Deck build questions..

[trimster]

What thickness of steel plate have you used on the bed deck? The heaviest thing I will be putting on the deck is Goldwing trike. 1100 lbs.

Bob

[mr. cob]

5 minutes ago, trimster said:

What thickness of steel plate have you used on the bed deck? The heaviest thing I will be putting on the deck is Goldwing trike. 1100 lbs.

Bob

Howdy trimster,

I would suggest building your bed to carry any possible FUTURE loads.  It's MUCH cheaper to build it right the first time then to rework it later if your needs change, it will also increase the resale value of your truck should you sell it down the road if the deck is capable of carrying more then a motorcycle.

For example, my Freightliner had a deck capable of carrying a motorcycle but nothing heavier, when I decided to carry a Smart Car rather then spend money I would never recover in a sale of the truck building a Smart Car bed I sold the truck as it was and built a new truck.  It's your truck and your money but it would be wise to keep in mind possible future needs or sale.

Dave

[trimster]

Could not agree more.

So what gauge should I look at for the bed deck?

Bob

[mr. cob]

25 minutes ago, trimster said:

Could not agree more.

So what gauge should I look at for the bed deck?

Bob

Howdy Bob,

I used 1/4 inch steel plate on mine, used 2 inch square 1/4 inch thick cross stringers 12 inches apart  the lenght of the deck, might be over kill but I can carry darn near anything on my deck and the weight of the deck aids in traction.

Dave

[GlennWest]

More wieght in rear helps ride also. So added benefit.

[Parrformance]

44 minutes ago, GlennWest said:

More wieght in rear helps ride also. So added benefit.

My Mother-in-law most certainly agrees🤣 

[SuiteSuccess]

Mine is 3/16” plate and I carry a smart.  1/4” probably more than adequate.

[cactus]

24 minutes ago, SuiteSuccess said:

Mine is 3/16” plate and I carry a smart.  1/4” probably more than adequate.

And you can bet ol` JW knew what the h**l he was doing.

Miss his wit and talent

[SuiteSuccess]

18 minutes ago, cactus said:

And you can bet ol` JW knew what the h**l he was doing.

Miss his wit and talent

Me too.  

[sdixon747]

5 hours ago, mr. cob said:

Howdy Bob,

I used 1/4 inch steel plate on mine, used 2 inch square 1/4 inch thick cross stringers 12 inches apart  the lenght of the deck, might be over kill but I can carry darn near anything on my deck and the weight of the deck aids in traction.

Dave

If it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing!

 

[rickeieio]

Before ordering your steel, decide what you're doing as far as singling, and to what length.  Run some numbers for weights and balance.  For instance, single long, and you may overload your axle even with just a trike, when bobtailing.  Single short and you might unload the steer when hitched up.  Leave it tandem and you'd be hard pressed to get out of the safe load ranges.

So, I used 3/16" tread (diamond) plate for the top, and a rear skirt of 3/16" smooth.  Bed is 13' long overall.  Fenders are 1/4" thick and make up nearly half the bed surface.  

[trimster]

Spent some time with a fabricator today. Tossed around some great ideas. I hope to document the process for all here.

Here's where we stand:

- extension on the frame will be 25'ish inches. (the wheelbase is 210). We're allowing for a 57" wide trike and the 60" radius for the trailer. The trike will be loaded via a loader instead of ramps.

- we ARE leaving the rear axles as they are. Tandem tires and both axles.

All the input and thoughts have been really helpful. Big thanks all.

Construction basics (so far):

- Capping the frame rails with hard wood. Wonder if Trex decking would work?

- Using 2"x3" channel on top of that. Tied to the frame with angle iron bolting it down. Kept the commercial hitch mount rails to tie too. Will add front and read connection points as well.

- 2"x2" square tube cross members.

- I hope to make the the center frame deck panels removable .

   That's where we stand.

Bob

[NoDirectionHome]

I engineered my deck.  If you take a second to think, you'll realize the maximum load per tire is very small per square inch.  My deck was designed for a 3k pound vehicle @ 150% safety factor.  It is all 12ga cold rolled steel.  Cross members, deck, sides, fenders, all of it.

[Darryl&Rita]

We used key holes, or banjo holes for tie down points, mid deck. The deck is 1/4" plate, with 6" square doubling plates under the keyholes. You need to loo at load weight and support spacing to decide on deck plate thickness. Sounds like you're well on your way to making some crucial decisions to build out YOUR truck.

[Steve from SoCal]

I would suggest you add a bit to your trike dimension, if you want to use a Smart car down the road you will have the room.   With a tandem truck the bed length can be a bit longer, proportionally the bed looks better and, offers more options.     The idea that weight is not an issue when building a bed is only partly correct, adding too much weight ahead of the axles can overload the front axle.   

Steve

[beemergary]

I used extruded aluminum bleacher seating. Looks great and they cut it to exact length. Its bolted down with clips.

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Two thing to remember from the steel business.

1) When in doubt, make it stout

2) Use the moron theory, if if looks light, add more on.

[mr. cob]

Howdy Bob,

Something to think about, the deck on my Freightliner looked really nice it had cutouts for the rear tires that had very little clearance just enough t get the tires on and off NOT enough to install chains if needed.

I know that many probably most will say you don't need clearance for chains as if you hit bad road conditions just sit it out and wait for better conditions.  That works if you are someplace where you have a safe place to sit it out but what if your in the mountains and it starts to snow or ice up and there is NO safe place to pull over and sit it out. 

I don't drive in nasty conditions unless I have to, if I know a storm is coming I'll wait a few days if nessisary before setting out or continuing a trip, but I cross mountains a LOT and I have hit snow twice while going to the national rally, three times when going to or leaving from Moab and drove over 2,000 miles in snow and ice when I drove my Pete, home from Minnesota when I bought it in the third week of December.  When I built the deck for the Pete, I made sure that I had clearance for chains, I don't want to use them but I have HAD to three times in the last two years.

Dave

[trimster]

Good advice. I'm not planning to skirt the sides of the bed, down around the tires. 

Right now it appears I will have 5" of clearance around the tires with airbags full, running down the road. That should clear the chains with a fudge factor. Unless your experience tells me there should be more. 

Bob

[jenandjon]

My bed came off a dully pickup. Its 3/8 thick. I would go thicker because I get some vibration from my generator. I have to lay some wood blocks in strategic places or it gets pretty loud. But it was free so I deal  with it.

[Star Dreamer]

3 hours ago, trimster said:

Good advice. I'm not planning to skirt the sides of the bed, down around the tires. 

Right now it appears I will have 5" of clearance around the tires with airbags full, running down the road. That should clear the chains with a fudge factor. Unless your experience tells me there should be more. 

Bob

Check your clearance when aired down. I believe Volvo's have 5" of upward travel, Freightliner's 2-1/2" of upward travel. You want to be able to get the tire off the truck if the suspension is all the way down.

[beemergary]

Trimster  Got from National Recreation Products-planks cut to order and bolt on clips was $950.00 shipped from In. to mi. Everything in pic is bolted + trailer hitch/light assembly.

[mr. cob]

7 hours ago, trimster said:

Good advice. I'm not planning to skirt the sides of the bed, down around the tires. 

Right now it appears I will have 5" of clearance around the tires with airbags full, running down the road. That should clear the chains with a fudge factor. Unless your experience tells me there should be more. 

Bob

Howdy Bob,

5 inches will be plenty, the big thing with using chains is to remember to stop and tighten them after you have driven a mile or so, a tight chain is a happy chain just keep the speed DOWN.

Dave

[noteven]

trimster - couple suggestions -  if you ever may travel down hill around a corner or two gripped by gravity on hard pack snow, ice, or mud - when you buy your tire chains order yourself a single to use on one steer tire. Also take a look at the rubber bungee spiders to tension the chains safely.

[noteven]

2 hours ago, beemergary said:

Trimster  Got from National Recreation Products-planks cut to order and bolt on clips was $950.00 shipped from In. to mi. Everything in pic is bolted + trailer hitch/light assembly.

That is a good looking deck Beemergary.