Ford f350/450 bed

[Diamondpilot]

When you say a guy here who did it to a F550, were you referring to Mr. Jimi, or to someone who lives near you? "A guy here" could mean on this board or lives near you. In my case, until he passed, Mr.Jimi fit into both of those catagories with me.

Now you have my curiosity up! I know about the narrower straight frame rails and the fact that they don't line up the body curves if you just sit a bed on the frame rails. However, due to the problems Mr. Jimi had with his purchase (due to cheap price) and having to modify the dually fenders because they didn't match the SRW bed, your statement about it being easier confuses me. Is there something about a dually bed that is a problem that a SRW doesn't have?
David from jax

Someone who lives near me. I do not know him personally but have been over to see his truck and also have ran into him at the gas station a few times. I watched Mr Jimi's thread alsol.

Nothing wrong with a Dually bed but the reality is most used ones are banged up pretty good. Also if you just slap it on you either have a 6" gap between the bed and the cab or wheels not centered. If you use a SRW bed you can cut the wheel wells slightly to make it fit then throw on a set of dually fenders to clean it up.

Chris

 

[slowzuki]

As stated the frames aren't the same, different profile (flat) and narrower on the F-450, like a F-350 cab and chassis model.

Pre super duty the cab and chassis rear axle was narrower too. Not sure on the 1999 up trucks.

 

[sandman2234]

I called one of the better frame shops in town that also does utility bodies, or maybe I should say it the other way, a utility body shop that does frames. Anyway, they swear I won't have to cut the frame but I pressed them to give me a price "in case the frame needed to be cut". I also called a couple of the local auto dismantlers (hey, trying to get politically correct with that) and even one of the local junk yards. (Yep, one wants to be called a junkyard) for pricing and availability of a dually bed from that era. Found two so far and they are 1500 to 1750 dollars.
The width of the frame rails isn't a problem with a Chevy truck, and since I am not familiar with how Ford mounts them, I can't say if it will be a problem or not, but even if it requires hanging a couple of side mounts to the frame rails with a stabilizer crossmember in between, that shouldn't be a big deal. The biggest problem is if the frame sits higher on the cab/chasis. I will put a tape measure on it as soon as I can, you can bet on that!
Since this truck actually never existed, I realize I am going to have to make some changes to what I end up with. I was about ready to give it up since the seller hadn't replied to me (auction) and the auction ended without it being sold (I was high bidder).
I have a couple of different avenues that I can take. One would be to buy two beds and have the front end of one extended with the metal from the second. That covers all the bases of wheel position and the cab to bed gap. However, if the frame is higher as it appeared with Mr.Jimi's truck, then cutting and dropping the frame at the rear of the cab will probably be my route due to not wanting the problems of a cab lift. Before I actually cut the frame I will probably investigate having someone do a cab lift, but due to my work schedules, I won't be doing this.
The bottom line, depending on just what truck I end up with (*since seller hasn't been jumping thru hoops to contact me) and the original sale of an F350 dually from a friend has been put off indefinitely, will determine just what modifications I make to the truck.
An F450 with a longer wheelbase could turn out to be a p/u with a 9 or 10 foot p/u bed. One of the main reasons for that would be in case I come across an extended or crew cab later in life and wanted to change out the cab to give me more room. (this one is a regular cab) Or I could have a F450 with a standard bed, with the cab lifted a couple of inches, which isn't my preference, since climbing in and out of a vehicle should never require a step ladder. The last thing, which would drive the wife crazy would be for me to build a flatbed for it and drive it that way. She hates a work truck appearence and won't like it. However, should the p/u body become a major hassle, it is one that I can fall back on so that I don't complete throw away a big chunk of money.
Anyone know just what kind of fuel mileage those F450 trucks with 488:1 rear ends in them get? I am not expecting much, especially after Soundguy mentioned that it isn't great...just thought somebody might have an idea.
More to come if the seller decides he actually wants to sell his truck.
David from jax

 

[sandman2234]

The seller of the vehicle called me, and we worked out a deal. I thought about it all night, and decided that there were just too many variables to this truck modification that I can't control in advance of buying the truck since it is located 750 miles away. Any one thing could go wrong and make a fair deal into a bad deal.
One of the things that swayed me into deciding not to go through with it was not knowing just how the air suspension is configured, which may or may not be a big deal, but not knowing and not wanting a surprise when I got under the vehicle, I opted out of it.
David from jax