my latest project: Underbed Tool Boxes

[FORDF250HDXLT]

my latest project: Underbed Tool Boxes. recently ordered one of these and it came today. after work i held it up via a jack as you can see and threw a little of my climbing gear in it.man this is going to be nice! i went with the deezee aluminum ones for looks and no worries about them rusting out.they are also 2" deeper than other 36" length boxes. i'll have one on each side and they will be mounted via the brackets to the frame,so when i dump the boxes will stay. the other one (latter on) will be used for my chain saws. so,for this one (im starting with the easy side - no fuel filler -) the front bracket will be a simple drill/bolt on deal.the rear bracket will be directly in front of the spring hanger,so i'll need to bring a angle iron out for the bracket to bolt(or have welded) to. as i now see,gone is my idea of having my exhaust exit here.so i'll have to run it out back i guess after all. more wind drag to hurt fuel economy yet even more lol.if i keep this up,i'll be down around 11 mpg soon. having the right setup for a more efficient work day though can't be beat.

[powerstroker100]

looks nice f250, starting to look like my truck haha

[FORDF250HDXLT]

thanks! yeah iv been envious of yours ever since i saw it.
in fact,i was going to go with poly boxes,but your rig made me change my mind,and just save up some more $ to get the nice ones,after all,they'll outlast the truck and go on the next one.
man,its gunna be slick to just be able to swing the gates open,and simply hit the button with no need to keep unloading/loading back up tools and gear.

i think i'll want a little one for gas and bar oil latter on so i wont even have to mess with loading/unloading those too.that might take a little reconfiguring of a mud flap.

[poocher pup]

looks good, i would look into a way to have a shelf to seperate stuff better and keep it from wanting to fall out if just all pilled on top of each other.

[WarOzz]

Looking good! You will love the DeeZee box, the one I got in the back of my truck is DeeZee and so far it's been the best toolbox I have owned. It latches easily, holds a lot of weight and looks damn good doing it

[Coalroller]

wow ford250 youve got yourself a good lookin, hard workin rig!

[Dave Sponaugle]

I hope you are frame mounting those, quite a mess when you open the lid of a bed mounted box after a dump cycle or two.

I used a 2" x 4" channel to mount mine on.
The one on the front was standing vertical, welded to the front of the dump subframe.
The rear on was laying flat between the subframe and truck frame, fit fine with a little fine tuning of the channel height with a grinder.

You can see the front channel here, also doubles as a mounting place for my stacks.



You can sorta see the rear one here, it also doubles as a monting location for the front tank filler spout on the drivers side.



This shows the channels before a tool box was installed on the passenger side.



Most people flip out when they see me dump, they expect the tool boxes to go up with the bed.

[FORDF250HDXLT]

yeah Dave,im for sure mounting them to the frame.
man how easy it would be to just hook them to the bed though.
ahh well,anything worth doing,usually isn't easy lol.
that C-channel by your tire is just the ticket! thanks Dave.
so what i can do,is use the two deezee brackets i got for for each front,and i'll copy your setup for the rear,and i'll just buy the box without the brackets next time.slick.
i also like this,as that takes care of one tank filler spout bracket at the same time too.maybe i'll start with this side and take care of two birds with one stone,right now.

[Dave Sponaugle]

You can't tell by the pictures, but both channels go through to the other side to mount the boxes over there on.

Plus I needed a place to mount my stacks.

Took a little figuring to get everything to work out right, but worth it in the end.

Hanging a box under a dump bed sure does make a mess of everything inside when you dump.

So it works out to a little more work now, or a lot more work spread out over a very long time if you mount them to the bed.

[FORDF250HDXLT]

Dave,i was gunna ask if that rear channel runs the whole length.
that's what i was just checking to see if i could do.i can't go across with mine because my ram would hit it.
this makes it tricky as i'll have to figure a way to mount it only on the lip of each frame rail.dang! i guess it would be ok as long as i have it welded? i can't image two bolts being enough or would it? man that sucks.if i could have a full length all the way it would just take a bolt in each channel to the frame and be strong.
does your ram rest on it or does it clear when it comes down?

also,do i see you used a strap running parallel down the box,connected to each channel?
i was thinking of doing that while i was rigging up the front deezee bracket.especially being light aluminum,so the box doesn't start sagging in the middle over time due to the weight of my chain saws.

man,i can fit 4 chain saws in there with ease! i see now,im going to rig up a top self in there for this box to hold spare chains/screnches/pulp hooks,etc.

where can i find fuel filler hose so i can extend this around the box and up in the air a little so i wont have to lift the bed to fuel up?





i didn't build a frame like you did running down the length since i don't haul rock etc like you,and i wanted to keep the bed as low as possible.that channel alone would hold the channel coming out nicely.
maybe im over worrying,and a couple bolts would be fine.but dang,the frame rail isn't all that wide ya know.
maybe i'll need a angle bracket from just above the springs,up and out as far as possible going out.but id have to have that welded to though.
i think its going to cost me some $ to have a few things welded up per box.

[greywynd]

F250, it looks like a bracket/plate there where your cylinder mounts, can you weld a bracket onto that? Just in front of the spring hangar on the top edge of the frame rail.

[FORDF250HDXLT]

well,i don't have a welder,nor the know how on using one.
im sure i can just take it up where i had my bed repaired/installed and they could fab it all up.it's just i was hoping to be able to drill & bolt install to keep cost down,as these suckers are kinda pricey to start with is all.

[powerstroker100]

Originally Posted by FORDF250HDXLT

thanks! yeah iv been envious of yours ever since i saw it.
in fact,i was going to go with poly boxes,but your rig made me change my mind,and just save up some more $ to get the nice ones,after all,they'll outlast the truck and go on the next one.
man,its gunna be slick to just be able to swing the gates open,and simply hit the button with no need to keep unloading/loading back up tools and gear.

i think i'll want a little one for gas and bar oil latter on so i wont even have to mess with loading/unloading those too.that might take a little reconfiguring of a mud flap.

I myself hate polyurethane boxes but thats just my opinion, my grandpa thinks I'm nuts because he had poly boxes on all his mason trucks and says even with all the brick and block smashing into them they never busted, he would just smack them back into form lol

[Dave Sponaugle]

Those rails were part of the dump package.
And yes they raise my cylinder and bed 4" higher than your sits.
So no cylinder clearance issues at all.

Other than the sub frame your hoist an cylinder look just like mine.

Rugby hoist, mines rated at 14,000 pounds.

[FORDF250HDXLT]

cool! i figured that monster must be rated around 5-7 tons.
sure is nice always knowing,no matter what you put on her,when you hit the button she's reaching for the sky.

well i got one on!
sorry its dark.i literally just got done lol.
check this out: