OT - Homemade Steel Truck Body

Harvesterguy · Feb 10, 2009

I am in the process of building a 20" steel body for a F800 10 wheeler. What purpose does the 2" strip of wood usually placed between the frame and the body serve? I"ve seen trucks without this board, but a vast majority I have looked at have it. The only reason I can come up with is that it may allow the frame to flex/twist independent of the body.

Any ideas? Thanks.

Drill · Feb 10, 2009

Most truck frames have a hump in them where it goes over the rear axle, so you put wood on the frame before and after to take up space and give you a straight line for the body your building to sit on.

Wood will also lessen any metal to metal squeaks that might occur.

Allan in NE · Feb 10, 2009

Absorbs the vertical shock load between the box and the chassis; mostly when empty.

Kinda hard to explain if you've never driven an empty beet truck across a field. The side stringers were steel on steel and ya could hear those things bangin' against each other clear over in the next county. :>)

Allan

Janicholson · Feb 10, 2009

Two reasons your flex concept is dead on. without it the truck becomes so rigid that the frame will crack just under the cab, or the cross members will be flexed to failure.
It is not alowable to weld to the frame, so the bolts needed must stand off an inch or so to allow movement.
The second is to raise the juniors (crossmembers in the box)to clear tires when loaded. JimN

thurlow · Feb 10, 2009

Hey Allan, what're the short cylinders for.........left side of bed? Looking at the cleats on the right side, it appears that they (cylinders) may pull the bed to the left when down........to lock it in place? Unusual tilt design to an old soybean/corn/wheat/milo farmer.........

caterpillar guy · Feb 10, 2009

If your building a body why not take an old rail container and cut the roof off then put your hoist under it ready to go. There is a guy in Elsie MI doing just this for silage boxes.

Allan in NE · Feb 10, 2009

The truck has an electric over hydraulic system to open that left sideboard from inside the cab.

Since all I raise is wheat anymore, don't use that sidedump or the opener much; just the rear hoist.

The hooks were used back in the days before hydraulic hoists. The beet dump lifted and dumped the load via a chain around those hooks.

Allan

trucker40 · Feb 10, 2009

There are rivet heads in the frame most of the time,the wood strips allow you to have the frame for the bed something to set on thats solid,not the heads of rivets.You can also use thick strips of metal with holes torched out for the rivet heads.Also the top of your frame might not be real flat and you can shim up a piece of flat iron to where its flat and smooth with the frame so the bed has a solid flat surface to set on.

OT - Homemade Steel Truck Body

Harvesterguy

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Drill

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Allan in NE

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Janicholson

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thurlow

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caterpillar guy

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Allan in NE

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trucker40

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