flatbed under M109 box

[jesusgatos]

Clipped from this thread:

I'm going to build a low-profile flatbed sandwiched between the frame and the box, so that I can drop the box (like an over-sized slide-in camper). I'm going to do the same thing with my enclosed trailer (remove the enclosure and use it as a shed on the ground). I'll do this occasionally, when I'm setting up camp somewhere for an extended period of time. It will be nice to have a house on the ground, and a regular truck to drive around.

I hate to muddy up the thread, but a drop side bed could work good for your removable box idea. The 109 box will not fit in a regular bed, but could slide onto a drop side bed with the sides removed.

That's a GREAT idea. Can a moderator please clip this and move it to a new thread so we can continue this discussion?

I'm not sure that using a dropside bed will work for me, but it's certainly worth considering.

My biggest concern is the additional height. The cabover rack that I built lines-up perfectly with the top of my cab, so I don't really want to raise the box up much more than about 2" max. How thick/tall are the dropside beds?

The other thing I have to think about is tire clearance. I'm running singled 11.00 Firestone T831's on custom wheels, and I can't see how I'd be able to build a low-profile flatbed without making wheelwell cutouts of some kind. So I figure I can either:

1) Make wheelwells that follow the shape of the M109 box,

Or,

2) There's about 66" between the tires, so I could just make the flatbed deck a little less than 5ft wide.

Anybody have any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[mightymanx]

I looked into going that route and What I was going to do is a plain jane M35 and then get the coms shelter that is designed to fit in the bed of the M35.
The interior would be smaller but not to bad. I was going to use a breakdown "A" frame style system to make it so I did not need a crane to lift it off. Then It could be a portable cabin while I used the M35 as a...well an M35.

After I get my 109 done I still might go that route. I have a ways on my 109 so who knows if I will ever get to it.

 

[jesusgatos]

Yeah I considered going that route too, but an M109 box is already pretty small and I'm planning on living in mine fulltime for a while. So at this point, it's all about figuring out how to make something work with the M109 box. At least, for me. Would love to hear more about what anyone else has done, is doing, or is thinking about.

 

[tm america]

Why not just get a pipe line truck they have a flat bed and a roller- winch setup for loading things like a m109 box on the bed easily.plus i think the bed is thinner than a m35 bed.

 

[jesusgatos]

Well I've already got a nice truck, but these are the kind of suggestions that I'm open to. How much does a pipeline bed weigh? What do they look like?

 

[tm america]

Cranetruck-has one i think they consider them a m756 when the sides are on them they dont look to different from a m35. They do have a headache rack that could be cut down to clear your over head storage.i'm not sure what the weight but that would be the easiest way to self load a m109 box on the bed and unload it for camping

 

[jesusgatos]

Yeah, just found this. That's an awesome bed for sure, and might have been something worth considering if I wasn't already so far into this project. But it's too tall. Think I'm just going to have to build something custom. No big deal.

 

[tm america]

i always wanted to pull my bed back off and get two peices of 6 inch 3/8 thick angle iron Then hook the angle to my dump hinges and attach the scissors set up to them and run a couple braces at the front ,middle and back .I would put the angle so the l is toward the inside .and put a winch at the front of the framework.That way i can switch between beds the only mod to the bed would be notching it at the front to clear the angles. then i would make some t bolt wing nuts to lock it in place when driving..It would act like a roll off dumpster set up and would only add 3/8 height to the truck ...Then you could have a m109,m35, m35a2c,and make a flat bed for hauling cars ..oh and you would have to mount the trailer light hook up to the frame and the mud flaps would be mounted to the frame.other than that it would work out prefectly for me.one of these days when i get some more time i'm gonna do mine like this.....maybe i will start making some kits for the rest of ss to purchase for a small fee

 

[jesusgatos]

That's a great idea, and I would like to do something like that, but wouldn't do me much good if I'm traveling and don't have any way to bring that extra bed with me.

 

[tm america]

It would allow you to drop your box at the campsite and i you put some plate steel inside the angles you could have a closed deck or even make some tool boxes in that area that go between the cross members of the frame they could be like 12 inches deep and still clear everything

 

[jesusgatos]

Yeah, that's basically what I'm thinking about doing. Except that because my truck is singled-out, I could extend the flatbed deck a bit outside the framerails. Can really build much storage into the deck, because I've installed a 12ft loading ramp from a uhaul truck between the framerails, and I'm already planning using all of the available space under the bed/box/frame for storage.