How much time does he have for this project? Is your son one of those kids that can work on something for a semester without getting board and quit on the project? This isn't an easy under taking. Lots of parts to make. If he's up for it, GFI!

 

I'm not sure if the class is a semester or a whole year. I'm thinking a whole year considering the big gooseneck trailers they build.
It will be interesting to see how his focus is on something like this. He works at a livestock sale barn and put in a 19 hour day recently. Although I'm sure there was considerable downtime waiting for the trailer that arrived at 1:30 AM to load 60 cattle. So, he's not afraid to work. I think since he is building this for my truck his interest will be up. He has also talked with another classmate to see how they can work together. He talked about fixing up the other bed I have as well, but I hope to get that pretty much done this summer. We will see. Although, I could have him weld in the crossmembers that are loose and fill holes and repair a crack.

I doubt the school has a brake big enough for Bob's plans, so I might have to go with a simpler plan. Joe's link to the bed rails may be the ticket to keep the external look like the original beds.

 

I thought maybe the rails from pallet racking would work pretty good for building a flat bed. Some have a profile with a lip to hold a wood deck. It comes in long lengths and you can get it relatively cheap from used material sellers.

 

I have a quick update on this.
School has started so this might get off the ground soon. Sam's Ag Construction class is full so the teacher said they won't have a bunch of projects going on at once. They will put a team on the projects and the student who wants the project will be in charge.

I sent Sam and his teacher Bob's drawings as well as mtphammer's plans.
This weekend we discussed it a bit and we had some discussions on the stake pockets. It will be interesting to see what their options are. I think they have a pretty big brake and I showed him some pictures and explained how the side rails on a ford script bed are bent and not pieces welded.

We also discussed how to attach it to the frame. I think they were considering welding the bed to the frame, which I don't want.
I showed him how they used U-bolts and wood directly on the frame rail.

I'm not opposed to steel instead of wood, but is that possible with the crossmember rivets? I would think you would need something that could conform to those rivet heads.

On the wood bed, my old one had tongue and groove with no bed strips. I'm not sure which would be better. Shoot, I don't know if I have the tools or the school does to make an 8' long tongue and groove on the boards.

I figure I will need to take the truck out there so they can plan and fit. I'm excited that this will actually happen. Sam (and I) are hoping that getting the plans together and to the teacher faster will move this project further up the list and get done sooner.

Of course when I sent the plans I told them we need lots of pictures for you guys.

 

Sounds good! Keep them moving on it.

You don't want tongue and groove boards. They will warp and buckle when wet.

 

I have some more news and need some advice. We don't have access to an 8' brake. So, the inner support beams will need to be something else.

I have purchased the pocket rails from http://flemingmetal.com/truck-body-parts/flatbed-truck-pocket-rails. They should be here any day.

So, what to do for the inner support. I see two options.
1. Use C-channel
This might be cleaner and stronger, but getting the correct height to allow the bed wood to be flush with the top of the rail might be difficult.
2. Use angle iron and have two layers. One at the top for the bed wood and one at the bottom for the frame rail.
Now that I think about it, angle iron might be hokey. Thoughts? Other options?

For the frame rails, I was thinking 2X possibly 4 rectangular tubing which would be welded to the inner support rails. Then from there I need to get to the frame. I could use either rectangular tubing or wood. I would use 4 sections one on each side of the hump. I would use u-bolts to fasten the bed to the frame.

So, would metal or wood be better here? If I used metal, Sam could weld the tubing together to make it all one piece and would be a fixed height. If I used wood, the u-bolts would secure the wood in. Wood would allow me more flexibility on the height of the bed.

In the next day or two, we need to submit the material needed and then Sam can get started when the pocket rails arrive.

I would appreciate any advice.

 

As I am putting together parts needed for the project, I got to thinking about what touches the frame.
I'm my last post I pondered between rectangular tubing and wood. I was leaning toward tubing to have one less separate piece, but as I looked at the frame this evening I wondered how the rivet heads would be handled. Could the tubing be beat in so all the weight is not on the rivet heads? Is this why wood is used?

Looking at this drawing (thanks mtphammer). I was thinking for the 2" section on the frame using the tubing and welding it to the full length section above it. Because of the rivets, I question that plan and wonder if wood is the best.

 

What if you checked with some steel companies in your area they may have some ideas of what you need and could use. Remember to let them know it's for your son's school project and they may be able to use their brake to form it for you.

About the rivits how about cutting a hole in the support metal, that would fit over the rivit head, allowing the support to sit ontop of the frame and not touching the rivit head

 

I've pondered that. Tomorrow morning, I think I will be able to go to school and see the side rails and talk to the teacher about the plan. One positive about using wood is that it would be much easier to adjust the height of the bed if I don't like how tall it is. I think it will be about 38" from ground to the bed. I think that sounds about right. I need to stand up next to a few more flatbeds in town to see for sure.

 

I have a question for everyone. I've been looking under every flatbed I can. I was planning on rectangular tubing for the frame rails. But every truck I have looked at uses C channel. Which is better?
I'm thinking C channel might be the way to go now if the other hasn't already been ordered.

 

As far as channel VS tubing, I had a boat trailer made of tube and it rusted out from the inside. Here in AZ!

I had another boat trailer made of channel that never rusted. Something to consider.

 

That was my main concern about tubing. Thanks for sharing your experience. Gotta check with my son to see if they have ordered the parts yet.

 

Well I never finished out this thread. John (56PanelFord) had a couple of questions, so I figured I would add some pictures.
I have a ton and can get a bunch more if anyone needs them. I can also take more measurements.

 

HI Joe,
It looks great! I like how dirty (your?) boy's
hands are in the pic. He looks like he's having fun!

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

Thanks, but that one isn't my son. This kid was the only one in class Sam would trust with welding on the bed.
Here is a picture with my son in it. He is the one in the blue plat button up shirt. In this picture, they were trying to see if they could engage the overload springs.
They almost got there, but the teacher was getting worried about the tires handling the weight. At that time I was keeping the pressure at about 30 psi to soften the ride.


If you zoom in on this picture, you can see they are not quite there. Very close though.