8' flatbed on short bed

[Mactruck]

Has anyone tried doing this? Can this be done, or is this a dumb question? Could put something on in any size you want?

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Kevin MacGranor
2001. 5 D2500 QC SLT 4X4,Auto 295/75r16 BFG AT's, Century Cap, Bedrug. , Alpine Head & Amps w/ Boston Acoustic speakers & JL Audio Stealthbox center cushion Sub.

 

[Whitmore]

Kevin,better than 50% the rams around her have after market flatbeds installed on them,they all look great and perform well for a ranch style truck,they are alot stronger,you have to put a trap door in to get to your ball if its mounted on the frame,there are dealers all around that will do the exchange for you,I always wondered if one could order a truck with out a box on it ,I do know you can do that on the 3500 but dont know on the 2500

 

[illflem]

I know it can be done,but wouldn't the rear wheels be too far forward,and the last two feet of the bed be hanging in space?It seems like you would have to pay more attention to loads that placed more weight to the rear of the wheels in order to keep the front tires on the ground which wouldn't be to hard to with a flat bed though.

 

[CrewCabDiesel]

My first crew cab was a short box W350 NON Duallie 4X4 with a 8X8 flat bed on it. The rig looked & worked nice until it was hit head on by a K-car at 50mph(I did drive it for a couple months afterwards until I got my current Crew Cab), but you will need some heavy duty springs on the rear with over load springs as well.

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1985 DODGE 1 ton Crew Cab(imported from California with no rust) W/8' box converted to 4X4 in 1999. Converted to a non-intercooled 1991 Cummins Turbo diesel & rebuilt 5 speed Getrag in 2000(wife can't drive a stick . Freshly rebuilt and Balanced Cummins, Rebuilt NP205, Rebuilt Injector pump and tweaked, Matched Injectors, 3" New Mandrel Bent Exhaust,no muffler, Borgeson Steering Shaft, K&N Air Filter, 4:10 gears, limited slip rear end, 16" Goodyear GSA Wranglers and LE Package and a Sony CD Stereo. Next add-on some “Banks” toys ! If you want to know why I did all of this, 2 kids, one on the way and I can't stand Ford and Chevy. Kyle Hoover ,Fruitport, MI.

 

[David Muench]

Originally posted by Whitmore:
I always wondered if one could order a truck with out a box on it ,I do know you can do that on the 3500 but dont know on the 2500

You can get a 2500 chassis cab as well. No quad cab though, only regular. I chose a 3500 163" wheelbase chassis cab over a normal 3500 quad cab because I really didn't need the extra cab space, and the frame is gigantic (12" center section) on the chassis cab models. I still can't get over how tall it is. I've got a wooden weight box and tool box on the back now until I put a flatbed on it this summer.

 

[MikeJ]

Mactruck
I'm sure you could get an 8' bed on a shortbed truck if you wanted to. The normal bed installed on a extended cab long wheelbase truck is 9' and the normal bed instgalled on a long wheelbase cab and chassis is 11' or 12'. I have a extended cab 3500 with a 10' bed installed. I do have some overhang behind the rear wheels and since I haul heavy oilfield loads, I do have to pay attention to where I place the weight. I got the longer bed because I don't pull a trailer and wanted the most bed space I could get. I've hauled 3000 lbs on the very back of the bed with no problems so it would take a lot to really affect anything. As far as the trapdoor for the gooseneck ball, I have mine in the same spot that they use with the 9' beds. I can pull a gooseneck trailer if it has a longer neck like most of these oilfield goosenecks here in Tx. There's about 3 or 4 inch clearance between the bed and the trailer while turning even crossing ditches, etc so it works ok.
I would assume you would have the same things to think about installing a 8' on a shortbed.
The only time I had any problems utilizing all the bed and overhang was when I loaded a 14' x 5' oilfield rack weighing 6000 lbs. I put the heaviest end toward the truck, but I still think I unloaded the front end by about 2000 lbs because the steering seemed a lot easier.

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1997 3500 club cab, 10' flatbed, 3:54, auto, 4 Firestone air bags, 307,000+ miles

 

[Mactruck]

Actually looking to install a flatbed for a sander. My present work truck has an 8' bed and the sander would overhang my shorter bed on my CTD truck so im not looking to do it soon because I'm intending to use the CTD now as a daily driver (and BOMBing toy) and in 8 - 10 years i would turn it into my work truck and get a new CTD as a daily driver. Ah yes the never ending circle #ad


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Kevin MacGranor
2001. 5 D2500 QC SLT 4X4,Auto 295/75r16 BFG AT's, Century Cap, Bedrug. , Alpine Head & Amps w/ Boston Acoustic speakers & JL Audio Stealthbox center cushion Sub.