Idaes on 5th wheel tow beds

[EricBu12]

Ok, Now that I just got my Engine and trans. rebuilt, I guess I will be keeping this for awile...



I tow a 36' 5th toyhauler and when I go to places for the toys, I go some slight off-road and need clearance. I have the trailer up 1" by measure of the level indicator. I think this is making 3rd axle heavier a little and need to level it out... .



The problem is space for the bed to trailer clearance for dips and twists on gravel or slight hard pack roads. I have come very close a number of times on the rear corner of the bed hitting the trailer... .



Here is the way it sits now



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So now I do have adjustability on the hitch and the head unit on the trailer ... thats no problem but again, the space needed for dips and such... .



I did a search and found this...



http://www.weberind.com/fifth-wheel-truck-bed-p.htm



This is for a ford Dually but it is a custom thing... . anything else out there that is reasonable?

 

[EricBu12]

Also saw this where the bed is cut down and made a low rise flatbed. .



http://www.weberind.com/pickup_conversion08.html

 

[KBalzuweit]

I believe the second one is by Herrin, very costly new (9k). Any quality hauler bed like your first pic is going to be big $$$. Cheapo steel beds can be had in the 2-4k range. How about an aluminium flat bed??

 

[RustyJC]

I've always been partial to the B&W Elite-series towing beds, but as was stated earlier, these aren't cheap!!



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Rusty

 

[SHobbs]

You give a call to Aerotow here in Burleson, 817-447-7280. Unfortunatley they do not have a website.

 

[EricBu12]

An aluminum flatbed sounds interresting! The hitch I have is the Super 5th with super Rails so nothing is touching the bed...



Aluminum is lighter than steel so if I got some Aluminum sheets and square tubing and just bolted something up,... . Make a square tubing frame for the bed and sides, and then bolt or screw the sheets on... then make small tubing rails for the sides that are low... . Does this seem like it might be equal to or less than the weight of a regular bed?... how much does a 3/4 ton bed weigh?



Since the weight of the trailer is not on the bed, I can do almost any design then...



I did do a wood flatbed for a 76 Toyota truck I had awhile back... that would be too heavy and high maintenance.

 

[PatrickCampbell]

Regular bed weighs around 400 or so I think. A guy over on DTR with a very nice aluminum bed told me it weighs around 300... it's one of these:



http://www.tgsales.com/saleitems.html



Except his is shorter...

 

[NVR FNSH]

Check www.pirate4x4.com for some design ideas for making your own flatbed - look in the Toyota forum.



Another thought - check out Kelderman Mfg website for the owners rollback flatbed. Might be able to design something that would accomodate your 5th wheel hitch and allow you to haul the quads/rhino when not towing.



Brian

 

[EricBu12]

Well did some figuring and found out the hitch is already as low as it can go. and the hitch connection on the trailer is all the way up so no more downwards... ...



I have the axles of the trailer under the springs so what I am going to do is raise the 5th hitch up which will give 1" more clearance for the bed, and then put 2" blocks under the axles of the trailer with longer U-Bolts and that should do 2 things. .



Level the trailer, ... As it was 1" up in the front when hooked...



and give more clearance to the rear bumper of the trailer which was always pretty close when going on dirt roads and trails...



Also, I am Getting the Aerotravel III Wind deflector that goes on the roof so now I will have the maximum clearance for the bed and for the cab-to-trailer for turning... . Still won't be able to do a 90 degree but I don't want to do that with a 3 axle anyway... ...



So this will be a cheaper solution... . Now, I have to think about when and what color to repaint the truck as it is sorta due and it is getting thin and has a few dings. .



Was thinking on the same color or close to it, with some more flake in it to give it some depth. . The lower color will be more of a chrome silver this time. . Keeping the bumpers for now as they are in good shape...



Any other Ideas for a New repaint? I was thinking of a color Dodge had one time, it was Burnt Orange or maybe the Intense blue I was wanting in the first place when I bought the truck... .



If I do an entirely different color, I will try to paint the engine compartment as well to have everything match...