Convert 99 Short Bed to a Flat Bed

[Dr.Kayak]

I have a friend who wants to convert his 99 dodge Ram 2500 diesel (Short Bed, Club Cab) from a pickup to a flat bed. "I want the bed to be as low as possible but don't want the top of the wheels to hit the bottom of the bed. If I use the large bumpers on the frame where they would hit the axle as the maximum distance the wheels can go up, I would need to have the flat bed approx 5" higher than the pickup bed was. I noticed, however, that those bumpers show no evidence of ever contacting the axle even after towing a large 5th wheel many miles. I talked to someone who builds flat beds for pickup and he said they use 3 1/2 inches higher for a flat bed as a rule of thumb. Does anyone have any experience with what the practical clearance should be rather than the theoretical?"



Thanks for any advice...

 

[JLinder]

Been there, done that...

I've got a flatbed on my SB and I love it. I put 5x3" 3/8 tube right on the frame running side to side. The deck of my bed is 5" above the frame rails, which puts it only an inch or two about what the floor of the OEM bed. I've also got chain boxes mounted below the deck in front of the tires on each side. I'm running 285/75R16's now, and have no interference with the tires. I did have to cut the two cross-members directly over the axles short than the rest in order to allow for tire clearance. I capped the end of all the tubes, and ran a piece of 2x2" tube between the two outer cross pieces (either side of the 2 pieces over the tires) to give myself a little more room above the tires. I can flex the rear suspension clear to the factory stops with the 285's and it doesn't rub anyplace on the bed. I tried to link to the reader's rigs section, but I can't get there (must not be up yet). You can look there when the new server is all the way up and get a better idea. PM me if you have anymore questions.