Hello,
Its been a long time since I have posted here but im getting the itch to finally get my truck out and drive it. Spring seems to be here, even though it was snowing hard yesterday, but I think its time to pull my f-350 out. I didnt accomplish much this winter due to the cold and constant snow fall, but I have a new Idea and would like some opinions. As some of you might remember I was looking for ideas for a new dumpbox or possibly finding a ford script box. Well after alot of searches and calls I struck out and wasnt succsessful in finding a good dump body. I am a little short on money and my old dump box is completely garbage, so I was thinkin about possibly creating it out of wood? I feel like this might be a cheezy look but at the same time I feel like if I do it right it might look really nice. Has anyone done this, or seen one? I am not talking about making it out of 2x4s and plywood, I was thinking heavy contruction timber for the frame, cedar boards for the bottom, and possibly oak for the rails?? I know things dont dump as well with wood but Right now I am not planning on doing a frame off resto, so I dont want to spend a ton on a metal one. My overall plan is to build a new box, and get it painted this fall since it is mechanically in excelent shape and is 100% original. Sorry if This is to long But what are your Guys Thoughts???

 

My first thought is all wood will twist to much if you have a heavy load, and to get a good enough wood structure your talking some thick wood posts I would think.

Do you or someone you know have any welding skills?

I would suggest making a metal frame and using wood for the floor and sides. Use some square tubing for the sides, an l-channel on front and rear, with a few flat bars spaced evenly between to support the wood floor.

This site will give you some ballpark prices on the metal, I'm sure there is a local shop somewhere around you that you can purchase at to save shipping.

A quick look at the site I found you can do it for under $300 for the metal, maybe add another $100 for some treated lumber for the floor, and your set.

http://www.metalsdepot.com/

 

well that was my original thought, to frame it in metal and then use wood for the floor and sides. I am a pretty good welder(good enough for this task) but my welder that I have isnt good enough for this job, it is just a little mig. I actually thought the same thing about the strength, but I would think it would be fine if I used 4x4s for the cross members. I would still be using C-channel for the sub frame(for lack of a better term). Anyone else??

 

I would make an express bed for it to match the wheel base. Use sheet steel shaped to look like a stock express bed built to the wheel base of your truck. Than put factory fenders on it. Even the spare tire rack. And hook up the dump to that. Or is there a factory express bed already out there for the F3?

 

I just looked at your pics in your album. Can parts of your old bed be salvaged and used? Is the metal frame good enough. On my 70 F350 the previous owner used 4x4's for cross pieces since the original metal cross pieces had rusted out. The outer frame is still good.

Is your bed a Ford script bed? I might be worth saving it or at least using the rear part or it.

 

I agree with the others, try to make something out of steel. Wood, while beautiful, will dry out, twist, deform. Therefore it stinks for using it for a outer perimeter but for a few areas it works fine. Here is a flatbed I built for my F250. It works and didn't break the bank. For ideas look at how dump box trailers are built and adapt them to your truck chassis. I used pressure treated 2x6 for my base, bolted and construction adhesived them together (once the wood was completely dry) and cut them out to match the frame shape. I built up from there.

Here is my impression of a Ford Scriptbed:




THE PIC BELOW IS NOT MINE, Just showing for reference:

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