Dump bed floor

[tree grower]

This isn't tractor-related, but it is rural, steel-based, dirty, and testosterone-fueled. The floor of my 93 F350 dump truck is rusted, and there are several holes / tears adjacent to the cross bunks. I don't use it enough to justify having a new steel floor installed ($2000 +), but I would like it repaired so that dirt and aggregate don't fall through, and pallets will slide without getting hung up on the welds protruding above floor level. Before adding a new floor of any kind, I would remove the existing one, probably cutting it away in sections and grinding down the bosses where it is welded to the bunks--LOTS of grinding! I would think 5/4 or 6/4 rough-sawn oak lumber of pallet grade would be adequate for a new floor, even able to withstand rocks dumped in as carefully as possible. Probably a good idea to use wear strips available from firms that supply bed kits for classic trucks. Any thoughts on this subject?

 

[Peter 315]

I would just weld angle iron on the front slide the boards under it then on the end of the boards take some material off and put a piece of angle iron so the wood is a little higher then weld it on..

 

[lostcause]

I'm assuming that you don't have any cutting or welding capability / equipment available? That may make adding any extra attachment material difficult. if you do have the capability steel wouldn't be that big of a deal to do yourself.

How big of an area are we talking? f it's an F350 are we just talking about a standard 2-3 yard body, so somewhere around 7' wide and 8' long, or is it a long stake body style dump? 11ga, or 1/8" steel plate in a 4x8 sheet is about 160lb per sheet, so two sheets of that shouldn't be horrible in price to purchase if you can do the work yourself? around $1/lb maybe? Just out of curiosity, how much will the oak cost to get? around here i think it would be a near wash to buy 5/4 or 6/4 rough oak as opposed to buying steel. Again, it depends on whether you can work the material.

 

[tree grower]

It is a basic 7 ft wide x 8 ft long bed. I have experience with stick and wire-feed welding, but that doesn't make me a skilled welder. I have never tackled a big flat project like this, so am a little intimidated. My inclination to a rough oak bed is due to the ready availability of the lumber, and the idea that such a bed is nothing more than a trailer without the hitch, and I have built several of them. I haven't abandoned the idea of steel, but I wanted to see what you all thought of this project. Given the varying condition of the floor, I could probably just replace the rear half.

 

[crashz]

I investigated using HDPE sheets to complete cover my dump body. I was going to line the entire body with 1/8 HDPE and fasten with SS counter-sunk screws. Cost was not very cheap though. To do it right, I would have had to cut the floor out.

You could do a multi layer with some exterior grade plywood and plastic. But you'll want something slippery as your top layer.

 

[lostcause]

i'm partial to steel, but that's just me...

i'm certainly not a professional either, but also, that's never scared me from too many projects in my life - laziness maybe, but never lack of ability.

i would shy away from wood mainly for one reason - my experience with homemade wooden bodies is that they always seep water and moisture down to whatever is below, which is in this case your frame, suspension, axle, brake lines, fuel lines, and more importantly, the dump system. in this neck of the woods that will usually rot out and shorten the useful lifespan of the truck and body.

if it were me i'd figure out the exact size i wanted to cut out of the bottom of the body, and find some local steel service centers and get a price on a couple 4x8 sheets of 11ga plate and see what they would charge to make a shear cut or two so that you have two pieces that perfectly cover the bottom you want to replace, with a couple leftover scraps for patching or other future projects. Rutland must have somewhere that can supply this?

 

[WranglerX]

Drop in some sheet steel plate and anchor what ever way is reasonable.... Probably do it for a couple of hindered in steel plate not $2000 for professional repair..

Think about what it is used for and how much use it will get....

Dale

 

[tree grower]

For this floor, I am not much inclined to a quick 'n dirty repair job. I'll try to do a good job or not at all. Lostcause's observation about seepage through a wood floor is correct, but that wouldn't be any worse than the road salt damage that the truck has suffered in the past 28 yrs. Rutland does have a very good steel supplier, and they can readily cut / shear to any size. In that vein, I would probably cut out the floor, making certain the cuts were perfectly straight, and the corners exactly 90 degrees. Also, they would not require me to buy whole sheets. They cut steel to any size the customer wants, and put the remainder back on the shelf. They only discard pieces too small to fool with.

 

[4570Man]

I wouldn’t be that bothered by a wood floor truck. A lot of the heavy dump trucks do that the protect the bed from damage.

 

[farm boy00]

Either method should work. But this would give you some good practice on your metal working skills where looks wouldn't matter

 

[kthompson]

I have never used a dump with wooden floors. I get aggravated enough with damp dirt and especially wet clay on the steel floor of our dump trailer. I often oil it before such use age. No doubt if you don't store wet dirt on good treated oak floor the floor will last a good while. Just keep it oiled.

 

[arkydog]

using metal, make 2 slightly over half pieces to meat in middle overlapping. step weld down middle and then stef weld around outside

 

[rstod]

This isn't tractor-related, but it is rural, steel-based, dirty, and testosterone-fueled. The floor of my 93 F350 dump truck is rusted, and there are several holes / tears adjacent to the cross bunks. I don't use it enough to justify having a new steel floor installed ($2000 +), but I would like it repaired so that dirt and aggregate don't fall through, and pallets will slide without getting hung up on the welds protruding above floor level. Before adding a new floor of any kind, I would remove the existing one, probably cutting it away in sections and grinding down the bosses where it is welded to the bunks--LOTS of grinding! I would think 5/4 or 6/4 rough-sawn oak lumber of pallet grade would be adequate for a new floor, even able to withstand rocks dumped in as carefully as possible. Probably a good idea to use wear strips available from firms that supply bed kits for classic trucks. Any thoughts on this subject?

I bought the steel plate to replace the bottom in my HD dump trailer....think it was 3/16"...6x10'....$450..... They cut it to my exact dimensions. Now to weld it in place when the weather gets better this Spring. I think steel is a better idea than wood.

 

[rstod]

would a bedliner work? no, leaking/seepage ... just an idea....

 

[Rustyiron]

We always used white oak for trailer decks, that would be my suggestion. That's if it's available. There's a self tapping flat headed screw that's traditionally used, not cheap but I bought a 50# box from fastenall years ago, you're not going to find them at a big box. It's a lot of drilling but beats one guy in the bed and another underneath. Securely fastened boards will incorporate the frames (body) strength and last longer than simply 2-3 rows of screws

 

[oosik]

I made a farm trailer with Horst ten ton running gear. It is not dump. I priced sheet steel for the bed. Just too darn expensive. I used 5/4 T&G plywood. I haul gravel, large rocks and chunks of pine trunks. It's held up well for seven years now. I sand and repaint the plywood every year with water based paint.

 

[PILOON]

Do as a friend does.
He gathers old oil storage reservoirs, cuts the ends off and drives his CUT to flatten the salvaged body.
He has done some 40 or so trailer 'rebuilds' using salvaged oil reservoirs.
An added bonus is many have a few gals of heating oil in them so he runs his CUT on those bonuses. (carefully filtered)
More and more people have given up with oil heat so it is a win/win situation.
When stuck he even buys the occasional oil storage from the local scrapper @ usually $100 per when he runs short, still cheaper than new steel.
But then re building used trailers is just sort of a $$ hobby for him.
There is always a buyer for a steel floored trailers at reasonable prices.

 

[tonynz]

most truck beds are corrugated section so that hold down bolts don't get caught in the load and things slide easily on it. You can buy the steel in 8x4 sheets and simply bolt them to the undercarriage. You dont need many bolts as the corrugations greatly increase the load you can place on it. Corten steel is rust resistant, ok it goes rusty but then the rust becomes its protection. 1/8th would be ample.

 

[tree grower]

Corrugated steel would be perfect, but I can picture only contemporary pickup beds which are ~17 ga. I have never seen a corrugated deck on anything but a pickup. I would use 10 ga corrugated in a heartbeat if it were readily available.

 

[Woodbutcher56]

Having had truck beds with both wood and metal my experience is the wood shrinks over time and leaving a gap between the boards which allows rain, sand and etc to drop through on the frame, gas tank and etc. Also in a dumping situation material always wants to stick to or hang up on the wood vs sliding out relatively cleanly on metal. I replaced one dump bed several years ago by welding a second layer of 10 gauge metal over the top of the existing metal and was very pleased with the results.