Ian's 2004 Tacoma - Custom Flatbed

It's heavy, but still under 500lbs. Don't know precisely, I just know that I can pick up the back end and I'm scrawny and in my fifties. It's probably closer to 450lbs. A stock bed is around 210lbs, so lets say +300lbs to be safe. This one will be hard on stock rear springs.

I've learned a few things on this project. The next one can have all the same features and come in around +100lbs vs. the stock bed. Maybe a bit less, but total weight around 300lbs would be easy. Depending on the purpose of the bed, it could be quite a bit lighter, if toolboxes aren't needed, or by going to a short bed, etc. If I was building something for overlanding/camping, it would be very light. Just a support system for all the camping gear. In my case, it's mostly a work truck and not hauling much weight most of the time.

 

I need one of these for my 2nd gen

 

Primer and paint on the bottom of the flatbed. Best place to figure out the paint mix and gun setup. A little orange peel here and there. I need to get it flowing better for the sides and top, where it will be more visible. Satin finish, so quite a bit of wiggle room.

 

That looks fantastic.

 

Today, I wrapped up a few details on the top, before painting. Finished up the door and latch for the front deck storage box. Drilled and tapped the headache rack for the center brake light. Finally, I cleaned up the rear deck weld, now that it is down where I can see and reach it easily.

I have one more detail to add on the toolbox door that covers the fuel filler neck and cap. It needs a slight bump out so that the stock filler neck works without any modification. I'll take care of that tomorrow and then start prep, prime and paint for the top and sides.

 

Very nice work!

 

I had an old Nissan Flatbed years ago when I was young and broke. I used to load up my motorcycle (Honda 450K4) and head up to the mountains to cruise around. My Samoyed loved to ride in the flatbed with the sides up.

 

How heavy? That looks like a lot of metal?!

 

Why not a wooden floor?

 

I'm estimating +300 over the stock bed. It's probably not quite that, but probably a good number to use for rear spring specs.

 

I'm in Central New Mexico at 7000 feet. The UV up here will turn a wood deck to dust in just a few years. Just about any clear finish evaporates in about a year. It could be done, but I don't want the ongoing maintenance.

 

Primer done on the top and sides. Getting close to wrapping this up.

 

Looks great. Are you taking pre-orders and down payments yet? Figure about, what, $4399 price? Probably local pickup only, right? Seems a bit serious to try to ship that.

 

I would like to make a few beds a year. Most of the fabrication I've been doing is ranch oriented. Steel buildings, stall panels, etc. Building a few custom Taco beds a year would raise the entertainment value a bit for me. Building the same design over and over is less entertaining (but good work). The perfect setup would be working with folks that know how they want to use their truck and have a sense of the look they're going for. Completely custom stuff. That would be fun.

You just about nailed the potential pricing for the current project. Materials, labor and sundries would put it between $4500-$5000. I'd rather keep it on my truck to be honest. I'll be less attached to the next one

 

Welcome to the forum.

We're in the same CNC group; I had mentioned the payload capacity of the 1st Gen and how heavy that flat bed would be on Facebook.

 

With the trailers and stuff available here, we can deliver stuff over most of the South West, Texas, Colorado, etc. I'm close to Albuquerque, so anywhere within 10-15 hours of driving could be worked out for the cost of gas and a few burritos. Or, drive to me and get it installed at the shop. I'll work it out with anyone actually interested in a bed. I'm just getting started, so more flexible now, than later perhaps.

 

If the weight could be minimized somehow, my ‘05 RC Tacoma as a flatbed might have some appeal. I’m just trying super hard to keep her under 3500 lbs.

My fat pig ‘02 Tundra could handle a heavy bed but I already have a shell for her and it’s a decent setup that way.

 

I remember the conversation, how's it going? It's sitting just under 500lbs. Pretty close to your estimate. So +300 over the stock bed. Definitely not for stock springs. Mine (not stock) will hold up until I get replacements ordered.

Without much difficulty, I could drop 200lbs on a redesign that looked the same, but trimmed the fat a bit. Lighter tubing, much less of it and some of the sheet metal could reduce the gauge a bit. That would be much more reasonable for a 1st Gen.

 

Good, glad to see you get it all done!

Looks sharp.

But yeah it's so easy to overbuild stuff, heck even the simplest things as it's easy to question the integrity of something before it's fully welded or bolted up.

Maybe someone will take you up on a custom one and seeing as how you have the files made, it'll be much faster getting the parts cut out.

 

It could be much lighter, even with the toolboxes and the transfer tank. I overbuilt quite a bit. Depending on what you need, it could be very light. Totally depends on what you like and how you use the truck. Whatever I build next, will definitely benefit from what I learned on this one.