When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
so when replacing my C channel last time,i noticed the worst places that were rotted out,were right over the rear wheels.naturally as this is where all that road salt mess really gets thrown up and sticks to the C-channel's lips and in huge massive chunks too i might add.
what a bear at keeping that all cleaned off last year.
so now,not only did i POR-15 all the C-channel,and the whole underside frame work of the dump body and mounts,ram etc.but i added aluminized sheets above each side of the dually wheels to avoid the majority of that road sand/salt mess from even getting up and sticking in the C-channel in the first place.
this should be much more manageable to keep clean this coming winter,and really help the underside of my dump framework last much,much longer.
these were pretty pricey at the local hardware store,about $25 each.so $50.
but what they'll be doing come snow plow season,will be worth their weight in gold,and they should last for a long time.
oh man,what a difference these make.
if you have a flatbed like this and run it in the winter on crappy roads,do yourself a favor and copy this.it's just the ticket!
if you want to use something less expensive,do it.anything at all,even sheets of plywood that you can just replace the following year (not sure if they'd make it all winter though?) anything to keep that crap out of them channels.this stuff is super easy to scrape or wash off saving so much time.but some standard sheet metal would work just fine and likely last a few years too.especially if you kept repainting it every spring.save your bed from expensive repair!
Lowes sells 4X8 sheets of FRP for $35. That stuff is stong and will last forever.
Thats a great idea too! For those who aren't sure what FRP is, its Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic. Very common is commercial bathrooms and kitchens. Meant to be hosed off when dirty. Also comes in at least 2 colors.
The only thing I'm not sure of, is if it gets brittle when cold? Perhaps you'd just need to use some fender washers to give it a bit more support.
latest update;
quad underbody toolboxes.
just put my final box on last night.just can't seem to ever have enough places for gear and tools.the more boxes,the less unloading/reloading stuff when dumping loads.
the rear boxes.this is interesting;
dee zee makes the front boxes nice and deep.but their shorter boxes are not as deep! that bugged me.i wanted all the depth i could get.then i found a site that has dee zee custom make their boxes.you can see they have 'em put their own logo on 'em.so anyway,i ended up with same nice deep boxes front and rear since i have plenty of room under the 8' wide dump bed.
the rear boxes dump with the bed though,since there isn't any room for brackets.the rear springs are directly in the way.doesn't bother me though.just happy to have more space.
now maybe one of these days,i'll finally ditch that rear bumper for a piece of C-channel or something so it fits the dump bed.
no messing around with mounting them either.i cut up some angle bracket laying around for real support.so no worry about loading 'em up.ok so i did get carried away using grade 8 hardware,but it was cheap insurance.used it with all boxes.
well the old dump pump finally went.iv no idea how many times she dumped over the years,nor even how old the thing was.dumped almost daily,often several times daily too.
but she stopped on her way down at the last job,so had to replace her.i went with another just like it,only this time with a poly tank.did a little researching and the poly is was to be better against condensation than the old steel reservoirs.the trans fluid doesn't get warm enough and you could see it get milky.i kept it flushed good,but i dunno.hopefully the poly does cut down on some of it.
another power up and power down unit.the power down holds the hoist.without the pressure it bounces up and down and smacks the rear axle.
just like after replacing a starter you know,she just sounds so much more powerful and fresh again.
hmm.don't have the latest pics of the truck in this thread either.she's been fixed up over the last few years for those who haven't seen yet.this is her after some much needed body work (i kept its ugly fairly hidden with bondo and paint prior) and a fresh coat of BRG metallic.
the old gal is nearing the big 100k mile mark!........and she'll be turning 20 yrs young right around the same time actually lol.
oh you had to bring back the fun memories of jacking the heavy thing up didn't ya.thanks phy.
yes.then i got wise.at my parents house is a large bank.i backed up to that,and had my father pull a rope with his truck from up on the bank,which i wrapped around the front of my bed of course.unhooked the ram lines,and had him drive forward.the bed lifted and i propped it up with the safety lever.swapped out the pump,and back in action.
sadly,i confuses to frigging around with jacking and blocking for about 2 hrs before wising up and figuring out a better solution lmao.
Oh, sounds like way too much fun... Well, with a new power unit you shouldn't have to do that again for a long time.
I saw one guys' rig where he plumbed a manual lever pump, like on a porta-power, into his system. He could close one valve, open 2 other valves, then manually pump the bed up.
going over her a little bit again to keep her in tip top shape.
Originally Posted by FORDF250HDXLT
well that was effortless.it looked worse than it was.i just picked up the cleaner and prep por stuff and did that last night.i thought about getting a quart so it would be enough to fill up my spray gun one time.im glad i didn't and just got a pint and used a brush to touch up because i only used half a pint.
the bad places that the salt/calcium started eating up after two Maine winters was mostly right around the wheels of course where everything gets flung and sticks in large 6-8" thick chunks at times of course.
the underside of the cab all looks great still.didn't need to touch any of this.
so here it is touched up and im now ready to mask off my dump hoist res and toolboxes and spray on the tri coat etching primer.
looking at that primer can,i see i need to wait 24 hrs for it to dry.holy crap never seen primer take so long.but oh well.no rain tomorrow either so it's all good.
dump bed got a fresh coat of the tractor enamel already as well as the chipper while i had the gun out.
i'll take another snap latter once everything under the dump is all primed for my tractor enamel.then tomorrow i'll put on a crap ton of coats of the tractor enamel and post those pics.i got a whole new gallon as i put on two thick coats on the upper dump and chipper which took a whole gallon.so i can just go crazy if i want and just keep shooting the whole gallon up under here if i see fit cus this is where she takes all the winter abuse.
she's too nice of a truck not to keep up on now.got to keep her solid.paint sure is a lot cheaper than rust repair.
and she's back to looking like she's supposed to under there again.
she took one quart under there today.i used another quart on the half roof and the inside walls of the bed to freshen her all right up.so now iv got a half gallon left.
the paint says to wait 24 hrs between coats.so i'll toss another good coat on tomorrow (3rd quart.) then i'll throw a 3rd coat (last quart) on her Sunday too and use the gallon right up.no such thing as too many coats under the bed and around them wheels where all the road slush/ice packs up in the winter.
should be good for a couple more years again after this.that's the thing,just keep up with it.let that calcium eat some paint instead of metal.if this tractor enamel doesn't hold up good i'll try some marine boat paint next.
is that the deck Roger? what did that weigh?
my light budget poplar deck is holding up great.i opted to leave it uncured since it's up where it can just dry right out.looks just like it did when i put it down so far.haven't snapped off one bolt either.
here is 2nd top coat that i hit around noon yesterday.just snapped the pics.though it looks wet its just super glossy enamel.she'll dull down soon enough.so a few more hours i'll shoot her final coat on to use up the rest of the paint.then i'll unmask and snap some final pics.last winter i started to lose my aluminumized sheet on one side because i foolishly didn't use fender washers.what was i thinking? silly mistake.so i got some stainless fender washers and started to see if the self tappers would unscrew.i was shocked most did! some broke off of course so i'v got to re drill and self tap like 4-5 of them.nothing too serious.
this is the paint im top coating my por-15 with this time for those curious:
Valspar Tractor & Implement Enamel. http://www.valsparpaint.com/en/find-...nt-enamel.html
you mix with mineral spirits to brush on,or naptha like im using,to spray it.
iv read (i didn't look) that tractor supply no longer carries it.i picked mine up at car quest.
New sides,back and new metal deck put down this winter.
Couple plywood scabs in there.Not quite time to replace them.Can get another season out of them like this.Still look ok from the outside,so.
I think I'm gunna keep eyes open for free/cheap plastic bed liners.Cut out 8' sheets from 3 of those.A font and the 2 sides.Lighter,they wont keep rotten out and I won't need to keep painting them black.I think they'll be just the ticket.
New solid metal deck.Now it's like my F450's.That wood deck lasted all these years though,so hey.Can't complain.This is nicer though for sure.
You can see my frame repair I needed a few years back.They cracked right up here!Welded and fishplated.Stronger than she was now.Been great ever since.She split apart on both sides! I work her like an F450.No fault of the trucks lol.
Notice my aux overload pack? I have these setup to take the load instantly.They hold the truck right here (and help that D50 stay in alignment and not eat tires! Works awesome!) I can toss 2-3 ton on and she just sits there and takes it............However,I suspect this is why it stressed the frame here on both sides of the truck though,but matters not anymore beefed up like this.
Some new thin sheets up over the wheelwells.These are vital for keeping road slush/salt snow from sticking up inside your c-channels and rotten them out,for anyone who runs their rig with the flatbed in the winter.Very helpful!
Yeah,nothing too serious.I'll have her back together after coffee break in no time.Just replacing a front wheel u-joint.Those duralast u-joints I'm finding are holding up just as good as the spicer and moogs I keep replacing in the rear and front drive shafts fyi.Here I am replacing just my second duralast (red rubber seals with the grease fittings) since '09! I can live with that.I do keep her greased up regularly and these don't take the pounding I put on the shafts either so.The other side is fine so I'm running 'er.I've replaced the wheel bearings,(back around '09 too) however I see the axle bearings in the spindle are gone,so I just put a new one in while at it.Re-packed the bearings and about ready to go back together.U-joint and axle is back in.
For the bed,I still need to ditch that rear pickup bumper lol.Replace it with a pipe or two and or just a thick C-channel and paint it black will look good.The rear dump hinge is getting thin on both sides too.Need those replaced before they break off.Likely do this something this season.I think they'll be fine for another year or two but not gunna risk it.I don't want nothing to happen when dumping a load.Get 'em replaced before I risk breaking something worse.Other than that,she's ready for some more work.
Let's see.Mostly old pics in this thread now.A more current one of the truck from a couple years ago.Basically looks the same as this,though with nurf bars gone and replaced with old school running boards.I'll have to update my pics of her.(oh yeah,even this one is still 3 years old this month.)
Man,this old truck sure has been good to me.She still has a lot of life in her too at just around 150k miles or so now.Her cab floor has a few small rust holes and might be getting a bit soft here and there but I bet I've got 5 more years before I even have to have those replaced yet.At some point,I really do need to start thinking about upgrading her to a F450 as well.Starting with another IDI, 9th gen F-Superduty/F450 platform and a proper 4wd convert using more modern F450/550 axles and such.....at some point.This bed will be extended out to 12' at that time and set on the F450.For now,this old gal is still treating me good.As for my current F450/log truck,I really,can't put off body work and paint for that so I'll be updating that truck at some point this summer too with a new paint job.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalytic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
