pad between frame and bed? what to use?

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I recently added a nice 3/4 ton flatbed to an old Chevy truck. The rails on this bed  were spaced about 37" versus 34" (the frame) so I used 2x2 as cross rails to support the bed, welded that 2x2 to the bed rails  and bolted the angle iron tabs to the truck frame. My mentor QC'ed my work,  suggested strongly that I pad the attachment  points because the stress and pounding could crack a weld or worse yet, crack the frame.  Ok, can do, he suggested material cut from a white plastic cutting board. Ok,  I have that material.  Anyone have a better easy to find shock pad material?  Neoprene would be great but not available here probably.  Maybe Desert or Samm has a trick up their sleeve?  The area to pad is about 2 1/2 " by 4 "  approx.Lincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools
Reply:try: http://www.mcmaster.com/#neoprene-pads/=6yztbw
Reply:I was thinking of a hockey puck sitting in a cup, maybe 2/3 the height of the puck to help prevent splitting and a hole to thru bolt to prevent lateral movement.HobbyistSS/Aluminum cartATD 130 MIGEverlast 225 TIGSteel cartEverlast PP50 plasma cutterHarbor Freight 130 TIG/90 ArcHarbor Freight 100 Flux coreOxy/Acet
Reply:Hey, thanks much GabZip... just ordered a square foot of neoprene.  Very good service, nice guys.enjoy, Bretjty > thanks much,  Zapster has all the hockey pucks... we live in Yuma, was near 100 here yesteday, good idea, cupped and all but that would be hard to find hereLast edited by PapaLion; 05-06-2010 at 11:14 AM.Lincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools
Reply:they make a square plastic stopper for sa 200 frames that,d proly work good
Reply:I figure to use the excess neoprene I ordered to pad my old Weldanpower on it's trailer.  Wish! I hadda 200 to pad thanks much.Lincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools
Reply:Probably too late now, but Jeep body mounts are pretty much the same thing.You need something that can move a little, because it will.  When it does move, it will make noise, so you'll want to grease it, but make sure you use a grease that will not break it down.
Reply:Like lithium white grease maybe?Lincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools
Reply:I must be slipping, but I can't recall seeing pads between bodies and frames.  Cabs and such have cushion mounts, but I've never seen them on either pickup boxes or flatbeds.  Could be I really haven't looked hard.Lot of the old trucks up to maybe the early 60's used wood shims between the flatbed and frame, and the whole thing was held together by u-bolts.  Saw it on van boxes too.  I JUST HAVEN'T PAID ATTENTIONI guess it couldn't hurt.I'd just want to make sure the pad didn't shift, and the bed mounts come loose because the pad shifted (if you're using u bolts or some other type of mount not HOLD THE PRESSES..........................  Just went outside and looked at my little Ford, and there are very thin pads between the bed and frame.  BUT VERY THIN, AND NOT IN ANY WAY COMPRESSABLE.NOT COMPRESSABLESo don't go out and plunk money down on isolation type mounts.  I was apparently right to some extent.  A pad that has give will eventually work loose and allow movement.  It's a necessity with the cab, but not needed for a flatbed.  (just take a look at old rubber donut cab mounts......all or them are deformed and saggy)Unless you plan to have your mother in law ride on the flatbed on a regular basis, I wouldn't worry about isolating it from vibration.Check with your local truck spring rebuilder and see if they have the thin plastic stuff they use on some springs.  It's very tough, and doesn't compress under heavy loads.Or............just shag it, and move on.  I don't think in your lifetime you'll ruin the frame by having metal to metal contact."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:never never ever ever grease plastic"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:So...  1/3" cutting board plastic was probably a good idea in the first place... well, he is a good mech, knows a lot.  I'll study on it.. go around looking under peoples truck  that should be a big hit till the cops arrive... sheesh. Bretnever grease plastic. > got it!Lincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools
Reply:http://scoutparts.com/products/photo...SII_226234.jpgsteal the body mounts off something and get the insulators like these above. or find a used body lift kit for cheap.."...My pappy was a pistol I'm a son of a gun...""...God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy..."
Reply:For a body/cab, yes totally right.... maybe Samm has this one figured... it is a bed and apparently the goal is simply to spread the force/shock a bit and NOT create any compression or give. ps: I went to Alaska in '64 in a 4 banger Scout... they R the greatest> take that JeepersLincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools
Reply:I've done lots of flat bed and frame work around here. I've heard a lot of people talk about needing to allow the frame to flex when mounting a flatbed. My experience is that not only is it not needed the other way around is better.  I had one truck brought in here where somebody had gone to the trouble to make a pivoting single point mount for the front of the bed. The new owner wanted me to fix the bed because it was swaying to much. It was swaying to much. The truck frame was not up to holding a hay bale upright by itself and the extra flexing of the frame was going to shorten it's life. Remember they designed the vehicle so that the body if part of the structure of the frame. The original bed didn't have anything except maybe a really thin piece of plastic between the frame and itself. Personally I think the only reason they really have started putting the plastic in is to reduce squeaks. They generally will eventually fail and leave the bed loose which is by far the worst thing that can happen.  I've also had to fix a lot of beds where they didn't mount it well enough the first time (which unfortunately many places that sell them do). Common (espcially on GM and newer Dodge) is to run a piece of 2" (or lighter sometimes if your a dealer) tube across the front to the original bed mounts. Because the frame on those trucks drops lower near the cab it's about the only mounting point. It's works ok for light duty but around here bale spikes and cake feeders are the norm along with very rough roads. They will usually break out eventually. My solution that's held up even under my dads rather extreme testing is to mount the beds at 6 points minimum and 8 if they're at all like my dad. The front is heavy 2" tube bolted to the raised original mounts as stated before. However large rectangular shaped "washers" are cut from strap to fit the entire flat underside of the mount. In extreme cases such as dad, or cake feeder plus Dew Eze like bed usage do the same to the second set of mounts right behind the first. Then right over the rear axle put a 1/2"x4" strap (bend to fit if needed) welded to the flat bed and bolted with at least one 5/8" grade 8 bolt tightened to with a inch of it's life (often there's already a hole that can be used in the frame right there). Now getting the drivers side bolt in place can be tricky on many trucks because it often falls behind the fuel tank. There's a trick to this. Take a piece of 1/4" - 3/8" rod or light strap and weld it to the head of the bolt or in some cases nut (bolt is preferred because it can be hard to start the nut blind). Weld it at a slight angle and make it long enough that you can get a grip on it to put the bolt in place.   The back can go two ways. Either on 5/8" bolt up through the top of the frame into a 2" tube across the back. This is ok for light duty. Heavy duty needs whatever thickness is needed to make it even with the front run between the bed frame and truck frame. At least 8" worth but more is better for heavy bale usage. Then 1/2" x 4" strap welded to the bed frame and bolted with 2 or more bolts to the frame of the truck.   BTW for the cross pieces you should cut them and place them on the truck to mark them for drilling. Drill only one side. Then bolt them to the truck lightly. At that point weld the nut or bolt (which ever you put inside the tube) so you don't have to get a wrench in there when you rebolt or later remove the bed (when the tool boxes have been added making it impossible). With the cross pieces still bolted to the truck you place the flat bed on top and fine tune it's position. Once in place with everybody happy you reach under and tack the cross members to the bed. Remove bolts, remove bed, and with it in the air where you can really get to it (and without the danger of catching the gas tank on fire) you really weld the cross members to the bed. Then you can put the bed back on and fully tighten all bolts.  With practice this part can be done in less than 2 hrs. Then there's fun and time consuming part of fitting the filler neck in such a way that you can actually fill the tank. Believe me when I say that running the filler neck horzontal for 2 feet doesn't work (don't laugh I've fixed several so called "factory" mounted beds where they did exactly this).   However since this is getting long winded I'll wait to another time to go into that part of the story. Maybe I'll get some time when the sun is shining to get some shots of a few of my tricks there. It would a lot easier than trying to explain them.Millermatic 252XMT 304'sDynasty 280DXHypertherm PowerMax 1250Miller Trailblazer 302 EFIOptima PulserXR feeder and XR Edge gun and more athttp://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm
Reply:irish, i agree 100%. We have mounted many beds just like you describe and never had any problem. Getting the filler necks to work right and look good is probably the trickiest part of the job. We have fixed some for guys who said they used to carry a wood block to drive up on to get the fuel to run in the tank!!
Reply:Here's a rehash of one of my old projects.  I know people have seen it before, but there's new guys on the site all the time.Was unhappy with the way the bed was mounted on this truck I bought, pulled it off, and redid the entire mounting system, and modified the gooseneck pocket.This is one of 4 mounts directly under the gooseneck hitch.  An uneven frame, and the problem of how to mount the bed so it would bear on the frame.  I think most of the 1 ton frames are straight these days, not with the whoopdedoo over the axle.Just bolting it to the frame wouldn't do.  The bolts will wallow out over time.  You need a load bearing pad to take the weight instead of the bolts.First the hole in the frame was drilled in the neutral part of the beam, then the upright was attached, the pad fitted and tacked, then gussets attached to the pad.  The mounts were welded off truck, then reattached.  The bed was lowered back onto the truck, and welded to the mounts.  A perfect fit which will be easily removeable at a later time.Joe (aka jsfab), thanks for the advice and mentoring on this one.   Joe suggested that I finish weld the bed with the mounts and bed in place on the truck, and it worked out beautifully The other mounts were made from 3x 3/8 angle iron to resist side forces, like when someone hits the side of the bed with a forklift.The piece of channel you see in the pics is a template/mockup for where the bed would eventually sit Attached Images"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:The filler neck is a li'l problem isn't it Nodak... I got a good slope on it finally.  I like Samms pics and way of doing it. a load bearing pad fitting the frame curves.  I will add one more well built brace at the mid, and yes, Irish there is already a hole there midship to work with, how handy.Thanks all for the direction it'll be a better project with this help.Lincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools
Reply:I've seen alot of flatbeds with wood used as the riser/spacer rails between the frame rails and flatbed.  The thing about wood is it can be cut to match the curvature of the top of the frame rail while still being flat on top to match the straight bottom of the flatbed.  The wood can also be drilled to clear bolt heads sticking up from top of the frame rails.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Newspaper Headline:35 car pileup on local freeway caused by chain reaction when 52 crates of live chickens spilled from a farmers truck.  Authorities reported that termites had eaten the bed mounts."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:farmersamm and DesertRider33, my '84 flatbed has 4x4 wood blocks between the truck frame and flatbed frame with a giant 1" diameter U-bolt at each corner like yall talked about. It's been that way for 26 years and the blocks are still in one piece, but I plan on welding brackets to the bed and bolting it to the truck frame just to beef it up.RD 1984 Chevrolet C30 welding truck1966 Lincoln SA200 Continental F162 1942 Lincoln SA200 Hercules IXB-51991 Lincoln LN25
Reply:I've used a 3000 gal water truck for years that has oak planks between the frames, which are held together with giant U bolts. It works. We have had to snug up the U bolts a few times when we switched the frame/tank to a new truck. They eventually rust in place.I will say that on the one flatbed pickup I've built, I used steel on steel similar to samm's and never had a lick of trouble.
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersammnever never ever ever grease plastic
Reply:We've got termites here too but... they'd have to jump the  2 foot or so to the bed and i never carry chickens for any reason.Since the rails didn't match> Truck frame at 34" while the bed was 37"  I had to use the cross rails.  I was figuring at first to go with  wood and U bolts, no can do.  I added 1/8" plastic spacer at the rear end today from a cut up lid I had which I feel has no give or compression.  I'll do the same on front so it won't squeak.Lincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools
Reply:I would just cut about a 4 x 4 inch piece out of the tread of an old tire and drill a hole through the middle of it. Seamed to always work for me when I had a need for something like that.Welder- Miller Thunderbolt AC 225-DC 150 Plasma cutter, Miller Spectrum 300O/P torch- Victor 100
Reply:Ive seen loading dock bumpers used to transfer the load from the bed to the frame. A kodiak at my works frame cracked and we took it to the dealer and they flamed it on the way the flat bed was mounted. They said it didnt alow the frame to flex like it was intended.  Who knows if it was bs to get out of fixing it..My old 68 power wagon has 8"long1/4" angle feet on top of the frame, welded solid to the channel and has lasted 40 years. now the ford dump had wood contoured to the frame so the 6" channel had a nice base but it went to crap after 20 years... so it sits on the front feet and the back hinge bolt with 7600# in it for 10 years now as the wood flopped around and had to be re positioned every time I would dump and never really held the weight ..weld it solid leave it there forever may just hold the truck together just my thoughts... maybe not on a newer frame thoughLincoln 225 Tombstone,Miller Big 20,Hobart 180,150' Argon,A/D hobart hood 22 Ton Log splitter,79 F350 dump eats 4.75 TONS and still turns cutters,grinders,And a  Hypertherm POWERMAX 30
Reply:PapaLion,I have exactly what you are looking for. Give me a ring if you want it. I have brand new material, not used.Later,JokerLincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:Originally Posted by DesertRider33I've seen alot of flatbeds with wood used as the riser/spacer rails between the frame rails and flatbed.  The thing about wood is it can be cut to match the curvature of the top of the frame rail while still being flat on top to match the straight bottom of the flatbed.  The wood can also be drilled to clear bolt heads sticking up from top of the frame rails.
Reply:Originally Posted by PapaLionI recently added a nice 3/4 ton flatbed to an old Chevy truck. The rails on this bed  were spaced about 37" versus 34" (the frame) so I used 2x2 as cross rails to support the bed, welded that 2x2 to the bed rails  and bolted the angle iron tabs to the truck frame. My mentor QC'ed my work,  suggested strongly that I pad the attachment  points because the stress and pounding could crack a weld or worse yet, crack the frame.  Ok, can do, he suggested material cut from a white plastic cutting board. Ok,  I have that material.  Anyone have a better easy to find shock pad material?  Neoprene would be great but not available here probably.  Maybe Desert or Samm has a trick up their sleeve?  The area to pad is about 2 1/2 " by 4 "  approx.