How to fix Washboard dump truck floor

[GreenTime]

I recently purchased a used 2.5 ton dump truck with 12' long box (contractors box with fold down sides). The box has a 1/8" thick steel floor with cross members spaced 12" center-to-center. The floor is very washboarded with a 1/2" dip between cross members. What is the best way to fix the floor? I am thinking of welding new plate on top of the existing floor. Should I use 3/16" thick or 1/4" thick? Thanks.

Birdlover ('69 roadrunner & '79 trans am)
JD 430
Looking for a JD 855

 

[Renze]

welding sheets over it is the quickest. On a dumptruck you probably only see the underside when dumping, unlike a dumptrailer where you'll see the underside all day. If it was in sight, i would have wanted to make it look neat when i was spending money on it.. but thats just me.

 

[case646]

I recently purchased a used 2.5 ton dump truck with 12' long box (contractors box with fold down sides). The box has a 1/8" thick steel floor with cross members spaced 12" center-to-center. The floor is very washboarded with a 1/2" dip between cross members. What is the best way to fix the floor? I am thinking of welding new plate on top of the existing floor. Should I use 3/16" thick or 1/4" thick? Thanks.

Birdlover ('69 roadrunner & '79 trans am)
JD 430
Looking for a JD 855

If i were you i would weld 1/4 plate steel over the existing floor or maybe put some 1/2 inch flat bar in the dips to make it level and then weld your plate to that it would reinforce it.

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

Are you shure it is 1/8". Most are 3/16. Could yours be wore down that much. If you put another floor over it you will add a lot of weight and moisture will get between them and will rust through quickly. The floor gets wavy from dumping heavy buckets of materail into the truck quickly with the bucket high. It streches the metal. I wouldn't worry about it.
Bill

 

[lostcause]

I recently purchased a used 2.5 ton dump truck with 12' long box (contractors box with fold down sides). The box has a 1/8" thick steel floor with cross members spaced 12" center-to-center. The floor is very washboarded with a 1/2" dip between cross members. What is the best way to fix the floor? I am thinking of welding new plate on top of the existing floor. Should I use 3/16" thick or 1/4" thick? Thanks.

Birdlover ('69 roadrunner & '79 trans am)
JD 430
Looking for a JD 855

1/4" plate over an 8x12 body is pretty much just a way to spend $1000 and lose 1000lb of carrying/dumping capacity. as a couple other posters offered: don't do anything with it.

 

[OrangeJbird]

Line it with a high density plastic sheet. Spray foam to cushion and hold it in place.

 

[Taylortractornut]

When ours gets stretched like that we unpin the hoist and subframe and turn the bed on its back and burn out the stitch welds. ten put in a new floor. You can put the new sheet on top but it will hold every drop of moisture and rust out. Also it will strecth into the others shape pretty quicky because it can only be weled on the outed edges.

 

[tyrone]

When I was driving a dump professionally, we had industrial belting bolted into the beds to keep from beating them up when loading. Not all loader operators are careful not to drop rough stuff into the bed from to high or too quickly. This really helped keep the beds smooth. Just a thought . . .

 

[nuffer460]

Well it's already been said, Leave it alone or cut it out and replace it. If you put another layer of steel over the top. It will cut into your net payload. The more your truck weighs, the less you can haul. Believe me, the DOT will check if you even look to heavy.
More with the Aluminum Bodies than the steel bodies. We used 3/4" plywood on the floors and walls to keep rip rap and other larger rock form denting metal. Even good operators can have a bad day.

 

[mwb]

You now have a 2.6 Ton dump! I agree, leave it or completely remove and replace.