Bed Build Planning

[Pete Kildow]

Buddy of mine that runs his own diesel shop. Even though he has a mag drill. He only uses a pilot hole then reamer. Tells me its faster and less work to set up. He's good at his job. So I'm taking his word at this. Also he had to drill holes a few times per week.

But I'm going to borrow his mag drill. LOL

[rickeieio]

Tried little brother's mag drill.  It's a big old dawg.

Wrestled it up in place, and couldn't get enough of the base on the frame for it to stick.  Go to "plan B"

So, drill 1/4" pilot holes, drill them out to 11/16", then ream to 3/4".  Yes, I know 1/4" is too large, but it allowed the use of 1/4" bolts for alignment pins.

I knew an old gentleman from Kentucky who said: "A poor man has poor man's ways."  If you don't have the right tools, figure out another way.   I have the rear two on each side done, but the front two need to be done from under the frame.

[jenandjon]

On 5/21/2021 at 2:43 PM, Pete Kildow said:

Buddy of mine that runs his own diesel shop. Even though he has a mag drill. He only uses a pilot hole then reamer. Tells me its faster and less work to set up. He's good at his job. So I'm taking his word at this. Also he had to drill holes a few times per week.

But I'm going to borrow his mag drill. LOL

That reamer works very well. But dont use it in a Milwaukee drill. It will shut down on you as soon as you work it too hard. Use a old Dewalt. That baby will be smoking and still running.

[rickeieio]

This old Stanley drill is older than I.  It doesn't grunt, it just wraps you up like a pretzel.  It acts like it has a 30# flywheel.  Feels like it too.  Notice the 3/4" pipe for a handle.  I made sure it went through the ladder rungs.

[alan0043]

13 hours ago, rickeieio said:

This old Stanley drill is older than I.  It doesn't grunt, it just wraps you up like a pretzel.  It acts like it has a 30# flywheel.  Feels like it too.  Notice the 3/4" pipe for a handle.  I made sure it went through the ladder rungs.

Hi Rick,

Sounds like you need to be careful with that drill. You could go for a ride or worse yet, break your wrist. It will be nice to see the finished bed. Keep the pictures coming.

Al

[rickeieio]

Finished frame drilling today.  I had to take the hitch and spacer plates out, re-assemble them so I could scribe the front hole on the plate, drill that with pilot, then bolt the spacer in the frame to drill out the final hole.  I cheated.  I step drilled 7/32, 1/2, and finally 13/16, all with a DeWalt 1/2" drill.  None of my bigger drills would go in the space and leave room for my hands. Frequent stops to let it cool. and rest my digits.  It doesn't like running really slow, but the bits appreciate it.  I could have taken the wheels off and done it from the outside, but my back's been bothering me, so I chose the lesser of evils.

On a bright note, it's funny watching the shop cat walk through the floor dry I have down to catch the oil from drilling, cuz it's mixed with drill shavings.  She's not used to that.

[Darryl&Rita]

20 minutes ago, rickeieio said:

On a bright note, it's funny watching the shop cat walk through the floor dry I have down to catch the oil from drilling, cuz it's mixed with drill shavings.  She's not used to that.

Save that Floor Dry for winter, built-in studded paw traction.

[rickeieio]

I spent the morning taking measurements and drawing out the bed on graph paper.  Then I drew out the individual pieces and cut them out, so I can lay them out on a scale drawing of steel sheets, to see what sizes will be most efficient.  I know, there are programs for that, but it would take longer for me to learn it than to draw/cut/ re-arrange.  Call me a dinosaur......

Now it's time to make some decisions.  Do I slope the rear of the bed, or keep it level all the way back?  Susan says to slope it so "Round Boy" has easier access to the hitch.  But, leaving it flat gives the option of bigger tool boxes.

Which leads to the next question....Where to buy boxes.  I'd like to just buy the doors and latches and build the boxes to size, but am having no luck so far.

[Star Dreamer]

3 hours ago, rickeieio said:

I spent the morning taking measurements and drawing out the bed on graph paper.  Then I drew out the individual pieces and cut them out, so I can lay them out on a scale drawing of steel sheets, to see what sizes will be most efficient.  I know, there are programs for that, but it would take longer for me to learn it than to draw/cut/ re-arrange.  Call me a dinosaur......

Now it's time to make some decisions.  Do I slope the rear of the bed, or keep it level all the way back?  Susan says to slope it so "Round Boy" has easier access to the hitch.  But, leaving it flat gives the option of bigger tool boxes.

Which leads to the next question....Where to buy boxes.  I'd like to just buy the doors and latches and build the boxes to size, but am having no luck so far.

Slope is all about your wants. I sloped ours because I want an easier way to load a vehicle from the rear. The plus of it allows an easier climb up onto the bed.

 

As far as storage boxes go, we made our own so I could get deeper than standard available boxes. We also made our doors, but bought the hinges and latches. Our boxes slide in through the doors and rest on angle support brackets that are tied to the structure of the bed. 

[Av8r3400]

Honestly, I drilled 8 holes in my frame for my fender brackets with my DeWalt 20v drill.  Lots of step-ups in size to the final 1/2" diameter.  The hardest one was the first 1/8" pilot hole.  I used good cobalt drills and lots of cutting oil. 

It really wasn't a big deal.

Edited May 28, 2021 by Av8r3400

[geodog1]

My boxes are all from RKI.

 

ShortyO

[rickeieio]

I got my steel ordered and paid for today. (ouch)  3"x5"x 1/8" tube for floor support and 3/16" plate for the deck, rear facia, and side rails/fenders..  This is NOT intended to support the car or other heavy loads.  That will have it's own "unconventional" support and tie downs.

My formed support structure for the car was ordered yesterday.  All told, I'll have about $3,000 in steel, not counting boxes.

I found a highly regarded tool box maker in northern Indiana,  RC Industries.  We'll see what their bid looks like.  One issue is I want a 22" wide box with a 19 1/2" opening on one box so my ramps will slide in.  That box will get modified so the ramps will go under the frame and rest in angle iron cradles.

[rickeieio]

On 5/28/2021 at 12:20 AM, Star Dreamer said:

We also made our doors, but bought the hinges and latches.

Would you mind sharing where you got the hardware?  I have two compartments that are odd shaped, and very limited on door area.  I need to design around the size of the contents.

[Star Dreamer]

10 hours ago, rickeieio said:

Would you mind sharing where you got the hardware?  I have two compartments that are odd shaped, and very limited on door area.  I need to design around the size of the contents.

I used door latches similar to these, but I bought them thru etrailer but it doesn't look like they carry them now, they have a paddle style. 

https://www.buyersproducts.com/catalog/truck-and-trailer-hardware-14/latches-445/t-handle-latches-610

For hinges, we used stainless steel piano hinges that we ordered from Discount Steel which is now Coremark Metals. They also did the laser cutting of our bed side panels which included the door faces with the mounting holes for the latches in them. I laid out the drawing and sent them the DXF file to make them. 

[GlennWest]

On 5/28/2021 at 3:54 PM, geodog1 said:

My boxes are all from RKI.

 

ShortyO

X2

[rickeieio]

Steel was delivered yesterday.  I have it stacked on a bunch of pallets by the truck for a makeshift cutting table.  I went to a local truck upfitter to see about tool boxes, and they said for the non-standard sizes I want, an outfit called RCIndustries in Elkhart, IN is the best.  Got bids.  Heart stopper time.  $2,800 for 4 boxes, none of them big.  Plus, one needs a 20" door in a 24" box.  They can't do that, need 2 1/2" on each side of door.  And they won't discount for skippng the paint, nor will they ship anything missing one or more sides.  But they say they do custom.......

Sooo, the one box that's the issue doesn't need to be weather tight, as it's just for ramp storage.  If i use the back skirt as a box wall, I can make  compartment with a simple door and no seal.  The other three boxes can be standard sizes for less than half the price quoted.

I have more c-channel ordered, which should be ready late this week.  But I'm leaving for a week of playing on motorbikes in the Smokies with some olde phartes.  No more truck work until late June....

[NTHEWIND]

On 5/15/2021 at 7:20 AM, Av8r3400 said:

Jack moved my hitch back to install the bed on our truck, I believe having it cantilever out of the frame a small amount.

Going to pick her up this week...
 

 

 

 

[NTHEWIND]

very nice build 

[essarebee]

Very nice!

[essarebee]

But gotta say that I don't like the LED lights. It looks cool, but it says "look at me".  I can't stand lights like this.  But each to his own! Nice build.  Thank you for posting pics!

[rickeieio]

After getting prices on custom boxes, I'm going to buy boxes and cut the back out to get the depth I need, and to make a pass-through.  It's about $1,400 cheaper this way.

Work has stopped for now. A motorcycle trip is coming up soon.  Priorities ya know.

[rickeieio]

Well, motorcycle trips and a fab shop that put me on the back burner has held things up.  But I got word today that the critical pieces I need to start the build will be ready tomorrow.

Tool boxes and steel have been taking up space in the shop for over a month.  Cutting, drilling, bolting and welding will commence Saturday.  Pics will follow.

[trimster]

On 6/2/2021 at 7:10 PM, rickeieio said:

... the non-standard sizes I want, an outfit called RCIndustries in Elkhart, IN is the best.  Got bids.  Heart stopper time.  $2,800 for 4 boxes, none of them big.  Plus, one needs a 20" door in a 24" box.   

So my 6 custom boxes (2 storage,  2 ramp, one generator. One tool storage with rollout drawers) were $3300 installed.

Not cheap, but it was a demanding build for him.

Edited July 9, 2021 by trimster

[rickeieio]

Finally, the pieces I've been waiting for:

Spent some time measuring and double checking figures:

So, I spent some time today cutting and grinding these, to be welded tomorrow:

This little feller got a workout:

 

[rickeieio]

Got in a little welding, and a lot of grinding.  A welder, I'm not......

This sucker is heavy.  Right at 90#.  Lugged it to where it goes:

Fortunately, my redneck a/c was working:

Tomorrow I'll make the hdpe slipper buttons so things will slide nice and smooth.

So David, do ya think it's "stout" enough?