F 450 flatbed camper build

[Capt Eddie]

Adrenaline 503. I was able to get them wholesale thru my welding business. I can now sell them to you direct. They are Buyers Products. great boxes. 0.100 thick. That is important. most I foung were 0.65 or 0.55. Check before you buy. You can go to thier web site, get an item number and I can sell it to you drop shipped. They have alot of offroad items.

 

[btggraphix]

Adrenaline 503. I was able to get them wholesale thru my welding business. I can now sell them to you direct. They are Buyers Products. great boxes. 0.100 thick. That is important. most I foung were 0.65 or 0.55. Check before you buy. You can go to thier web site, get an item number and I can sell it to you drop shipped. They have alot of offroad items.

Good to know.

Mine are these http://www.truck-tool-box.com/sb-series.php as far as I can tell.

 

[Capt Eddie]

Nice custum built. You always get what you pay for. I was able to go with standard sizes and saved some money with Buyers Products.

 

[btggraphix]

Nice custum built. You always get what you pay for. I was able to go with standard sizes and saved some money with Buyers Products.

and it looks like they are .125" thick as well, based on what your saying, they are pretty stout. Good thing as I put some seriously heavy stuff in there. Have even thought about an 8D battery on each side and those suckers are heavy. The weak link is likely the all-thread, or perhaps that strapping.

 

[Capt Eddie]

With that kind of weight I would put 3/16 plate under the aluminum attached to the allthread.

 

[Capt Eddie]

I finished putting the boxes on the bed tonight. I got some stick on LED lights for the inside of the boxes, they are bright, but I do not know how long the sticky will last. I have to wait for the swingaway jack extensions to come in. When I bought the camper they were $200, now I need another pr and they are $269. I was not happy. I have to put the extensions on the back because the flatbed is 11 foot long and the camper is only 8' 6''. I will be able to cut away an area for the jack to swing back within the bed. That should keep it from getting damaged. I will rewire the camper plug to a 7 way rv style. The male was $4.69 the camper dealer wanted $45. I cut the hole for the female in one of the boxes. That way I can use one plug for the camper and the gooseneck. I am goig to line all the boxes with 3/4 plywood to help support the load I put in them. I figure to spread the weight over the whole bottom of the box.

 

[Capt Eddie]

I was able to wire in all the plugs yesterday. I am having a hard time cutting the 3/16 aluminum plate. I can get about 6 inches with a good jig saw blade before it breaks. I can get about 12 inches with a cutoff wheel. I can get 2inches with a sawsall metal blade. The sawsall is the best but I have to have a starter hole to get the blade in. I plan on taking the tire skirts to a machine shop Mon and let them cut out the deisel filler holes and other holes with a plasma cutter. I had to add 1 1/5 squ tubing ext to the lift jacks to be able to clear the bed. That worked great. When they are in the up position they can swing into the side of the bed that has been cut out on the back. The front will swing in front of the bed. I set the back boxes in 4 inches for the jacks. Today I will try to mount the frame for the spare tire. I will put a frame inside the box and one behind the box. I still am not sure how to secure the tire inside the box?? Bolt , straps? I had to have the tailpipe cut off and turned down to clear the back box on the passenger side.

 

[kerry]

I don't understand why the sawzall is not working. I've recently been cutting 3/16" diamond plate steel with a sawzall and it is going thru it very quickly. A foot in 40-50 seconds. Could it be the blades?

 

[Capt Eddie]

That should have read 24 inches with the sawsall. Yes it will cut it. But all I have let are inside cut where I need a starter hole. I was using a cutoff wheel but it looks bad. But yes the sawsall will cut it. Thanks for the reply.

 

[kerry]

I've made slots in diamond plate aluminum with a router, starting from a drilled hole. It might work for you.

 

[btggraphix]

pictures?

If you want me to post some pictures - I'm repeating my offer Pictures are worth....you know....a lot of words. Send me a PM if you want me to post them.

 

[2008F450]

Yes please post some pics. I am new to site but I have an 08 F450 too. I am considering a similar build to mine and would love to see how yours is coming along.

 

[Capt Eddie]

Just got back from our first trip in the new truck. Only problem is that I did not straighten out the fuel lines and run them correctly. One tank would not take fuel at all and the front tank took all day to fill. When we got to camp I was able to straighten out the line and raise the filler. They run fine now. I should have spent more time before I welded the bed over the tanks. 10 mpg loaded. Also, no tire shops had the right offset airchuck to fill up the inner back tires. I stopped at 5 tire shops, they had straight extensions not offset. I will have to find one and carry it with me. No I did not have the onboard comppressor installed. That is next. We did not use half the boxes on the bed. My son and wife put all their stuff in the boxes and we had plenty of room left. This is the best thing I have done to a truck. I wired the battery power to the center post of the 7 way adapter. I used 8ga wire. The center is the only lug big enough for the 8ga.

 

[Capt Eddie]

pics

 

[Capt Eddie]

As you can see this is our first try at posting pictures. We will update and detail more pictures of the build.