ball in the bed

[jgrissom]

i'm looking for ideas for a homemade ball in the bed that is removable. is their anyone out there who can help?

 

[wyosteve]

I'm not sure if I know exactly what you mean, but if you're referring to a gooseneck ball hitch set up, there are several available that either remove completely or flip over to allow the bed to be flat again. I have a local shop install mine and it just spins out in about 10 secs.

 

[jgrissom]

sorry about that, yes it's for a gooseneck, i'm not looking for a manufactured turn-over or a flip ball. my buddy and i are good at welding and was wanting some ideas for the cross plate and a way to attach it to the frame

 

[maint.man]

jgrissom ,I put mine in with 2'' heavy wall tube . It filled the space between the bed and frameand the plate is welded directly to the tube , but for your app. it could be tapped and bolted . Just make sure that the space in between the bed and frame is filled , otherwise the bed will suffer the consequinces . As you might have guessed there are several ways to do it , this is just the way I did. Good luck ,

Brent

 

[RAPID RICK]

Frames are heat treated and if you weld to them you are taking a chance on the frame cracking. At the very least you are taking a gamble that DC will void the warranty on the frame & any damage that may be caused as a result of it cracking. Rick

 

[RustyJC]

You might take a look at http://www.turnoverball.com to see B&W's hidden gooseneck hitch. If you're going to copy something, this would be a good design to go by.



Rusty

 

[wyosteve]

JGrissom-- ok, now I understand. The shop that did mine uses a 6"wide piece of "C" channel iron, welded to the top of the frame on both sides with strengthening/support straps from the inside of the C channel angled down to the frame and welded again. Hole is drilled and tapped in center. Ball is welded to a plate with a ring for safety chains. Ball and plate then screws into the hole and unscrews in about 2 mins. I've read what people say about welding to the frame, but this is my 6th or 7th truck with the same setup and I've never had a problem. My loads usually run 10-15k. Hope this helps.

 

[tmpenner]

I took a piece of 7" channel iron the width of the frame, drilled a hole in the middle the size of the shank on the ball. Next I welded the nut to the underside of the channel iron. I laid the channel iron on the frame of the pickup on top of a pair of heavy 4" angle iron about 10" long laid lenghtwise on the outside of the frame. These were drilled four bolt holes two per side. Squared up, clamped and welded the angles to the channel. I took a piece of 3/8" flat iron slightly wider than the width of the channel iron and long enough to fit between the angle irons, laid it on the bottom of the channel iron, took a measurement of the distance between the bottom of the nut on the channel and the bottom of the flat iron and found a heavy bushing(like a heavy walled pipe) that I welded to the nut, passed through a hole I drilled in the flat plate, squared up the plate, welded it to the channel iron along the sides, angle irons on the ends, and then welded the bushing to the bottom of the flat plate. Drilled the frame for the bolts and installed the plate. It give you a ball that can be turned out leaving the bed clear with a hole that goes through to let the dirt out or you can cover it. It has worked well for me. Cost about $50 to make.

Disclaimer:

This design has not been professionally strength tested. Writer takes no responsibility or liability for design or use thereof.

 

[WYD]

I used a B&W Square shanked ball about $35 and some 3/8" x 2" angle and some heavyweight 5" channel and made a hitch that has never given me any trouble.



First I cut the angle to span from outside of frame rail to outside of the other frame rail. I then cut the 5" channel to fit inside the frame and welded it to the angle, I took a piece of tubing in which the square shank would fit into and made a plate with a

2-5/16 hole in it and welded it to the bottom of the square tubing so the ball would fit into it when turned over.



I the centered the tubing into the 5" channel, cut a hole in the sheet metal of the bed and fitted the square flush with the bed floor, tack it, remove and weld it. Gusset the tube to the 5" channel for more support.



I then laid some 5/8" bolts in the angle that protruded past the frame and took a plate and bolted it to the angles and to the truck frame.



Sorry so long but this works for me

 

[JTMcCracken]

Your Dodge frame is not heat treated. JTMcC.

 

[RustyTRanch]

I took a 3/4" plate 10" wide and welded two steel block on either end to sit on frame and put the top of 3/4 plate flush with bed. Then I put 1/2" x 1" Bar stock under the 3/4" plate like a ladder system, 2 pcs. full length in-between the 2 blocks and a few cross sections all welded. On the side of the blocks (which are flush to outside frame)there are tapped holes for a 1/2" plate to bolt to. The 1/2" plate is cut to fit on the side rail to use the exsiting holes in the side frame. I did have to raise one side of bed to install. I did have some pic on it but I can't find at the moment.

This is the second one I designed like this . First still in use on old chevy farm truck. I was told I over built a little bit.

later

mike