What kind of bed is on your truck?

DMax82 · Jul 23, 2019

Well I really need about three trucks, but will have to settle for one...LOL. My main requirement is the ability to tow my tractor (Kioti DK40SE) which I estimate to weigh around 6600 pounds. (4200 tractor, 1200 loader, 1200 filled tires). I think that pulling it on a 14k gooseneck could be nice, but am also open to a 10k bumper pull. I am considering everything from a 3/4 ton to F550. Below are the four types of beds that seem most prevalent, ranked in the order of my interest.

1) Dump. The holy grail! Makes unloading a snap. I would haul gravel, wood chips, manure, and pretty much anything else I wanted to. Ideal would be a flatbed with removable wooden sides so that I could easily load/unload pallets. Main downside would seem to be loss of a gooseneck hitch.

2) Fixed flatbed. Can easily haul logs and other building materials, and anything else that the dump could. Gooseneck friendly.

3) Utility bed. Mobile tool box! All of my tools and lots of little supplies would always be close at hand. Cons include limited material hauling capacity, no gooseneck, and no ability to load pallets with my tractor.

4) Pickup bed. I guess the main pro is that they are common, especially 3/4 or 1 ton SRW. Can tow a gooseneck. Otherwise not easily loaded and no secure storage.

I am hoping to pick one up at a Ritchie Brothers auction in the fall. Lots of interesting options and prices seem great. I understand the risks of auctions, but am okay with it.

So I would love to hear about what kind of bed you have on your truck, and why you chose it.

Thanks! David

atsah · Jul 23, 2019

My vote is a 1 ton or 450 with a dump if I had a choice..

nikerret · Jul 23, 2019

I have a ‘14 F-350 chassis cab with a 10’ flatbed. Love it. I bought a 16’ dump trailer to pull behind it. Also a great purchase. I didn’t want a gooseneck due to losing the truck space.

oosik · Jul 23, 2019

What about truck #1 and a removable 5th wheel hitch. This would allow use as a dump truck and still pull a large flat bed 5th wheel trailer. I KNOW that Reese makes a very heavy duty, removable 5th wheel hitch. They can be removed just like the quick release hitch on your FEL. The one I saw was on a F-450 dump and was rated to pull 20K.

4570Man · Jul 23, 2019

I have a 1 ton with a dump bed. And I’ll never own another regular bed truck. It’s the difference between owning a tractor and having a tractor with a loader. A flat bed wouldn’t be too bad. Mine is a 3500 DRW truck but a 450 class truck would be a lot better. I haven’t found a 1.5 ton dump that I like so I have a 6500 dump too.

Cat_Driver · Jul 23, 2019

I justy bought a 19 F250 and a 16' Dump trailer. All bumper pull.
This combo handles everything I need.
The Dump trailer hauls my Kubota 4060 with ease.
The dump trailer haule all my lumber, scrap, rock. dirt. etc I just did 40 trips to the dump, so the trailer paid for itself as here they charge $250.00 ti deliver and pickup a rolloff for the dump.

I just added a goosenech hich so I can now haul either gooseneck, Fifthwheel, of bumper pull.

I had a F450 flatbed and for eevryday use it was too tall to load and unload items. Great if all you do is load and unload with a forklidt but I never do.
The F250 6.7 pulls as strong as the F450 6.0 did probably better for sure a lot smoother as it's my daily driver also and the F450 stak body just wasn't a daily driver.

Industrial Toys · Jul 23, 2019

The way the p/u beds tend to rust out, before anything else, I would avoid one if possible. I have an 08 Duramax low miles, in great shape, except the darn rear wheel wells. What to do? Any body shop says they would just be stealing my money to try and fix it. Doubt I can find a take-off that old.

nikerret · Jul 23, 2019

oosik said:
What about truck #1 and a removable 5th wheel hitch. This would allow use as a dump truck and still pull a large flat bed 5th wheel trailer. I KNOW that Reese makes a very heavy duty, removable 5th wheel hitch. They can be removed just like the quick release hitch on your FEL. The one I saw was on a F-450 dump and was rated to pull 20K.

I wouldn’t want to mess up the floor of the dump bed. It’s bad enough having stuff get stuck on the D-rings on the sides of my dump trailer.

flyerdan · Jul 23, 2019

We did a 5th wheel on a one ton dump bed at work. Cut a square panel that would hinge forward over the frame mounted ball. It was framed underneath so it would sit flush and the hinge was to the front so material would slide right over it.

Redlands Okie · Jul 23, 2019

There is a HUGE selection of low profile truck beds with tool storage, top load or side load, that still allow you to comfortably haul a goose neck. Below is just one of many and lots of varieties.

HOSWELL truck beds - Google Search

DMax82 · Jul 23, 2019

atsah said:
My vote is a 1 ton or 450 with a dump if I had a choice..

At the last RB auction in Atlanta they had about a dozen F450 flatbed dumps 2011-13 model years with the 6.7 Powerstroke. All 2wd, but went in the $20-22k range. Seemed like a lot of truck for the money.

DMax82 · Jul 23, 2019

Cat_Driver said:
I justy bought a 19 F250 and a 16' Dump trailer. All bumper pull.
This combo handles everything I need.
The Dump trailer hauls my Kubota 4060 with ease.
The dump trailer haule all my lumber, scrap, rock. dirt. etc I just did 40 trips to the dump, so the trailer paid for itself as here they charge $250.00 ti deliver and pickup a rolloff for the dump.

I just added a goosenech hich so I can now haul either gooseneck, Fifthwheel, of bumper pull.

I had a F450 flatbed and for eevryday use it was too tall to load and unload items. Great if all you do is load and unload with a forklidt but I never do.
The F250 6.7 pulls as strong as the F450 6.0 did probably better for sure a lot smoother as it's my daily driver also and the F450 stak body just wasn't a daily driver.

That sounds like a sweet combo. I have seen a couple of gooseneck dumps with sides that fold down for loading.

DMax82 · Jul 23, 2019

4570Man said:
I have a 1 ton with a dump bed. And I’ll never own another regular bed truck. It’s the difference between owning a tractor and having a tractor with a loader. A flat bed wouldn’t be too bad. Mine is a 3500 DRW truck but a 450 class truck would be a lot better. I haven’t found a 1.5 ton dump that I like so I have a 6500 dump too.View attachment 614143 View attachment 614144 View attachment 614147

I like that analogy. I have a feeling that if I get a small dump I'll never understand how I got by without one.

DMax82 · Jul 23, 2019

Redlands Okie said:
There is a HUGE selection of low profile truck beds with tool storage, top load or side load, that still allow you to comfortably haul a goose neck. Below is just one of many and lots of varieties.

HOSWELL truck beds - Google Search

Those look pretty slick! Thanks for sharing.

4570Man · Jul 23, 2019

How heavy are you wanting to haul on the bed of the truck? Even with a less than ideal bumper pull trailer a 3500 DRW will easily move a 6600 pound tractor.

DMax82 · Jul 23, 2019

I think hauling 6-8k comfortably on the bed would be pretty cool. That would be all kinds of things - building materials, logs, rock - both on-road and off.

4570Man · Jul 23, 2019

I do that to my poor 1 ton but a 450 would be way better for doing that. I’ve had a project 3500HD for a while that I was planning on putting a dump bed on but since I bought the Topkick I doubt that’ll ever happen. Hauling off road is hard on a truck.

Renze · Jul 26, 2019

At the trailer and bodywork shop i worked years ago, we did a few chassis-cabs with a 5th wheel for landscapers: as a 5th wheel tractor they took 8.5 ton trailers, to take diggers and skidsteers to estates. When they had a job in the city, the locked a flatbed on the 5th wheel, assisted by two extra catches on the front to prevent it from tilting.

This way they didnt need a gooseneck to get down into a bed over the sides, so there was room for toolboxes and excavator buckets on the first part of trailer bed above the 5th wheel. And putting on the flatbed with dropsides, they could just park the trailer, pick up the flatbed with pallet forks, and run it into the 5th wheel locking mechanism as easy as mounting a trailer.

You could even make the removable bed a dump if you want, or have two swap beds: a flatbed and a service body...
That is, if the trucks net weight capacity allows this much freedom, off course a dedicated, fixed flatbed would weigh a few 100 pounds less.

gsganzer · Jul 27, 2019

I think a flatbed with a dump trailer would work well. I'm currently renting a 4yard dump trailer to move some dirt and it's pretty slick.

jjp8182 · Jul 27, 2019

Haven't gotten one yet, but I'm looking at the 3500 class of trucks - likely one under a 10k gross limit so I can hopefully avoid having to deal with different requirements of different states for operating "commercial" trucks. From what I've seen some states actually require a CDL for any vehicle over 10,000lb gross weight. .....and at some weight a street legal vehicle can no longer be insured under a personal policy, and instead requires a commercial insurance policy (even if the vehicle is only used for personal purposes).

If that wasn't a concern, I'd personally go buy the smallest hook-lift truck capable of carrying a 20ft bed (with suitable weight capacity margin) ....and then go buy a few different beds/bodies -- and then start buying 20ft ISO containers for use on and off the truck.