# Make my own flatbed



## 1984 Noob (Apr 4, 2006)

does anyone have any experience with making a flatbed for a truck?

i took one welding course and i only learned stick welding, but i hear thats the hardest to learn...i'm confident in my welding skills but i don't know where to start


i'd be putting it on an f250 would it even be worth my time to put a dump on it? 

or should i just buy a new aluminum one...what do you guys think...

are flatbeds that much cooler, i can just go around old junked up fields and find a long bed ford bed...


and does anyone want to buy a "reading" utility body, you can fit like 20 ms200ts in it


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## crashagn (Apr 4, 2006)

1984 Noob said:


> does anyone have any experience with making a flatbed for a truck?
> 
> i took one welding course and i only learned stick welding, but i hear thats the hardest to learn...i'm confident in my welding skills but i don't know where to start
> 
> ...




What is the flatbed going to be used for? Is it worth building a homemade 1? Tally up the iron prices for a ruff estimate and how many hours your goin to spend building it.. then thiers the dump .electric or pto/hydrolic? can you even install a pto/hydrolic? OOhhh do you have a decent welder? after adding up all of these is it still worth it. If you absolutly had to have a flatbed then go for it. might be cheaper to just buy 1 used. or even cheaper to buy a car trailer


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## Steve-Maine (Apr 4, 2006)

I priced having a body built and it was cheaper to buy a new one, Usually you can find used ones even if the wooden floor is bad you can always replce it. I have had a lot better luck with PTO off the truck trans. than electric. Just my thoughts.


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## Andy1234 (Apr 5, 2006)

Hit up the local junk yards and scrap yards. If you are lucky, you can buy a used, decent one for $110/ ton (and most weigh MUCH less then that!). And don't buy the first one you see! Check with different yards and leave your card with them! Try and find the yard that the local utilities use, it is amazing what they scrap!
Also, It always seems to help to mention that you will be paying with cash..... A 12 pack of certain beverages never hurt, either...
Andy1234


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## ctkiteboarding (Apr 6, 2006)

used, used, used, is the way to go im sure u can find someone who is dying to get rid of one R


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## pesimon (Apr 7, 2006)

*Flatbed*

I made my own flat bed dump a few years ago. Took off my utility body from my 86 Ford F350 and looked for a dump. Most of what I saw used was rotten out. Finally decided to make my own. It was a lot of work and alot of time but I did finish with a truck that was what I wanted and needed. Also made a heavy duty hitch while I was at it. 
Was it worth it???? I don't know money wise if it was. After adding the steel, hydraulic dump items [which I got used real cheap], welding rods,all misc items, it did cost a pretty penny.
I guess the deciding factor is can you find a used one in decent shape and will it fill your needs, If not I think making one is time and money consuming but you do get exactly what you want.
Good luck with what every way you go.


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## tek9tim (Apr 7, 2006)

Yeah, I made my own flatbed a couple of years ago, it was more expensive than a used bed from a junkyard, but more useful, and way stronger. If you make your own, you can custom taylor it to your needs. It is a lot of work, though. I have an older f250 now that the bed is pretty rotten on, but instead of building a flatbed, I decided to build something of an exoskeleton to hold the current bed together (just bought the steel and started on it today, in fact) it'll be plenty strong, and cost about 1/4 of what a full flatbed would. Something else to consider is whether your insurance will even cover a flatbed, nevermind one you built yourself. Me, I just never told my insurance company I put a flatbed on my truck. Boils down to this: if you have the equipment, TIME, know-how, and money, building your own flatbed is a great thing to do.


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## clearance (Apr 7, 2006)

Here there are lots of "bush boxes" around, when logging companies buy new trucks they take of the original box and put on a heavy steel box that can take a beating. When they sell the truck, back on with the original box and the bush box goes on another truck. I put one on my truck, it is great. Maybe you can get one there, not a flatdeck, so what, the tailgates are very strong as well.


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## ctkiteboarding (Apr 8, 2006)

am wrong or can a new flat bed w / headack rack be bought for about 800 bucks,,, just the steel will be 400 or so,, just a thought


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## SilentElk (May 6, 2006)

Steel around here goes about $0.70 a lb in 20+ ft sections. $0.95-$1.05 a lb for cut to length to give an averaged idea. I would guess the steel weight of a flatbed to be easily 200-300 lbs. so $200-$250 materials costs. Now finished fabricaed steel probucts go at LEAST $2 a lb and more oftern closer to $3/4. So I would guess it would be hard to find a good NEW flatbed for $800. Been a long time since I wlooked.


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