making a custom flatbed truck side rail for a friend

[grsthegreat]

a friend of mine got a great deal on a f450 flatbed truck to tow his equipment for his business. he decided he wanted a custom side rail made to contain all the stuff piled u0p back there. had to have a removable 52" tailgate to allow for a work station.

he wanted it plasma cut similar to my driveway gate. i put it off until the temps got to be super frigid (wind chill -10F) just to make life more miserable. so we moved it into my shop. i had to move some stuff around to fit that fat as* truck, but we got it in.

first step was to design and cut the panels. these will be made of 8 gauge metal and fit into some 1/4" angle iron frame. than it will be powder coated and then attach a solid rear plate in a light color to display the powder coating. have not picked colors yet.



then we had to design a removable framework that bolted to the side rail. he wants it fully removable. we designed 4 SS bolts and a rear channel for stability. seems to work real good, and boy is it sturdy.



today we worked on a removable tail gate system. used some weldable barrel bolts, and they work great. when door folds hinges are out of the way of the bed. you can easily slide door off if you open it 1/2 way, but not if door is closed or fully open (going to install a block to prevent door from sliding when fully open). i have to finish cutting artwork and installing panels on Sunday.

 

[Peter 315]

Looks great nice job......

 

[texasranger556]

Looks good!

Hopefully great deal doesn't mean hidden 6.4L problems.

 

[buck12]

Looks great.

 

[user.69169]

Might want to keep close eye on de SS bolts into mild steel if truck runs in salt & road brine. Reaction is near as bad as SS against aluminum. So called dielectric coating don't help either.

 

[grsthegreat]

Might want to keep close eye on de SS bolts into mild steel if truck runs in salt & road brine. Reaction is near as bad as SS against aluminum. So called dielectric coating don't help either.

Really, ill have to look into that. Thanks

 

[user.69169]

Called electro galvanic corrosion, plenty information on line. Weird thing de SS start to rust and erode away.

 

[John0829]

And here I was happy with my wooden sides UNTIL NOW!!!

Looks great.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Fantastic work.... great attention to detail.

How do you plan to latch the tailgate?

 

[grsthegreat]

Fantastic work.... great attention to detail.

How do you plan to latch the tailgate?

Several options available. Will get some pictures of one idea later today. There is absolutely no movement on either side when trying to rack the sides, so any latch should do fine. Door has edge to prevent moving onwards towards bed.

 

[grsthegreat]

nearly ready for powder coat. have to sand some welds, cut the inner panels on plasma table, and touch up some welds.
We went with some beafy slide barrel bolts to hold tailgate . they work awesome. i will be installing a 3/8" bolt next to one of the barrel hinges to prevent tailgate from falling out . he can remove bolt if he needs to drop tailgate.

 

[user.69169]

Nice cutter. You cutting over water? How far from slats to water?
How much slats get chewed up by torch blowin thru?

TIA

 

[grsthegreat]

Nice cutter. You cutting over water? How far from slats to water?
How much slats get chewed up by torch blowin thru?

TIA

actually i dont use a water bath. too messy and cleanup sucks with water. I use a sealed bottom table and a huge exhaust fan to blow smoke outside. the slats are 10 years old. i grind them down every few years. i can flip the slats over if they ever get too bad.

my table has laser to detect metal surface so tip doesnt need to touch metal, and has a bump protector in case head encounters an obstical to protect machine.

 

[user.69169]

Still messin wid (removed)Omatic. Long on (removed) & material on hand and short on matic. Matic might wind up sparker from old grill lighting torch in corner.

Plan is fire escape deck over opening in retired industrial machine base wid ceramic tile diverting air/smoke flow and dingleberrys. Everything gotta pass over water on way to blower. Water only half inch deep in slide out commercial baking sheet.

Looks good on paper, mockup AmaZoom cardboard box model says air flow works good. Test cuts over water pan look good according to observer girl. Ran into HOLD when cardboard box burned up. Too cold to play now.

Second part of plan is use as downdraft grinding station.

 

[tomplum]

Where art and function meet. It will make a statement for sure.

 

[grsthegreat]

I have a 4100 CFM fan to exhaust gas. Seems to work good. Room stays clear of smoke. It does suck out all the heat in shop. And that sucks when it’s 5 degrees outside. All heat is gone in a few minutes.

 

[user.69169]

I think you need to bring in makeup air to area just above collecting plenum for exhaust, sort of like how restaurant kitchen does. Least dat keep some of de heat in shop.

At least variable speed drive on Super Sucker or dampers.

Add bunch of heavy cast iron machinery to act as thermal batterys dat radiate heat back into shop. Saves iron from going to China too.

 

[grsthegreat]

I usually do this kind of work in warmer weather, and like leaving roll up door open. Not an option lately. Make up air is a good idea. I have added heated make up air and even swamp cooler make up air in restaurants. Those hoods draw out a lot of heat and cool

 

[user.69169]

Know of a choke & puke near me I donated a 30" fan to some years back to make up in de kitchen. Fellow was amazed how AC stayed in dining room when makeup is runnin. Line cooks even like it.

Always get laughs from threads where fellow gonna put big exhaust in wid no makeup air.

Table look close enough to wall maybe you pull section of fiberglass panel and experiment wid distribution hood over table. Probably use tent fer experimentin.

 

[bcp]

I just know I would someday reach through the side rail for a small object near it, and slice my hand on a tree or antler.



Bruce