New Truck, New Flatbed, New Crane!!!!!

[scapegoat]

Well here we have a new 09 Chevy Silverado Duramax 3500.



I am building the flatbed from scratch. Main rails are 4"x3"x1/4" tubing, cross beams are 3"x2"x1/4" tubing. The tread plate is 1/4" thick. On the front 2' of the bed will be 1/2" plate. The crane will mount on the driver’s side towards the cab. The perimeter of the bed will be 8" structural channel.





Here are some pics of the 8" channel and how the led lights will be install once they are cnc plasma cut.



We are installing a knuckle boom crane. So that’s why I am beefing up a lot of areas, I am known for overkill, and this bed is going to weight around 2700-2800 in just metal.

Here are pics of the crane and outriggers. The crane is a Big Max 130.2 All hydraulic with hyd. winch, and all wireless remote controls.









And finally here are some pics of the welds.





As soon as I get some more done I will post up some more pictures, and progress reports. Thanks Andrew

[Coyote]

Looks like its going to be a nice rig. What line of work is the truck going to be doing most of the time?

[scapegoat]

It will be used in the oil patch, we operate over 100 wells at the moment, and all run off electricity so we go thru alot motors, and need some towing capacity to pull trailers loaded with rods and tubing, and other odds and ends kind of work. Thanks Andrew

[Coyote]

That should make your work eaiser. We probably will be using a gin truck forever for that type of work.

[scapegoat]

That was the plan, as well as make motor swaps a one man operation w/o hurting yourself. The wireless remote was expensive but installing motors with it and making fine adjustments will be easy with this setup. Every time we look at the crane we think of a new way to use it. Will still have some big winch trucks to move tanks and units if needed. Thanks Andrew

[farmersamm]

That's gonna be one nice truck when you're done. The crane is gonna make life simple. Most of the guys here have gin pole trucks.

I couldn't tell by the pics, are you doing the entire build on the truck, or just key elements?

I wondered how you'd be able to paint it. There's mega metal there, it's definitely going to be sturdy

I have to attempt building a simple flatbed sometime down the road, and I'm not looking forward to it. If mine turns out as good as this one looks like it's progressing, I'll be one happy camper.

[Dualie]

Sounds HEAVY

[ed mac]

nice truck where did you get the crane

[welderShane]

Wow. keep us posted on the build. Looks like its comming along very nice!!

[specter]

Very nice work on that 09 looks like it going to almost be a piece of art when done.

As for the POR products we use them all the time on the farm and in the shop.

As for the front noses on our trucks, my jeep, and my rv I use either 3M or SEM clear ChipGuard. Sprays on and its great you could shoot stones at the stuff and it save the paint.

[scapegoat]

Update 1
Well got a little more done.
I picked up a headache rack from Winkle Manufacturing, in Glen Elder, KS
I decided to buy one rather than try to build one as first it would save time. Second I liked the look of 2"x3" tubing. I must say I am really happy with my choice, I wish I could take credit for this one.







And here is one from the front



Here is one looking from cab back, it will move to within 3-4" of the window. Once it is setting on top of the 1/2" Plate.



Here is another picture of the outrigger with a bearing to help it glide in and out.



Here are some pictures of Winkles welds.





I also get some stuff from UPS. Here is a craftsman CPL box.



And here is the remote to control the crane.



I'll post up some more pics and info as i get it. I am not suppose to pick up the rest of the cnc plasma cut metal this next week. And go from there. Also there were some people asking about the lights. They are made by Maxxima. If that helps you.

Thanks Andrew

[1Normy]

Scapegoat, where are at in KS? My wife is from Newton.

[specter]

Well it sure sounds like your truck is going to be VERY Well equiped.

[scapegoat]

We are based around the Wichita area. That where I have lived all my life. I am putting some more stuff together and will post up some more stuff later. Thanks Andrew

[scapegoat]

Finally got a 2nd update.

Here is a drawing I gave the company doing the plasma cutting for me. I had a good friend draw it up for me. If he looks at this Thanks Brian, it looks great.



This last picture is showing the 8" channel that will be on the perimeter of the bed. I wanted a 1" lip above the tread plate to keep things on the bed, as well as give me a place to chain and boomer things down. The shop cut the angles a little off so I had to compensate and make it 1 1/2" lip, which actual I like better.

Here is a picture. To show you what I mean.



Here is a close-up



I also tapered the side going to the back panel.



Also here is a picture looking towards the cab, butting up the jack. Once the head ache rack is moved forward the jack will slip in to be flush with the back of the 8" channel. I will be cutting a 2.5" piece of 8" channel to weld the face of the jack. That will make the 8" channel seam seamless front to back. My good friend Jon with the FJ-40, gave me that idea which I think will look great.



I also put all the lights in the panel because the company plasma cutting made a few mistakes, and I had to get on them tell the got it right.



I'm just going to post up the rest of the pictures I took at different angles.







I plan on tig welding all the miter cuts, and angles and metal finish them.
I have some 1/2" plate left over that will mounted on the back panel with the same angles, and tapered from the center and get shorter the further it moves out.

Well more pictures to come tomorrow, as I finish the other side, and skin the top. I will keep you updated. Thanks again Andrew

[ed mac]

looks great you sub out the plasma cutting
do you know what table they have ive been looking at
a few like tourch mate and pro table

[scapegoat]

The company I used is pretty old. There machine didn't have a label on it I could read. But it had to of been at least 15 years old or more. I will try and take a closer look next time I am there. I have also been researching plasma tables. But stopped for now as the expense is out of my tool budget for now. Thanks again Andrew

[farmersamm]

That bed is Nice!!!

Are you bumpin' on the overloads yet?

[fj40cruisethis]

That drawing of the frame should have given the CNC shop everything they needed to properly drop the frame in the back...How they screwed that up I have no idea...Regardless that looks AWESOME. Sure wish I had all your skills at my disposal!

[scapegoat]

I got some pictures of the mud flaps installed.





I used some 2"x2"x3/16" angle to weld to both the main frame to the 8" channel as the main support. I also drilled at the same time some 1.5"x1/8" strap to wedge the flaps between to keep them from ripping out later on.



I also got all the holes drilled for the filler necks to go thru. I also wanted there to be plenty of slope in the line to make sure I don't have to raise one side of the truck to fill-up. Trust me I have gone thru this before. And the problem only gets worse if its loaded with a trailer. Next I will sleeve them with some 3" tubing.











Also in this last photo you can see inside the hole there is a bump at the bottom of the tubing. I heated up about a 2" circle and used the back end of a ball peen hammer to dimple the tubing to fit flat on the frame, over the rivets on top. Here is another photo of the rear.



I should have some more stuff for you on Tues. as I pick back-up the rear bumper section, with the 1/2" plate finished.

Thanks again for looking, and commenting. Andrew

[daddy]

Looks good Andrew. I can attest to that filler neck trouble. With a flat bed, the slope just isn't there. I like your solution, especially the sleeve. Let us know how it works.

[bensweld]

You said you were known for overkill now i can see why.Great job can't wait to see the floor done.

[scapegoat]

Sorry for taking so long. Out here we have been busy after getting end of march ice storms. We had a bunch of broken electrical poles. And production takes prority to projects. Here is an update.

The pictures I have are from a couple weeks back. My camera batteries are dead, and I keep forgetting to replace them.

I got all the floor plate welded on. I also got the Goose neck hitch in from under the 1/4" tread plate. The pictures are from before when it was just tacked in. I have since opened up these a little bit and cleaned them up so I could also weld them from the top. Also from the pictures you can see I had it sandblasted. They blasted it before I was done welding all of it but it shouldn’t hurt anything as I will have it clean when I paint it.

Here are the pic's




















I will try and get some more pictures for you on Sat. and should be able to keep you more updated now. Thanks for looking Andrew

[scapegoat]

Well guys, sorry for not keeping you updated. Been pretty busy around here. I've got some updates, and pictures for you.

I got it painted. And here are some pictures. I painted the bottom side with 2 coats of POR-15 base, and then 1 heavy coat of 3m body Shultz rubberized under coating. I thought it turned out pretty nice, I will get pic's of that later. I painted the top with 2 coats por-15 base, one heavy coat tie coat interlocking primer, and one coat of hard-nosed paint, and then 2 coats of Napa crossfire urethane enamel. The reason for this is the hard-nosed coat was taking forever to spray took over 3 hours to apply, and wasn't spraying well. I don't think I would paint another bed with that stuff. Small projects like stands, and tanks, and axles, or frames would be fine.

















I will be flipping it on it's side again to do all the wiring. And put all the boxes, and crane on. Then it will be off to the hydraulic pro's to get it all hooked up and working. I could probably do that to. But I got other projects lined up, as this one took longer than expected. And they can probably have it done sooner. I will try and keep you updated. Thanks for looking Andrew

[farmersamm]

Oooooo Mudflaps

That'll give the guys somethin' to tear off

BTW--- The welds (yours, not the headache rack guys) are really nice. Wish mine looked like that.