Flatbed manufacturers

[andy_b]

I need a flatbed for my 2000 F350 to put a camper on. Who are people going with that are able to manufacture one with a spring mount system? I know AT does and they're working on a quote for me. I've tried Highway Products and Alum-Line without success.

I'd prefer aluminum construction and don't mind driving to get it. Any suggestions?

updated 8/18/20
Just an update for anyone who is also trying to find a spring mounted flatbed.

Adventure Trailers has said they have never done such an install and wasn't sure how to go about it. Still waiting to hear back for a specific quote for my longbed F350 (sans spring mounts).

Spoke with Mule regarding the Norweld trays and they have also never done a spring mount install.

Boxmanufaktur does not fabricate or install trays, but they were familiar with the concept. They stock various sizes of spring mounts. Andreas at RRE Global/Boxmanufaktur USA said he would be willing to coordinate with the flatbed manufacturer and/or the local installer to help facilitate this kind of thing.

ITB can make spring mounted trays and subframes out of steel or aluminum but only on a one-off basis.

Some insight into how these spring mounts work - might be helpful for those of us trying to have a conversation with flatbed installers: https://www.metaltanks.com/spring-mounting-instructions. In the US, they are most commonly used to fix water/fluid tanks onto trucks. I'm sure most of you all know this but thought it might be helpful.

Andy

 

[yfarm]

Aluma Line is in Bancroft Iowa, Alum-line is in Cresco Iowa. Both sell thru dealers who do the install. Spoke with a dealer in Bancroft Iowa 2 blocks from factory who was willing and able to do a spring mount even though most sold to farmers are rigid mounts. My recollection was $1800 for a 77”x90” basic aluminum flatbed, mounting was time and materials estimated at $500-1000 based on my description of a spring mount. Aluma Line offers flip down sides on the bed, boxes,etc price just starts climbing. My plan was basic bed with 8ft tool boxes on each side with a slide in Hawk.

 

[BajaSurfRig]

@andy_b I have a 96 F350 and am looking for something similar. If you could DM the pricing you receive from AT I'd be very interested to see it.

 

[andy_b]

I found a local Aluma dealer that is willing to consider making a spring mount - waiting to hear back on their pricing. I had called Alum-Line direct and they had no interest in even considering it. The salesperson I spoke with couldn't even get their head around the idea of camping off-road.

I found a local CM dealer that was willing to consider it. For their basic AL RS flatbed, they estimated ~$5k installed with a spring mount system. They hadn't done one before but they immediately thought of something similar to what they use to mount water tanks on large trucks which is exactly what I was thinking about.

Still waiting to hear back from AT. Back at an Expo a few years ago, they had said $5-8k depending upon options.

I'm surprised that this is still such a big deal. I also wonder if those of us thinking about using a flatbed on a domestic pickup need to really consider something like this, since "camper suspension" was initially developed for much larger medium and heavy duty trucks with longer wheelbases and longer houses. I know that this topic has been rehashed over and over - the value of making the house independent of the chassis seems to make sense, but you also don't see a rash of broken flatbeds either (across all applications). Moreover, if taking trucks offroad with flatbeds/service bodies were such a big deal, you'd think that the manufacturers would be more familiar with the concept...

 

[1000arms]

I need a flatbed for my 2000 F350 to put a camper on. Who are people going with that are able to manufacture one with a spring mount system? I know AT does and they're working on a quote for me. I've tried Highway Products and Alum-Line without success.

I'd prefer aluminum construction and don't mind driving to get it. Any suggestions?

You might check with DuraMag:

Aluminum Flatbed Truck Bodies and Beds - DuraMag Bodies

Flatbed Aluminum Truck Bodies from Duramag

duramagbodies.com

From their website: "DuraMag® Flatbed Bodies can be fully customized. Give us a call to get more details about how we can build a body that meets your specific needs."

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

If you plan on using it offroad much, take a close look at how they are mounted in relation to the frame.

Seeing a lot of the big name fancy ones sitting flat and if running 35" tires or so they are almost touching the thing, massively limiting up travel.

Just something to consider ive seen a few folks learn the hard/expensive way

What type of camper are you installing that makes ya think a spring mount is necessary?

 

[kmacafee]

I need a flatbed for my 2000 F350 to put a camper on. Who are people going with that are able to manufacture one with a spring mount system? I know AT does and they're working on a quote for me. I've tried Highway Products and Alum-Line without success.

I'd prefer aluminum construction and don't mind driving to get it. Any suggestions?

When you say you tried them, what did you mean? They never responded?

I had Alum Line build me a flatbed about 18 months ago. They are not the most responsive to inquiries but they do good work. The sales guy I worked with was Mark Shinneman and he was great.

 

[andy_b]

When you say you tried them, what did you mean? They never responded?

I had Alum Line build me a flatbed about 18 months ago. They are not the most responsive to inquiries but they do good work. The sales guy I worked with was Mark Shinneman and he was great.

I called them and discussed my plans and ideas. They did not think they could manage the mounts.

 

[andy_b]

If you plan on using it offroad much, take a close look at how they are mounted in relation to the frame.

Seeing a lot of the big name fancy ones sitting flat and if running 35" tires or so they are almost touching the thing, massively limiting up travel.

Just something to consider ive seen a few folks learn the hard/expensive way

What type of camper are you installing that makes ya think a spring mount is necessary?

The bolded is a good question - I'm not totally convinced it is necessary. It seems like it would make sense in theory. The camper itself will most likely be a Bundutec or Total Composites build. The plan is for it to be as light as possible (certainly within the weight rating of the chassis).

 

[RAM5500 CAMPERTHING]

The bolded is a good question - I'm not totally convinced it is necessary. It seems like it would make sense in theory. The camper itself will most likely be a Bundutec or Total Composites build. The plan is for it to be as light as possible (certainly within the weight rating of the chassis).

Ah, yes, i wasnt sure what type of camper you were going with. An aluminum frame FWC or similar wouldn't need a spring mounted frame.

But a composite panel build like TC would.

 

[andy_b]

Ah, yes, i wasnt sure what type of camper you were going with. An aluminum frame FWC or similar wouldn't need a spring mounted frame.

But a composite panel build like TC would.

Honestly, I'm not sure that any one type of construction would benefit more or less from an spring mount than another, if we're assuming that allowing the house to move separate from the chassis reduces strain on the house itself. I would think that would prolong the life of any setup. I'm just not totally sure that for something the size of an 8' camper, it makes much of a difference.

 

[kmacafee]

The bolded is a good question - I'm not totally convinced it is necessary. It seems like it would make sense in theory. The camper itself will most likely be a Bundutec or Total Composites build. The plan is for it to be as light as possible (certainly within the weight rating of the chassis).

I have a Bundutec Odyssey mounted on an Alum-Line flatbed on a Ram 3500. Instead of trying to align bolts up when lowering the camper, I simply use torklift tiedowns running from the jack brackets to the flatbed itself at all four corners. I added some side plates and it has never moved even after a lot of off road driving. I'm not sure the expense and engineering of spring mounts is really necessary for a 2000 pound camper.

 

[booger hooker]

Lots of great information in this thread that is relevant to my future needs. Being from Iowa I need to take a road trip to Alum-Line and see what they have to offer that would fit my needs and price range. Great article on truckcamperadventure.com by kmacafee.