Flatbed on a Short-box?

[JLinder]

I had an unfortunate incident the other day, a ditch jumped out in front of me and I ended up with a wasted bed. The whole drivers side box is mangled (outer and inner skins) and upon further inspection by my local body man the bottom is buckled also. He thinks he could probably fix it up, but my truck is only 4 months old and I want it fixed correctly. The problem is that a replacement box (new) is over $4200. (At least insurance is good for something???) Has anyone ever put a flatbed on a shortbed truck? I think it may look kind of goofy, but I've never seen one so I don't know. Anyone have any pictures or seen anything like this? Thanks.

 

[SOOT]

Do they even make a flatbed that short? I think it would look really goofy I know when then reg bed on my 90 chev got hit and I put an 8ft flatbed on it, it made it look really short. It took a while to get to used to it. Then when I baught my 97 (see sig) that 12ft bed looked really long. I would do it just to be different If you do go with a flatbed get some pics.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I have an 8. 5 foot flatbed on my dually CC. It looks funny with no sides even with drop boxes in front of the tires. Check out some of the custom beds like the one from B&W (the turnover ball people). Pricey but they will give you storage compartments. There is a lot out there. Some maintain your ability to haul as normal. Some are limited to mainly trailer pulling.

 

[MUDDY]

swb flatbed

saw several swb flatbeds running around. imo, they look sharp. if i had the shorter wb, id still have a flatbed. 6 1/2 foot looks balanced.

 

[David Muench]

I think it would look good. Like a hotshot rig where they've put a short towing bed on the back and chopped the rear frame rails off. Several companies do make short flatbeds, I saw some in the Knaphiede literature when I was getting my 11' flatbed for my truck.

 

[Shelby Griggs]

Jlinder,



I see you are in Oregon. I had my bed built in Prineville by Les Schwab. They have a fab shop there where they build all of the tire service trucks. Mine is all aluminium, and I think they could build anything you want, they may even stock standard short flatbeds. I know they have standard length flatbeds in stock. Pro Tech in Vancouver also makes a nice looking bed.



Shelby

 

[JLinder]

I contacted Pro-Tech yesterday, and they said they have put several flat-beds on trucks like mine. Crappy part is they don't have any pictures on file (which I think is odd, since you should want to show off your work). I have wondered about the Les Schwab beds, thought it was weird that some one else would have their name but they must just be taking full advantage of the manufacturing facilities they already have. I'll look up their number in the Capital Press and give them a jingle. I really want to see a picture of a SB truck with a flattie before I commit. I'd hate to go through with it, and end up with a truck that looked funny. Thanks for your info.

 

[JBlock]

Trayback from Australia

Hi



When I was in Australia almost all the truck Dodge Ford Nisian Toyota had traybacks, not standard bed there. They look sharp and can carry quite a load, most of them came with swing down 9" gates on all three sides it was extremely convienent. ,



cheers



Joe in Washougal Washingtn

 

[QRTRHRS]

If your needs are such that you use your truck and I mean use it alot then a flatbed, or etc. is the way to go. You won't look back. Now mind, this is not to denigrate those who are fortunate to have time to wash and wax and maintain a nice rig. But, other than an acid wash once a year, all I do to my aluminum bed is blast it off with the pressure washer. Only thing better for me was if it would dump too.

 

[Shelby Griggs]

QRTRHRS,



Tell us about the acid washer. I have been trying to figure out how to keep my bed looking new.



Shelby

 

[QRTRHRS]

Acid wash, not pretty.

I never had the luxery of a contained wash bay so I don't know if there are safer ways of using this stuff or not. The stuff I get is available at a local trucking company that has an inhouse parts department. Comes in a five gallon bucket and is labeled for professional use only. It is dilute HF acid and is meant to be further diluted with water. There are other acid formulations available too but I forget them at the moment. I tarp my cab and tires with plastic then spray it on with an insectiside sprayer. Let it foam up a few seconds then rinse it off. I does not ruin the rubber grommets around my lights but will take wax off the paint. I don't know about using it on "chromed" aluminum as it might take that shine off. What it does is bring flat aluminum back to "brite" with minimal effort by removing oxidation form the surface. As far as personal protection, I wear a PVC rainsuit, rubber boots, chemical gloves and a resperator with the appropriate cartriges. Mostly though, it just makes your skin tingle a bit but I would rather be safe than sorry.