F250 Flatbed Frame Mounting

[econometrics]

I just bought a good, used 1999 F250 SC 4x4 V10 for a pulling / farm truck. It came with a J&I flatbed on it with a gooseneck plate, etc mounted in it.

I got to looking at the mounting of the flatbed and had some slight concerns with the way it was mounted to the frame of the truck.

First, it's been welded onto the frame. That's a done deal. I've read usually it's better to bolt it on, but I don't have that choice here.

I wanted to get some opinions on the weld job here to see if any of you think I should still in and run some bolts trough the mount too. The welds just look sloppy to me, and the last thing I want is to be towing 13K down the road and have a weld crack.

Here's some pics. Any thoughts are appreciated!

 

[FredH]

My brother has a similar situation with a 1 ton with a 14' flatbed on it . We want to convert it to a dump . Our 1st order will be to lose the lift gate on the back , which along with the bed is welded to everything . Between using either a torch , plasma cutter or grinder with cut off disk , We are either taking out the welds or cutting the bracing off at frame level . Obviously We will have to block between frame and bed while discarding the current bracing / mounting and it may be time consuming but to do the project , gotta do what we gotta do .

The welds you are showing are not the greatest , strength wise , Who knows , they may be there forever . Maybe grind them down some and re-weld or leave as is and add some square u bolts to strengthen even more . Brother's 1 ton also has a couple of the square u bolts , which really made us wonder " Why " did they weld , Why not just keep bolting entire bed . Maybe add additional welded bracing for a piece of mind . As mentioned , at least I am not impressed with the welds you showed , but with paint , dirt , although beads don't look great , hard to tell the strength .

Fred H.

 

[duroc]

When I worked for GM Truck Durability, we mounted beds/boxes to the frames in a similar fashion. But, we welded the brackets angled forward and aft. Front bracket-top towards front of truck. Rear bracket-top towards rear of truck. We found this to be the strongest method. We also put 4 Oak blocks of wood between the bed frame and truck frame and "U" bolted them in place. You'd be surprised at how often those U bolts needed retightening.

I don't think I'd be too concerned with your brackets unless you see a bad area. However, I'd add the oak blocks between frame/frame just to be on the safe side.

P.S. You could drill for bolts, but that just adds to "crack" areas in the frame.

 

[diesel lover]

Doesn't look too bad overall. Do you have pictures of the truck itself

 

[econometrics]

Thank you for the replies so far, all!

Doesn't look too bad overall. Do you have pictures of the truck itself

Here you go. This was just after I bought her, so she's looking nice and dirty!

 

[kneedeep]

If the Gooseneck is attached to the frame in some fashion, Roll on!!

 

[econometrics]

If the Gooseneck is attached to the frame in some fashion, Roll on!!

I forgot to mention that. It isn't. It's only a part of the flatbed and isn't at all attached to the frame.

Maybe that's what I need to address more? Not that the flatbed is welded on, but that the gooseneck isn't attached to the frame?

 

[Tomtint]

Being in Texas, rust should not be a issue. Up here, the spot at the top of the piece of metal where it is welded to the frame would be a salt and dirt magnet. And cause rust behind the welded on bracket.

 

[SquirmyPug]

I would grind it out and re-weld with 7018. Looks like whoever welded it doesn't know how to weld vertical. I would prob also add a few more places that attach it to the frame. The gooseneck needs attention if that is all that's holding it in place, it may be fine but you don't want to find out the hard way that you should have done something.

 

[econometrics]

I would grind it out and re-weld with 7018. Looks like whoever welded it doesn't know how to weld vertical. I would prob also add a few more places that attach it to the frame. The gooseneck needs attention if that is all that's holding it in place, it may be fine but you don't want to find out the hard way that you should have done something.

Yeah, exactly. Attaching it to the frame would give me a lot of peace of mind!

 

[jenkinsph]

I would wan't the hitch bolted to the frame at least. As was mentioned above the straps mounting the bed should be angled rather than vertical. In use the straps are
going to be stronger in tension if the body is hit from the rear. When I build truck bodies I attach the straps at an angle using existing frame holes, you might be better off to simply add them correctly at this point.

Here is a pic I snapped on a service truck outside tonight.

 

[econometrics]

I would wan't the hitch bolted to the frame at least. As was mentioned above the straps mounting the bed should be angled rather than vertical. In use the straps are going to be stronger in tension if the body is hit from the rear. When I build truck bodies I attach the straps at an angle using existing frame holes, you might be better off to simply add them correctly at this point. Here is a pic I snapped on a service truck outside tonight.

Thanks for the picture. I see what you mean. Good advice!

I think I'll take it to a fab shop and have them fasten the hitch to the frame, then ask them about reinforcing the flatbed to the frame too.

 

[s219]

I find it odd that there are no blocks/supports under the bed, and that everything is riding on those welds. All the flatbeds I have seen, including one we built from scratch for a then-new 1986 F-350 chassis-cab, had wood blocks between the bed and frame, and were bolted on. The blocks supported the weight/load, the bolts kept the bed in the right place, and the bolts were always in tension (i.e., torqued).

Here, the welds are doing everything, and those vertical welds are assuming a lot of different loads and forces. Just seems odd to me. I don't think beds are meant to be rigidly welded to a frame because then the bed will constrain the frame. With bolts and blocks, you can accommodate flex and vibration in the truck frame (and there is plenty of that, because truck frames are designed to flex a little otherwise they'd fatigue and crack).

 

[diesel lover]

Thanks for the picture. I see what you mean. Good advice! I think I'll take it to a fab shop and have them fasten the hitch to the frame, then ask them about reinforcing the flatbed to the frame too.

very good! Just as I was going to say. Take it to a welder and see if he can correctly attach the flat bed to the frame of the truck. The fact the gooseneck hitch is not attached in between the frame at all bothers me!! The GN hitch needs to be directly attached and very secure to the frame. I just wanted to see the style of the flat bed before I say the way it was attached was good or bad. Tell you what, I think some teenager got the truck from his dad and welded the flat bed on lol silly kids trucks are for people that work for a living

 

[econometrics]

Tell you what, I think some teenager got the truck from his dad and welded the flat bed on lol silly kids trucks are for people that work for a living

Haha, no kidding. It was definitely one of those "good enough!" jobs.

Not good enough for me, though!

 

[econometrics]

Taking the truck to a good fab shop in town today to have them look at it. I'll report back! :thumbsup:

 

[econometrics]

Well, had the welds redone on the truck this week.

Here are the before and afters, side by side. Easy to see the new welds are a LOT better. The shop guy said that when he started grinding down the old welds, pieces just began flying off. Clearly the original welds weren't too strong.

I feel a lot better hooking onto a trailer now!

 

[Green Power]

That looks a lot better. Did they do anything with the actual gooseneck mount?

 

[econometrics]

That looks a lot better. Did they do anything with the actual gooseneck mount?

You know, I told them to do that but they forgot. Only charged me for the weld repairs and I needed the truck back tonight so I couldn't leave it with them.

I'll probably take it back and have them attach the hitch to the frame with some bolts, though sometime.

 

[kevin37b]

Those welds look a little cold to me . Get that hitch reinforced , turn up the heat .