8'x12' steel flatbed for F550 built from scratch......

[AKweldshop]

Here's a bed I built about a year and a 1/2 ago.

Farmer friend bought a 2006 F550 crew cab 7' cab to axle 4wd 6 leaker at an auction for $5000, and needed a cheap bed.... The works, gooseneck, rear hitch, stake pockets, headache rack, trailer plug.


So, you bring all the stuff by, I'll built it for you.

High-school kids like me work cheap...

All I used for the project was stick and tig. Didn't have a mig at the time.

Took a while to build, mostly because I painted and wired all the lights up myself.

Didn't make much money, but got a truckload of experience. Experience that money can't buy...


Enjoy the pics.

~John

That's it in a nutshell

Even tho I haven't seen the truck for a year and a 1/2", the owner assured me the bed was doing fine..... Because the truck has been broken pretty much the whole time :thumbdown::yuck:

He says it runs till it warms up then dies.
Hotstart Hpop leak or something....

Anyway, hopefully he gets it fixed and does some pulling, I'm sure you'd love to see it pulling some big hay or equipment trailers.

Farm on gentleman.

~John

 

[s219]

Cool. I built a bed for a brand new F350 chassis cab back in the mid 80s with my dad and his shop foreman, and it was a fun project. Wish I had taken pics. We used much taller cross beams (maybe 6-8" high) but fewer of them than you, and a wood deck. Years later a welding shop bought the truck and converted it into their mobile welding rig, and the owner kept telling us how impressed he was with the bed. I saw that truck around town for 10-12 years until I moved out of state.

 

[roadhunter]

Very nice.

 

[cat fever]

Wow, you do really nice work.

 

[4570Man]

Nice build. That looks like a great bed on a sweet truck. How much was the material cost?

 

[Barnbuilder]

Looks aweful! You need to give that to me and build him another. JK nice work. I had an '06 that did the same thing. Leaking o ring.

 

[AKweldshop]

Cool. I built a bed for a brand new F350 chassis cab back in the mid 80s with my dad and his shop foreman, and it was a fun project. Wish I had taken pics. We used much taller cross beams (maybe 6-8" high) but fewer of them than you, and a wood deck. Years later a welding shop bought the truck and converted it into their mobile welding rig, and the owner kept telling us how impressed he was with the bed. I saw that truck around town for 10-12 years until I moved out of state.

Thanks.
This bed is only like 38" off the ground.
Low is nice.

Very nice.

Thanks roadhunter. Even tho I hate you I'll accept a compliment...:stirthepot::biggrin:

Wow, you do really nice work.

Thanks.

Nice build. That looks like a great bed on a sweet truck. How much was the material cost?

Thanks.
The cost on this bed for everything, was between $2000-$2500. (Not labor)
That's all the steel, the lights, paint and all the little stuff.

Depending how heavy you build it, and what you paint with, beds can be made very affordable.

 

[AKweldshop]

Looks aweful! You need to give that to me and build him another. JK nice work. I had an '06 that did the same thing. Leaking o ring.

The guy has 3 other 6 leakers besides this one.

All not running currently.

Glad I have my 99 7.3 and all my 12vs

 

[sixdogs]

That is a beautiful job and very well documented. Welds look better than great.

How many hours of labor would you say is in that bed?

 

[sw99]

Nice job. Thanks for all the detailed photos.