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