Best way to build a frame for a wood flatbed?

[mike2891]

I'm planning on putting a wood flatbed on my truck and I can't figure out the best way to make the framing. I don't plan on doing any hauling with the truck beyond a little firewood for our camp or helping a friend move a piece of furniture or something, so I'm trying to avoid the added expense of a steel frame and use only treated lumber for the entire project (which I already have most of what I'll need laying around). I have the general idea of how I want the flatbed itself, I'm just trying to come up with the safest and most efficient way of attaching it to the truck frame. & if anyone has any pictures of how they attached theirs that'd be great

 

[RollinWOT]

I have one on my 63 C10, and what I did was first took the bed off, then made careful measurements of uptravel of the rear suspension. This must be spot on otherwise you run the risk of rubbing the tires on the fenders. Then you should get a professional to weld up a small frame for the flatbed to lay onto, the height of which is determined by uptravel, for example, if you have 5" of uptravel, go for roundabout an 8" tall frame for the flatbed, just to be safe with clearance. Then once you have your frame welded up good and tight to the vehicles existing frame, attach horizontal tabs to the inside of the frame and drill holes in them. This is where the lumber to make the flatbed will attatch to. Once you make all your lumber fit to the frame tabs, I suggest using washers on both sides of the bolts( I would go with grade 5 stainless) and then double-nut it to make sure its secure. Then you can add small "bedsides" to keep your stuff in. This is what I did, but ultimately, its your truck and get creative with it, but any route you take, make it a safe build!

btw-if you need anymore advice or have questions, dont be afraid to hit me up

 

[farmer]

Easy! I did this years ago before I got a steel bed for my one ton. 2 4x4s run parallel to the frame(long members) right above it, and what ever is necessary to shim the front and back to account for the frame hump (1x4, 2x4) then several (probably around 4) crossmembers (4x4, or 2x4) the width you want the bed. attach these using short pieces of angle iron as brackets. deck the top with planks and add finished boards to the sides and rear. If you want a head board, bolt 2 2x4s vertical at the front of the long members, plank the back, and finish board the sides and top. now to attack the bed to the frame every flatbed we've ever built (with gooseneck hitches built to the body) we used what my dad calls "gripes." which is simply, 2 pieces of threaded rod and 2 flat plates. sandwich the truck frame and long member near the 4 corners.
hope that points you in some sort of direction, if you have questions, fire away!