. This air system allows me to level the truck 1/8" at a time, and then maintains that level regardless of the weight (it has 2 sensors instead of the usual single). The dump is part of the sweet part. Especially since we almost always remove the camper if we're staying more than a couple of nights. Trailer swaps are so much smoother...less cranking. Cheers...

Teanaway area:

'16 F550 CC, 4x4 with Link Ultraride air suspension, '18 AF 1150. Just so we can play with our snowmobiles, dirt bikes and fishing boat. And new 20' tag along...kayaks, bikes, mc's and extra water and food!!
10 REPLIES 10

RICKIM
Explorer III
Explorer III
Thatโ€™s a sweet job!... And Iโ€™m going to have to check out a air ride system
when mine gets a few miles on it.
2018 AF1140DB, 400W solar, Trimetric, Lifeline GPL-31XTโ€™s, rear deck,
2019 5500 Ram Crew, DRW, 6.7L-CTD, Custom TC bed, on board air, Front Rack

Grit dog wrote:
Nice work man!
Is that what you did during the Rona shutdown?
One question, what purpose do the recessed "wings" serve? Not sure I've seen that or what it could be for....other than it looks cool and proves you're a good fabricator!


Well this should answer the other fellas questions about flat beds !


The AF tails hang a bit lower than the bottom of the camper floor; the wings allow it to sit without having to have a thick mat/build up on the bed floor.

No... didn't get to sit around like I was hoping. When the shut down was looming, I gathered the steel and other materials in a hurry, anticipating a bunch of time to work at the shop. Turns out, three of our jobs were 'essential' and we had to take over another during this..it was a ball buster. Completed a years gross in 2.5 months...and got the bed done. A few long nights and some really long weekends.
'16 F550 CC, 4x4 with Link Ultraride air suspension, '18 AF 1150. Just so we can play with our snowmobiles, dirt bikes and fishing boat. And new 20' tag along...kayaks, bikes, mc's and extra water and food!!

HMS Beagle wrote:
Looks good! I predict you will love the air ride.

Any idea how much the flat bed weighs?


Bed is probably in the 2000-2300 range, but just a guess. Boxes were 700 alone on top of that. I'm going to guess that I'm about 4k without the camper, as in bed, boxes and stuff. Truck with camper is right around 17,500.

Air ride; wouldn't go any other way. We had it on the last truck too. These things are just brutal when they don't have weight in them, when sprung. But not so with the air ride; comfortable even empty, and no matter what the load, our headlights are always aimed correctly.
'16 F550 CC, 4x4 with Link Ultraride air suspension, '18 AF 1150. Just so we can play with our snowmobiles, dirt bikes and fishing boat. And new 20' tag along...kayaks, bikes, mc's and extra water and food!!

cewillis
Explorer
Explorer
That's outstanding work. Thanks for the illustrated construction.
Cal

mellow
Explorer
Explorer
Very nice! I wish I had your skills!
2002 F-350 7.3 Lariat 4x4 DRW ZF6
2008 Lance 1191 - 220w of solar - Bring on the sun!

dblr
Explorer
Explorer
Very nice work!!!!!
2017 River Stone Legacy 38MB
2001 Kenworth T2000
2009 Smart on the deck.

NRALIFR
Explorer
Explorer
Thatโ€™s a great looking TC hauler. Very nice build.

:):)
2001 Lance 1121 on a 2016 F450 โ€˜Scuse me while I whinge.
And for all you Scooby-Doo and Yosemite Sam typesโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆ..Letโ€™s Go Brandon!!!

noteven
Explorer III
Explorer III
Like

HMS_Beagle
Explorer
Explorer
Looks good! I predict you will love the air ride.

Any idea how much the flat bed weighs?
Bigfoot 10.4E, 2015 F350 6.7L DRW 2WD, Autoflex Ultra Air Ride rear suspension, Hellwig Bigwig sway bars front and rear

Grit_dog
Nomad III
Nomad III
Nice work man!
Is that what you did during the Rona shutdown?
One question, what purpose do the recessed "wings" serve? Not sure I've seen that or what it could be for....other than it looks cool and proves you're a good fabricator!


Well this should answer the other fellas questions about flat beds !
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold