Frame repair or how not to mount a hay bed

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Well had a nice one come in today. Seems like light duty after doing the trailer.  As you can see in the first and third pics the driver side had about 1 1/4" of metal holding on the bottom flange. Someone had mounted the hay bed directly to the top flange of the frame with two bolts per side. Not a common method and as you can see not the right way. I usually have to repair the factory mounts after they're broken out on beds like this which is way less work than what I have here.   Fourth pic is after cutting off and grinding the factory mount. Had to make room for a fish plate. The last pic here is after pulling things back together, veeing, welding, and grinding flat (to clear the fish plates to be added later). Attached ImagesMillermatic 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:This pic shows the 1/4" x 2" strap I put under the top flange. It will have a mate on top. I won't be welding it all the way. It will however have some bolts. The bolts that are in there now are just to locate and clamp it till we put the cross member back in with some grade 8 hardware.   I've still got to grind and weld the inside of the frame. Attached ImagesMillermatic 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:Very nice work man!! How did you weld that thing in there, what process?[Account Abandoned 8/8/16 Please Do Not Attempt Contact Or Expect A Reply]. See you on YouTube! -ChuckE2009
Reply:Thanks.I used my Millermatic 252 with 0.035" 70S6 wire at 18.4V and 265ipm. Plenty hot enough to burn completely through in several places.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:Well here's the finished product. Looks like I'm going to get to mount the bed as well. He's supposed to bring it here tomorrow. Attached ImagesMillermatic 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:Excellent!  so it didnt crack the frame on the other side also?Miller Synchro250 bought new 1997Millermatic200Miller Bluestar 2E . AC/DC 16hpBluestar 2E , DC Miller Thunderbolt225 AC/DC ArcLongevity 60 plasma
Reply:Thanks.I thought I posted that pic but looks like I didn't. Here it is. It wasn't as bad or at least it hadn't run all the way down to the bottom. It only run about 1/4 of the way down though it did run back like the bad side. Attached ImagesMillermatic 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:So they were getting ready to have the whole truck break in half going down the roadMiller Synchro250 bought new 1997Millermatic200Miller Bluestar 2E . AC/DC 16hpBluestar 2E , DC Miller Thunderbolt225 AC/DC ArcLongevity 60 plasma
Reply:Question. . .On the octagonal piece of steel that you welded into the inside of the c-channel frame, why do you run a full weld bead along the top edge and then stitch weld along the bottom edge?Forgive my ignorance.  I like learning things though.Nice job by the way.  It looks to be excellent quality.
Reply:Originally Posted by davo727So they were getting ready to have the whole truck break in half going down the road
Reply:People can be judgemental only seeing a couple of pics. Like you said go by experience and keep fixin till it looks strong enough. As long as customer is happy thats all that matters.Millermatic 252millermatic 175miller 300 Thunderboltlincoln ranger 250smith torcheslots of bfh'sIf it dont fit get a bigger hammer
Reply:Well you did a far far better job than many other peoples repairs that I have seen. This may warrant frequent inspections from now on but looks safe ..good work. I bet It rides different. Miller thunderbolt 250Decastar 135ERecovering tool-o-holic ESAB OAI have been interested or involved in Electrical, Fire Alarm, Auto, Marine, Welding, Electronics ETC to name a just a few. So YES you can own too many tools.
Reply:Originally Posted by farmshopPeople can be judgemental only seeing a couple of pics. Like you said go by experience and keep fixin till it looks strong enough. As long as customer is happy thats all that matters.
Reply:Originally Posted by irish fixitYep. It was just about there.   Several reasons. First is the fact that the top is not welded to the frame but rather to the plate I put on the top. Since both are probably going to be used to mount the bed I wanted them tied together well. Since my helper cut the plate to narrow I couldn't do the same with the bottom so I just stitched it to the frame at the bottom. I wanted to keep welding to the frame to a minimum and do it in such a way that I didn't create any more stress points than I needed to.  No problem. I'm sure there's plenty out there that disagree with how I fixed it. I go by experience and intuition on a job like this. I can't say that I'm 100% happy with all of it. But I think I've spread the stress out enough that it's not likely to break any time soon.  Thanks.
Reply:Originally Posted by roadkillbobbjust posing a question ...wouldnt each spot that is not a continious weld pose a place for a crack to start? theres enoughweld on the frame that finishing the beads probably would do more good than bad..just a thought...
Reply:I knew it and if I welded it solid someone would be complaining about that.  Originally Posted by roadkillbobbjust posing a question ...wouldnt each spot that is not a continious weld pose a place for a crack to start? theres enoughweld on the frame that finishing the beads probably would do more good than bad..just a thought...
Reply:Looks pretty darn good to me, In a perfect world scrapping the whole truck and buying a semi to haul hay might be the thing to do but not everybody is made out of money. We need to fix our old stuff Nice repair WayneMiller Synchro250 bought new 1997Millermatic200Miller Bluestar 2E . AC/DC 16hpBluestar 2E , DC Miller Thunderbolt225 AC/DC ArcLongevity 60 plasma
Reply:Originally Posted by davo727Looks pretty darn good to me, In a perfect world scrapping the whole truck and buying a semi to haul hay might be the thing to do but not everybody is made out of money. We need to fix our old stuff Nice repair Wayne
Reply:You cannot please everyone all the time. Yeah the best fix would be to double the frame bolt it together etc. but I'm sure like most repairs there is usually a cost limit just like when the bed was originally mounted they could have made better mounts reenforced the frame etc but than the cost wolve been higher. It lasted how many years as it was and I am sure your repair is stronger than original.Millermatic 252millermatic 175miller 300 Thunderboltlincoln ranger 250smith torcheslots of bfh'sIf it dont fit get a bigger hammer
Reply:Originally Posted by farmshopYou cannot please everyone all the time. Yeah the best fix would be to double the frame bolt it together etc. but I'm sure like most repairs there is usually a cost limit just like when the bed was originally mounted they could have made better mounts reenforced the frame etc but than the cost wolve been higher. It lasted how many years as it was and I am sure your repair is stronger than original.
Reply:Ok. Mounted the bed today. I didn't like the factory mounts that where used so I did a little beefing up. I also added some stiffeners to the back mounts. Attached ImagesMillermatic 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