Ok, so I have always wanted a pickup bed trailer. I want to use it for camping with my CJ5 and my Scouts. I want to outfit it with a camper shell and canoe rack for deep woods/desert exploration. I was wondering if anyone has built anything like this for themselves.

I am wondering how heavy a trailer built out of a 70's ford would weigh. Obviously pulling a heavy trailer up loose, steep hills with a lightweight 4x4 will not be fun. My Scouts have a decent wheelbase and great V8 engines for towing and the Jeep has an inline 6 with a granny gear, so as long as they can stop safely I will be able to pull along just fine as long as the trailer isn't too heavy for the Jeep(nothing is too heavy for an IH V8 to pull) or the road isn't too rough.

What would the weight difference between the F150, F250 and F350 rear half?

I would like to have the 5"x5.5" wheel pattern as it matches my 4x4s and I could have 2 spares for each instead of one for each.

I know about what I am looking for and what I want to do, just wanted to see some pickup bed trailers and hear some advice.

 

I dont know why you would wanna start with a dent, since beds for dents are much harder to find in good shape, and much more expensive when found, than for the newer F150's. And the newer trucks share the bolt pattern, but if youre only using it for a trailer I dont' see why that woudl even matter since swapping rear axles is so easy.

The bed itself I think weighs around 400 lbs. The frame I'm not sure but I'd guess for an F250/350 with the thicker frame the rear section would weigh at least 200-300 lbs. The F150 probably a little less. But when you think about that, youre at maybe 800 lbs before you consider the axle (250 lbs at least) and the tongue.

Compare that to a 5x10 utility trailer I built a few years ago with a proper trailer axle (easy to lube and service, cheap tires, etc), angle iron frame (easy to repair/modify) and ramps (easier to load stuff into) that weighs 550 lbs...

 

Aye if you can weld you can build. I have found truck trailers are good when you have a hunk o junk that aint worth the weeds it's hiding under and you need a trailer. Not to build fo serious use.

However if you are going to do this just remembe this little nugget I have assumed to be true except it's probably wrong and that is the olde it is the more real metal it has the mre metal it has the heavier it is and the heavier it is the more beer it takes to move. (The last bit is more for moving couches with friends)

 

I don't know why I would use anything else. 1.) I want it to match my F250. 2.) They are CHEAP. 3.) They are everywhere here. 4.) They are almost always rust free. 5.) They are very durable. 6.) Newer beds are either as expensive or more expensive where I am, poorly built and ugly.

I could keep going with reasons for using a dent but that seems excessive since the fact that it will match my truck should be enough. Because even if it were hard to find and expensive I would still want to do it this way. I have some very rare vehicles that I found in good condition for good prices, being patient and having a knack for finding things was key. I certainly wouldn't have found anything if I had just said it was too hard from the beginning. I don't know where you live but it sounds like hell for old trucks. Here in AZ we've got tons of old rust-free trucks sitting around for the picking. Dents sure aren't hard to find in good shape and they are never expensive. I see them all over town and tons in every junkyard I go to. I am even thinking of doing this with a bumpside because it seems like I am finding tons of good ones in great shape for even cheaper. But it wont match my truck if I do that.

Sure I could swap the axles but I wont, not on this project. I just wonder what the weight capacity difference is between the Ford 9" and the D60. I am leaning towards the 9" though, I bet it will haul plenty and it will match my wheel pattern and it is much lighter than the D60. In that case a F150 would be the best to look for.

Also, I am probably going to build it myself, maybe out of a truck from a wreck or junkyard. I have a Miller211 and can easily fab up whatever I want so that opens up a lot more options than if I had to find one already put together.

I am thinking it will be over 1000lbs, maybe pushing 1500lbs by the time I have all the gear in it with a camper shell, which is cool for easy dirt roads and such but might be a bit overwhelming/impossible to pull through a tight rock crawl. Maybe a 6 foot bed would be better for me than an 8 footer. Although at over 6' tall I am not sure I could sleep in it.

Do they make camper shells for 6 foot beds? Or more importantly, did they back in the day? I don't want to have to pay big $$ for a new one.

Trying to get this all put together and on the road for under $500.

 

From the accidental extra thread I had:


The trailer won't be real heavy, maybe in the territory of 500-750# or so. The way I generally make box trailers is to keep the tongue as long as possible, that way they trail better, and you can also have a tool box on the front of the box. I cut the frame at the point the frame starts coming back up to go over the front axle. With the Ford frames, I notch right in front of the frame member for the rear cab mounts. Then you can pull the frame rails together to meet at the hitch. I prefer to run a square tube to the frame where it hasn't been cut, then use that for mounting the ball hitch to.Weld plates over the notches for strength, and you are good to go. I personally prefer full float axles, as they don't require the pumpkin to be there. If you run with a semi-float, like a 1/2 ton axle, you have to be sure to keep oil in it, because if it seizes, you can't move it

 

I have always wanted a "bed trailer" to match my dentside. You can throw a contractors cap on it for utility use and a safe portable place for tools or use it for camping. I would love two just for that reason. It also has a spare axle under it that aint rotting away in my back yard. You can use a 1/2 ton back half and take the center section and axles out of the 9 to save on weight since its a semi float axle. i like the idea of them because you can take a truck bed trailer in areas where a low flat bed trailer wont go. You can also throw a flatbed on it with stake sides. i see it being a great versatile and affordable options compared to a flat if you dont need the deck space. As for weight, all i know is my 79 f150 reg cab long bed with a 300/sm435/205/9" and it scales almost 5k.

 

I made one and painted it to match my 75 SC when I had it. Rear end and frame off a 64 1/2 ton, bed from a 75 short. Used tail lites and markers. Thing I didn't like was not as much tongue weight as I would like. Mounting the spare up front helped. Towed real nice, had it down to VA and back several times. Had an 8' cap on it for a while, that looked weird. Made a cover plate and removed the pinon gear. Weight was about 950 lbs licensed in NY as a 78 homemade. If it was a thousand or more I would have had to put on brakes. If you are going to put a camper on, you would want to go for surge brakes anyway. Have fun.

 

I had one of these once, that a friend had built. The problem with the bed trailers is axle placement, too centered in the bed, making them less safe. If I were to make one out of a dent now, I would try and start with a SCS bed/frame. Axle will be further back and will handle much better. Plus somewhere to keep the spare.

 

Just found this, there is a bump towing a dent too:
Flickr: The Pickup Bed Trailer Pool

 

Man, I hadn't even thought of finding a SCS. That would be so cool. I wouldn't want to cut up a nice SCS though, I gotta keep an eye out for a clunker! Great idea!

And when I say camper shell I mean, a shell or topper as they are called. Funny looking but functional. The tongue weight has me thinking. Since I will be carrying a lot of gear, maybe I should build a long tongue(good for tight trails also), then attach a large toolbox on the tongue in front of the bed and mount the spare up there too. Then I could fill the toolbox up with recovery gear, tools, shovels, hi-lift, etc to weigh down the tongue. Also, since it will be a camping trailer, I guess I can try to keep it light, say less than 1000lbs. All that has to be in it is food, water, a bed, etc with a canoe on top.

Still, A SCS rear would be the best. Man that would look cool color matched to my truck. Mine is a Camper Special, so a SCS would be a really good addition to it. I love that idea. I think I might have to just wait until I find one. Rockstone, you just turned a simple trailer build into a 3 year search for the right starting point. And now if I build a normal one I will always wish I had held out for a SCS.

 

wish I could find one here, WA won't register new ones, but if they were registered before the "ban" they were grandfathered in

 

That link that Russ sent in reminds me that there is a guy running around here with a trailer made from a mini-van back end. Messing around once, I made one from a 1970 Falcon wagon. Sort of a Ranchero, cut the top off and left the rear seat in. Could put the seat back up and take people for a ride.

 

Hmm, I wonder if that is why you never see new ones built out of newer trucks...I wonder if AZ has that issue too. I might have to get an old one and rebuild it.

 

idk I built my own trailer here in WV and had no problems registering it. I don't know what ban you guys have exactly but it seems like you could build around it. I think home built trailers are legal in all 50 states... no? If not come to WV with the paperwork and get a title here then transfer it.