My Welding Truck Business

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Hello, I am going to purchase a Truck and all the tools required to go out in the field and weld. I have a lot of questions and dont know if they should be in seperate threads or not. I will start here and see how it goes.Does anyone have metal specs for a truck bed? ie, metal thickness, max width ect? I can design my own bed but it would be helpfull to know what the norm is for sheet thickness. It seems to me that the base could be 1/4" and the rest 1/8? or less?Will a short wheel base truck work? And can a 3/4 ton handle it? Would it have to be a dually.The truck I have in mind is a 2001 Dodge 3/4 ton club cab. It does have air bags for extra weight.That should do it for now, thanks, Troy.WHAT DOES NOT KILL US, MAKES US STRONGER...http://www.myspace.com/painter22
Reply:There is very little difference between the Dodge 2500 and 3500 with single rear wheels, they are practically the same truck.  The dually has much greater weight carrying capacity than the single rear wheel trucks.What type of work are you intending to do with the truck?   Pipelining, you can probly get away with a short bed since pipeliners don't carry much stuff on their trucks.  If it is for mobile repair service and/or fabrication, you will definately want to go with a long bed truck, preferably with dual rear wheels.  I would recommend going a step further with a dually chassis-cab with an 84" cab to axle length so you can go with a 10 to 12 foot bed for lots of room for storage boxes and holding cargo and equipment and tools, overhead rack, etc.  On a short bed single rear wheel truck, max bed size you would want to go with is 7' long x 6' wide.  On a long bed with single rear wheels, 9' long x 6' wide.   On a dually long bed or cab/chassis truck with 60" cab/axle length, 9' long x 8' wide.  On a dually cab/chassis truck with 84" cab/axle length, 10' to 12' long x 8' wide.For the steel treadplate floor, 16 ga is thick enough, if supported with cross members every 12 to 16 inches below.  My utility body has 16 ga floor and that works fine for me.  If you will be beating on it, then go with 1/8".MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:A good place to look is the brochures for truck bodies. You can pick up a lot of good ideas you may not have thought about. Some truck dealers have the brochures in the show room, if not ask who the dealer uses locally for the bodies and go see them.Reading, Stahl, Omaha make lightweight, inexpensive, "contractors" bodies. The steel they list will be about the lightest you can go with. The bodies will last about 5-6 years and then rust thru in the side walls of the boxes.Commercial, or utility companies usually go with Knaphyde (inexpensive but better than those below, the crane bodies esp.) or Wilcox or IMT. IMT is the top of the line in bodies usually. They are built to last years of hard work. They will build anything you can imagine and then some, but the money is in the "Oh my God!" range. Wilcox is a bit lighter than IMT but still real close in quality but at a good deal less in cost.I know you are not looking to buy a prebuilt body, but this gives  you some idea when you look at the specs just what you are looking at. Also keep your eyes open, We managed to get a couple of good deals on used work bodies or trucks over the years. A good used commercial truck lot can have some good bargains on old power company vehicles at times. We lucked out and found a junk/parts yard that specializes in heavy equipment and trucks. We have picked up a couple decent bodies from wrecks there cheap to drop on PU's..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Thanks Desertrider33. That clears up alot.I am looking into pipeline and chasing some drilling rigs. I am trying to educate myself on how to get my name out there and find these jobs. It is looking kinda poor still, I want to work Utah, Colo and Wyo. I do hear N.D is needing Rigs. With the economy, looks a little scary...WHAT DOES NOT KILL US, MAKES US STRONGER...http://www.myspace.com/painter22