Flatbed Information Thread

Haven't had it on for long but no regrets at all, so much more usable space.

 

Honestly not having a tail gate was an adjustment. When you load the bed full, you always had the tailgate to use as a table with the original bed. Other than that, it has been a blast. Can load all my gear without worrying about damage to the composite bed. On the trial I don’t have to worry about bedside damage.

This obstacle for instance a few guys slide to the slide taking out a taillight and denting their bed. Not me

 

Thanks for the feedback y'all.

They just released DIY kit packages and pricing - the extrusions and lights aren't included, but the brackets are.

https://bigbodytruckco.com/products/rack?variant=47182226424116

 

Chinese flatbeds and canopies: https://aosenfab.com/collections

Anyone seen these?

 

Prices are extremely low. Almost too low. I just built a cap and my cost on materials were more then some of their boxes. Mind you I’m sure they are more if you get a quote with everything you want.

new cap plug

 

I got a price, just don't know how to get it here

 

Screenshot?

 

That's USD

 

Interesting. That does seem too good to be true.

 

Right

 

Could it be you still have to pay an import tax or VAT on top of that price?

 

^ all aluminum

says free shipping over $500

who's gonna do it

 

I live in Canada, so this is for sure a thing we get taxed on the air we breathe

 

I did some trimming on the outer rail in order to fit 35's at full stuff. Rather than making crude cutouts I fully boxed the trimmed area using 0.120 material to match the radius of the outer rail. My long term goal is to raise the bed 1.5" so the bottom of the rail meets the body line running down the side. I've got an 8" fabbed front housing sitting in the garage begging for attention so I'd like to fit 37's at full stuff with room for chains. Gotta love the flexibility of a custom flatbed.

 

There’s a lot to love going on right there.

 

diamond fab kit rear seems to sit low, and the back of it hang really low, acting as a hitch; ie not good departure angle clearance

I see yours is higher in both areas. Regarding the rear, did you trim that off and use a different hitch or something?

 

Very nice! I rub at full stuff with 35’s and it’s pretty annoying. The uteltd bed doesn’t really allow for trimming which sucks even worst. Would need make some arch’s to combat the rub.

I’m curious to see how bad it gets with Chevy 63’s and some longer shocks….

 

Yeah it sits SUPER low in stock form, IMO. Since it is designed to use the stock hitch your clearance gained is negligible apart from the rear corners. I reached out to them as soon as they announced their plans to release a Tacoma model to see if they would have an off-road variant available as well. They said not unless there was an overwhelming demand for it, but no plans at that point. I offered to work with them in order to design a higher clearance tail, but no dice. I essentially saved a few hundred bucks on the pre-order pricing and built my own tail piece. The clearance is 4-6" greater than the high-clearance Coastal Offroad Bumper I was previously using. I boxed the frame and relocated the crossbars of the ladder frame to right under the bed boards to make room for a fat spare and the new hitch location almost pulls from directly in line with the frame rails. Its a pretty high-n-tight setup. I also welded two hitch receivers vertically and flush with the deck. They're pretty nice for dropping in racks, lifts, and other stuff. I wanted something a little more beefy than the stake pockets. Also, not sure if I want to bob it the 13" that hangs past the boxes.

 

Just started mine.. figuring out mounting was a bit of a struggle.
Gonna use the mounting rails to mount drawer slides for a trundle drawer

 

Is this a diy one or a manufactured one?

if it’s a diy, lots of good stuff happening! Really like those mounts. The uteltd only suggested for 2 rails for the taco, but I got all three mounts for the bed.