flat bed for a 1982 ford 150

[sparky123]

i am new to the world of welding but i have a ok teacher. my first major project will be a flat bed for old blue. my bed finaly rotted off and i was wondering if any one had any info on building a flat bed. what mostly want to know is what i should use to frame it will and the thichness of the steel. I was thinking 1/4 channel for the frame with supports for the lumber welded in at intervals to screw 2x6 to .
Thanks for any advice. NICK

[timw]

There are a lot of ways to go with this project. I've mounted a bunch of truck bodys and built several flat beds too.
Basicly you need to use channel front to rear on the truck frame rails. The size depends on the ride highth you are looking for. Put 1" X 3" wood between the channel and the frame, use U bolts to hold the channel to the frame to make it removeable. For crossmembers I would use 3" channel. I would also use 4" channel for the outside rails. If you notch and weld the 3" to the bottom of the 4" when you install the 2 X 6 deck it will stick up 1/2". You can add a bulkhead to the front and pockets for stake type sides. To fasten the deck they make Torx screws, 1/4" or 5/16" that are self tapping. You drill a hole and run them in with an impact until they are countersunk.
If you can look under a truck body somewhere you can get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

[Manny]

Never did a truck bed, but have redecked several trailers used to haul heavy equipment. We used rough sawn oak planking from a farmer with a sawmill for the deck and screwed the planks down directly to the steel cross pieces with self tapping screws available from trailer shops. Makes a stout deck thats not too hard to fabricate.
Manny

[sparky123]

thanks tim for the advice. as soon as i get the cash around i will be starting his project. i'll post some construction pictures and the completed project when its done.