Box truck to flatbed dump project

Just wanted to post some pictures of a project I am working on. Picked up a 2000 F550 16' Box truck. It is rated 19000 gvw. Plan is to convert it to a flatbed dump. I have picked up a cheap flatbed and scissor hoist from a topkick for it. So far, I am into it (3.5k) for less than most people have in a new gooseneck trailer. Plan to use it for odds-n-ends, carrying wood, cars, tractor, etc...

The beginning...Truck was a little sick when I bought it. It has the 7.3PSD with 250k miles. Couldn't go over 50mph on flat road. I've rebuilt the turbo (easy) and removed the EBPV, replaced the downpipes and fixed all the turbo pressure leaks. Now it can keep speed and sounds good, but still not 100%, scanner tells me injector 8 is bad and also a high pressure oil leak. If anybody knows about these PSD engines, I could use some tips to narrow down the high pressure oil leak.

Sold and removed the box about 3 weeks ago. With some cribbing, bottle jacks and 55 gal drums, I raised it up enough to drive out from under it. With the box off, it drove like a sportscar with no suspension.

Next step is to make a subframe for the flatbed out of some 4 or 6 inch channel, this raises the bed some to help with the overhang when dumping, gives me more room for the hoist, strengthens the truck frame and allows it to be removable with a few ubolts.



This is were I am at right now, in next couple weeks I hope to get the flatbed on the truck but without hydraulics hooked up. Later on, a bumper and hitch setup.

Kewl. This is a huge project. Thank you very much for posting info and pics on this.
I look forward to the process.
Are you making the dump bed for it? If so, what are you using?

Thanks Doc,
First picture is the flatbed I am going to use. It is 16.5' long. Got it off craigslist for $100, pretty good shape with metal floor. Will have to build the hinge, sides and front bulkhead though. I like the idea of drop sides, so I will try to incorporate that.

Crude Sketchup drawings to show goal...

Wow!

Now you have something to haul your 4WD homemade tractor with too !

Very nice 'crude' sketchup drawings.
For a bed that big you will need a big ole hydro cylinder. Have you figured out how big that will need to be yet (diameter and lengthwise)?

Doc said:

Very nice 'crude' sketchup drawings.
For a bed that big you will need a big ole hydro cylinder. Have you figured out how big that will need to be yet (diameter and lengthwise)?

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From what I have read, a 10 ton scissor lift is recommended for 16' beds. The lift I picked up was from a GMC Topkick truck, a heavier truck than the F550, had a similar size 14' flatbed, so I thought it was a close match but there are no markings on it anymore. I don't have access to the lift right now, but it did have a pretty fat cylinder on it. Don't really know how lifts are rated, but I can only carry 5 ton on the truck, maybe less depending on heavy the truck ends being.

Somewhat similar to northern tool lift, http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200336191_200336191

aspenelm said:

From what I have read, a 10 ton scissor lift is recommended for 16' beds. The lift I picked up was from a GMC Topkick truck, a heavier truck than the F550, had a similar size 14' flatbed, so I thought it was a close match but there are no markings on it anymore. I don't have access to the lift right now, but it did have a pretty fat cylinder on it. Don't really know how lifts are rated, but I can only carry 5 ton on the truck, maybe less depending on heavy the truck ends being.

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aspenelm, you could be my new hero. I love to tinker and piddle but I would never attempt anything on that scale. Keep us informed as the work progresses.

Yep, I've noticed a trend with my projects, they keep getting bigger!

Have fun with it. I am just finishing up mine from a firetruck tanker to a flatbed dump. I picked up a 14.5 ton scissor lift. I am picking up a 12ft bed.
A couple things you might want to be sure to consider. I see where you have a lot of overhang behind the axle. Are you going to bob the frame a bit. Also check the height of the hinge point and not let you bed extend back so far it will hit the ground before it is all the way up.
I know this is elementary stuff, but I ust saw a rig today that when he puts the bed all the up it actually picks the rear axle off the gound.
I put a 3in subframe and a 6in channel for the main bed lift.

a pic

rdbrumfield said:

Have fun with it. I am just finishing up mine from a firetruck tanker to a flatbed dump. I picked up a 14.5 ton scissor lift. I am picking up a 12ft bed.

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That will be awesome.

rdbrumfield, nice truck! are you going to have any sides or stake pockets? any tips for positioning and welding the hoist, was it tacked up while the flatbed was down?

According to my drawing, I should have approx 20" of clearance at full dump. I'm kind of stalled on my project, I have to work on it outside, and lately we have had snow everyday for about two weeks. I've partially welded up a subframe out of 4" channel. After setting the flatbed back on the truck, confirmed that the flatbed I have has a "slight" bend in the rails, meaning it doesn't lie flat on the subframe, up about 1-1.5" on drivers side and .25-.5" on pass side, this is over the 16' length. Need some tips on getting it flat again, either heat or cut a series of kerfs into the channel and reweld.

Take a torch and heat the bottom of the channel and it will bring it down. Be careful not to heat in just a couple places or you might make it look a bit wavy. another way is to take a jack and chain and weld a padeye on each end. stretch the chain and jack the beam like pulling a bow back to straighten. Just don't overdo it. A little here a bit there.

The crossmembers are on 2ft centers. I have 3/16 wall 2x4 tubing for stake pockets. A 2x4 will slip right into them without much slop. They also tie in the crossmember channel to the 3/8x3 flatbar down the side. I like doing it this way as it leaves a 2in open slot down the outside of the bed so you can drop a chain through anywhere along the sides for tiedowns.

Here is a pic.

I like the heat idea better than the chain and jack. Will have to pick up a torch set, always wanted one, now I have an excuse.

nice job on the flatbed, what kind of finish are you going to put on it?

going to use a coat of ospho and paint it black. Most likely just brush it on. I don't have a heated shop and it is so damp here I hate to try to spray it. I think I would get better coverage with a brush underneath and all. I will have a hardener in it and brushing that stuff is better than breathing the fog of a gun without a pressure hood.

It is going to haul some gravel and such, not show in a parade, so the perfect paint job is ot a concern to me. Long as the metal is covered and doesnt' rust too bad it will be ok with me.

Great looking projects Fellers , Both are a lil bit to new for me though . Heres a pic of My 53 chevy yard truck I use for moving dirt around the property .

Sorry for the thread jack , but I have a 54 chevy as well I,m restoring & its an Original steel framed wooden flatbed dump bed & the woods all shot I,m sure i,ll need some help when I get around to rebuilding it to all steel . Thanks , an interesting thread . Bob

Aspenelm,
Here is a pic of the scissors installed.
I have the luxury to have been able to build from the ground up so it was easy to get to everything. What I did was cope out the top of the subframe so the hoist would sit flat on the subframe and welded it up solid. Then coped out the bottom of the lifting frame and welded it up. The kit came with a couple of angle iron flanges to drill and bolt to the truck frame. I needed the height of the sub and bed frame for the hoist unit to slip between the truck and crossmembers. Unless you are going to use a couple of telescoping cylinders on the outside of the truck frame, be sure to consider this when puting it on.
As far as where to put it, where I put mine will be a lot different to yours as your truck is much longer. Just remember to get height you lose lift. The farther back the scissors is the more of the load it has to pick.
If you haven't picked up your lifting unit, you might consider telescoping cylinders instead of the scissors unit.
The crossmember right behind the scissors unit is there for a place to rest the back of the scissors on. Lot of weight there just hanging in space without some support when bouncing down the road.

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum31/

that site plenty of info on th 7.3

The high pressure oil pump may be leaking from a plug on the underside of the pump. The pump is located on the top of the motor at the front. You will see plenty of oil in the valley if it is leaking there. You will need mirror to see the plug on the driver side of the pump. Ford will tell you to replace the pump. But if you search on that site you should find a part number of a kit available from international to replace that o -ring on the plug.

There are oil pressure hoses on the top of the engine also. Check these for leaks.

It is also possible that the injector o-rings are getting bad. They are not all that bad to replace. Just make sure that you get all the fuel out of the cylinders if you do this job.

The number 8 injector is notorious for showing up bad. I replaced it on my truck and it is showing up bad again.

One of the problems is that the fuel rail is a dead end system and the number 8 is the furthest from the fuel pump. So it does not always get enough fuel sent to it to 'fire' correctly.

Also the fuel pickup in the tank will allow air into the system. So keep the tank full when you scan the injectors.

There are fixes for all the issues but each one comes at a price of course.

All of this info is on that site!