building a LONG BED Mega cab

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So the truck I bought is ONLY available as a short bed. It is an '08 Dodge MegaCab dually, 6.7L Cummins Turbo Diesel with a 6speed auto trans and it's 4wheel drive.I immediately started googling long bed conversions. I found a few companies that do it. I have done this type of project myself before and I must say the customers were as happy with the product as I was. My dilemma here is I was working on minitrucks before and not 50K trucks. It got me to the point I started asking the guys how they do it at their shops. One guy has a custom formed splice that welds on OVER the joint of the front and rear halves of the truck frame. The other guy welds the thing together with no sleeve. The second guy advised me to be  careful with the high carbon high tensile steel used for the frame. Question....WHO do you go to in order to find out what the frame is really made out of and what is the proper filler metal to use? Maybe someone here has experince with this frame?Here is a picture of what I want in the final product. My truck is white. This truck is black. But you get the picture.... Attached ImagesLincoln 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:Looks like a Dodge so that's who I would contact for specs.
Reply:My first thought was damn I didn't know Dodge made a really heavy truck. 50k? I'll assume a typo of some sort.I know on heavy trucks, Macks, Kennworths, high tensine frames are often shortened, but usually replaced to lengthen the frame. Can't say if this is due to cracking problems due to welding (The reason I have heard for not welding on the frame ) or due to ecconomics, cheaper to replace than lengthen.My tempory welding instructor does weld high tensile steel for cranes. Material strengths that exceed 120k normally and he was saying that some new steels he has had to deal with actually exceed the strengths of the  wire/rods that are currently available. He went in to a long disscussion on the basics of how he does it. Mostly dealing with pre and post heat and subarc welding. Not really what I'm there to learn but interesting until it got to tecnical for my level of understanding.He was also showing a piece of steel that he was magnafluxing to show a ton of minor cracks. These were caused by improper technique on high strength steel by a welder who just wanted to add acouple of brackets. (the real reason that led to the discussion on what he does) I'll assume that the reason they tell you not to weld the frame is that the average welder lacks the knoledge of the correct technices to do these special steels.
Reply:50K is $50,000.... Dodge is going to tell you not to weld on the frame......can you find an older model that has the correct length frame...if so pick up a couple of rails from the bone yard and have at it....
Reply:call up dodge and tell them your ACME utility bed inc and see if they will let a little information your way.  Ive done it with other stuff in the past, it actually works fairly well.I would go with sleeving itjust my 2 centsp.s. the cost of new trucks is INSANE, 50K is about high average for fullsize diesel pickups
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWI know on heavy trucks, Macks, Kennworths, high tensine frames are often shortened, but usually replaced to lengthen the frame. Can't say if this is due to cracking problems due to welding (The reason I have heard for not welding on the frame ) or due to ecconomics, cheaper to replace than lengthen..
Reply:Finished stretched truckJoker, this truck had 26 feet added to the original frame. We had a frame rail made to match the existing frame and then a inner rail that ran the length of the frame end to the trans mount under the cab. The inner rail is what gives it its strength. Everything was bolted every foot at least. With all the stuff mounted to the frame, that wasn't hard. Maybe you could do something like that...have a rail made and use an inner liner to add strength.?????Running the liner to the cab would stiffen it up severely. Attached Images
Reply:Yep, I've shortened and streched a few, just nothing built in the last 6 or 7 years. Have they changed the steel used in frames? I read a few years ago that Dodge was hydroforming their frames and not to weld on them. This was in regard to installing 5th wheel hitches for camp trailers and concerned 3/4 and 1 ton trucks.
Reply:Joker, read this. It might help you out. It's a Dodge Ram with a 10 ft. bed. http://www.dieselpowermag.com/featur...bft/index.htmlLincoln AC/DC 225/125 Stick Linde HDA-300 MillerMatic DVI MIG Miller Dynasty 200DX Hypertherm Powermax 1000
Reply:That truck looks SICK!  I would have bought a mega cab if they had a long bed.Lots of toys.
Reply:Originally Posted by Joker11So the truck I bought is ONLY available as a short bed. It is an '08 Dodge MegaCab dually, 6.7L Cummins Turbo Diesel with a 6speed auto trans and it's 4wheel drive.I immediately started googling long bed conversions. I found a few companies that do it. I have done this type of project myself before and I must say the customers were as happy with the product as I was. My dilemma here is I was working on minitrucks before and not 50K trucks. It got me to the point I started asking the guys how they do it at their shops. One guy has a custom formed splice that welds on OVER the joint of the front and rear halves of the truck frame. The other guy welds the thing together with no sleeve. The second guy advised me to be  careful with the high carbon high tensile steel used for the frame. Question....WHO do you go to in order to find out what the frame is really made out of and what is the proper filler metal to use? Maybe someone here has experince with this frame?Here is a picture of what I want in the final product. My truck is white. This truck is black. But you get the picture....
Reply:It's not smart to tow a 5th wheel or goose neck with a 6' bed.Check with the companies. Some of them have agreements with manufactures and will not void any part of the warranty.I work building rolling chassis for Mack trucks. We modify the frame rails all the time for different vehicles.
Reply:Nice work DDA52. I guess I should have prefaced my message a little better that its done by those who know what they are doing. Tried to infer that with the crane statement. Just trying to keep it simple.I deal with too many people that think that if its possible then they can do it with out any training or knowledge. "Why pay a person who has "wasted" all that time and money learning to do it right when I can do it myself. " These people really scare me as they they have absolutely no idea how dangerous they are to the rest of us out there. I hate to say it, but most of those people I have found troll the net looking for someone to give them the answer they want to hear. The other 100 people who said no don't matter. Unfortunately too many of them manage to getaway with it and this gives them the false confidence to recommend it to others. The people I deal with think they can build their own dive rebreathers from home depo plumbing parts or teach themselves to dive in confined spaces 1/2 mile under ground.Some things should be left to people who are properly trained. You should not teach yourself to fly commercial jets with a book just because you can fly in one. And you had darn well not try to build one from scratch if you can bearly work on your car.Sorry rant over. From what I have seen here most of you guys are well trained and understand your limitations. Just trying to protect myself from any lurking idiots before one of us gets caught in the collateral damage.
Reply:FireZapper, I'm not being a smarta$$ and don't want to hi-jack the thread but inform me why it isn't smart to pull a 5th wheel with a 6' bed. I know it is done a lot now with all the 4 door trucks but I don't have any experience with them. I'm curious about the pro's and con's.
Reply:I've driven a lot of extended frame trucks over the years, even built a few. Some were as long as a 40' wheel base (oil field winch trucks for the really long ones). All of them were double framed and sometimes tripled depending on what they were built for. I am approached frequently about repairing car and pickup frames and always refuse. On the other hand I do a lot of frame repair on heavy trucks and trailers and have never had a problem. I've done the trucks and trailers for years but have never done the cars and pickups. The shops where I learned to do it always turned them away as well. I am sure what you want to do can be and is done by a specialty shop somewhere.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:Originally Posted by OldtimerFireZapper, I'm not being a smarta$$ and don't want to hi-jack the thread but inform me why it isn't smart to pull a 5th wheel with a 6' bed. I know it is done a lot now with all the 4 door trucks but I don't have any experience with them. I'm curious about the pro's and con's.
Reply:Isn't this the same thing as building a stretch limo Ford Excursion or Hummer?Lincoln AC/DC 225/125 Stick Linde HDA-300 MillerMatic DVI MIG Miller Dynasty 200DX Hypertherm Powermax 1000
Reply:Yes it is done all the time, but you need to make a lot more provisions.The 5th wheel hitch box on the trailer needs to be extended. 5th wheel needs to be able to slide to clear ther cab as stated above. The hitch is normally between 5 to 15" infront of the rear axle, with a 6' bed it doesn't leave a lot of room for a bed box, tools, or even a cooler. A goose neck isn't as critical because most have the hitch at the end of the tongue. But if you have an upper deck then you need to accommodate it.
Reply:Ok...well as usual in these forums there are tons of answers that don't really match the original question. I didn't figure Dodge would give the information to me which is why I was seeking a solution. Yes I know they would be the source if they were willing. Someone asked why not leave the truck the way it is until the need arises. Hello. the need has arisen. I need it. If I didn't need it I wouldn't be looking for a solution. Yes, it should only be done by a professional. Let me see....when you leave college and start playing for money, you become a professional. I get paid to weld, I guess I must be a professional.I scuba dive and we have a saying.....Certified doesn't mean qualified. If I was a dumba$$ I would have just welded it up and called it a day. Instead I came seeking some help with finding a source with the correct info. I tow a 5th wheel and I have a SuperGlide hitch for it. It is an automatic slider where I don't have to get out and pull a pin to make it work. It works on a cam and is great for solving the short bed/5th wheel issue.However, I use my truck and I stuff it. So I went from towing a 5th wheel and stuffing a long bed to having a short bed. It's not as convenient. DDA52, nice job!!!!Carl26, thanks for the link. First one I have seen.Anyways.....as I said, I have done these before and have NEVER once had a job come back to me. As for 10years down the road I imagine I will still be driving this bad boy around that cost 50 thousand dollars.... since I am still driving my 1982 Chevy C30 Crew Cab long bed dually on it's third engine. Drivethruboy54, that's worth looking into. Thanks for that idea.Lincoln 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 Joker11...Question....WHO do you go to in order to find out what the frame is really made out of and what is the proper filler metal to use? Maybe someone here has experince with this frame?...
Reply:Just to add my .02. www.megacablongbed.com . This is the site that does the conversions. Some are sold a a texas dealer. I was looking into this also but my 01 Dodge does fine for my goose neck. 48ft enclosed. Here is another. www.innovativecustoms.net/mega_cabs.php . They might give you some help. The price Ive seen is about 4000 to do this with the new bed from the first place. They use your old bed as a trade. Good lucklincoln sp100miller syncrOwave 200 matobo grinders6 different torches for display  Learning the trade
Reply:Thanks, Joker. I still believe you can adapt that technique to the Dodge. If you can't get a satisfactory answer from them, that is the way I would proceed. Just have a channel broken to the excact size of the existing frame and marry it up somehow.
Reply:Joker11   Let me sincerely apologize if I in any way offended you or accidentally implied that you didn't know what you were doing. I was only trying to explain myself to DDA52. I had thought that I had made it clear that I felt that you DID know what you were doing and approved strongly of you asking for help. Guess not, oops. my bad.   My only point was that some special materials require special techniques that may not be generally known even to the average professional in the hope that someone who welds these special steels might chime in with a technique that they use. As far as the diving, I'm a little sensitive about some cheap ****** that I see. Glad to see that you dive, and if you take the same attitude towards diving that you do here I'm sure you are well qualified. Sorry didn't mean to rant here on that but it slipped in when I got a little worked up.
Reply:DSW and everyone else......NO, LET ME APOLOGIZE. I had some friends over last night and we were getting a little tipsy. Then they left and I sat down at the PC to unwind. Reading back over what I wrote I made myself a jacka$$. My reply was lengthy and unnecesary. As for diving, yeah, I am a PADI certified Rescue Diver. Imagine that living here in Yuma, Arizona where the deepest body of water is a water storage tank on a hill.Lincoln 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 denrep...As suggested by Drivethruboy54, go to Dodge and look for an incomplete vehicle manual, or  body installers manual. Find an incomplete vehicle or chassis/cab, comparable to your pickup, and follow those guidelines...denrep...... I can't believe you found that! Awesome. Hehehehehe......I am all excited like a teenager in the backseat on prom night. Thanks!Let's see if my wife will give up the truck long enough to let me git er done.It's only 20 inches of length to add.Lincoln 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:I would be so nervous if I were you....sure, you can stretch the bed. But how are you going to go about the ext. driveshaft, brake lines,wires, and all of that...let alone the body work that will need to be added.Unless you are only adding onto the end of the frame, and not in between?I'm 21 and learningAvid 4wd enthusiastASE Master tech (Automotive), mechanic/fabricator by trade
Reply:Surprising isn't it? Looks like Dodge is serious about getting back in the commercial truck business.Good Luck
Reply:Ask and ye shall recieve brother. Go for the 10'er!  Well I guess with an 8' bed you can pick up a take off body and not have to mess with that part. You know tandem rear axels would really set the truck apart. Give it the true big rig look.
Reply:I especially like this comment by Joker11:"Certified doesn't mean qualified."This is all too true in many disciplines!Member, AWSLincoln ProMIG 140Lincoln AC TombstoneCraftsman Lathe 12 x 24 c1935Atlas MFC Horizontal MillCraftsman Commercial Lathe 12 x 36 c1970- - - I'll just keep on keepin' on.
Reply:Originally Posted by redhatmanI would be so nervous if I were you....sure, you can stretch the bed. But how are you going to go about the ext. driveshaft, brake lines,wires, and all of that...let alone the body work that will need to be added.Unless you are only adding onto the end of the frame, and not in between?
Reply:Originally Posted by Joker11...The splice is made in the middle of the truck frame. Basically you get your own truck, the shortbed, and you get a donor truck, the longbed. Dodge has a factory splice point where they either put a long bed frame onto the front half for a crew cab. Or they put on a short bed frame onto the front half for a mega cab. You cut it at that splice. Remove the remnants of the shortbed frame. You take the rear half of your donor truck frame and splice it into the factory location.  That's how you do the frame....
Reply:You know if it was really some kind of fancy steel that couldn't be welded to. Which I don't think it is after reading denreps post.You can always attach a frame extension and reinforcements with huck bolts or body bound boltsJoewww.CummingsHauling.com
Reply:Denrep....if you check out those links to shops that are already doing this you will find one guy who is really proud of the fact that he uses only DODGE original parts, no added couplers and such. I hear what you are saying. I get it. I am still not sure my wife is going to let me at the truck yet. I have driven it maybe a total of 10 miles since we bought it. She just took it oun a round trip to California with the kids. Left me home alone. Can you believe that?Lincoln 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:Just to prove that NOTHING is impossible..... Attached ImagesLater,Jason
Reply:Seems like you've got all the info you need, but I figure I can add a small amount of extra assurance.A friend of mine works at a shop where they extend and shorten frames all the time. When extending, he says the weld in a section of C channel, and put shear load gussets on the welds inside and outside of the frame. Or they use box tube that fits inside the frame, with shear load gussets on the outside, and box the inside of the frame in front of and in rear of the transplant.Lincoln PowerMIG 215XTLincoln Precision TIG 225Hypertherm 300
Reply:I have worked in truck equipment shops over the years and have done several "subframes". Granted the trucks I actually did this to were bigger. The thing about lengthening is that you probably should sleeve and glove the thing. In other words you need a frame rail that fits inside the frame and one that fits over it, creating a sandwich if you will all bolted together except for the original rail that is welded together in a 45 degree mitre fashion. In order to do this you need a good length of frame on the truck that is straight in the area you need it. Pretty much all of these limosines that you see have custom built frames. Not subframed rails.Now I don't want to shoot down your project idea. Just want to let you know what I think you are up against.Another thing to consider is that longer wheelbase vehicles need a bigger heavier frame for basically the same load.
Reply:I've never seen commercial truck with a tubular frame, or reinforcement. I think it would be difficult to transfer the loads from a tube reinforcement to a "C" channel's web.Although tube is good too.Some GM cars, including '60 Cadillac used an "X" frame, and relied on just one tube "tunnel" in the car's center.If it's any reassurance, I know that a ‘60 Cadillac stretch could be "jumped" -with daylight under all four tires- without any lasting distortion. Although It would damage the upholstery... Caused stains!
Reply:That limo dodge was on ebay for around 60grand last I saw it.Lincoln 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 denrepIf it's any reassurance, I know that a ‘60 Cadillac stretch could be "jumped" -with daylight under all four tires- without any lasting distortion. Although It would damage the upholstery... Caused stains!
Reply:I thought Dodge was using a bolt-together 2-piece frame, where the back section bolts to the front just after the cab?   Maybe that was on chassis-cab trucks with straight frame rails after the cab.  I was thinking that if the back end of the frame is straight rails bolted to the front, it would be much easier to change the length.I would love to have a Dodge/Cummins 4500 or 5500 mega-cab chassis-cab with 84" cab-to-axle length and a 10 foot work bed.  MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:You and me both DesertRider, you and me both.Lincoln 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:Here is a link to e-bay and a company who does what you want (I think)http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dodge...spagenameZWDVW"AFTER MARKET EQUIPMENT STARTS WITH THE LONG BED CONVERSION. WE DO THE CLEANEST LONG BED CONVERSIONS YOU WILL FIND. WE DO NOT USE A HOME MADE FRAME SPLICE. THE TRUCK IS ALL DODGE WHEN WE ARE DONE.IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS I CAN BE REACHED AT 712 370 4375. MY NAME IS ERIC MARSH"Might help to pick their brain.
Reply:Root Pass, thanks. I have actually spoken with him already. He wasn't interested in helping my cause. With good reason...he is trying to make money doing it at his shop.Lincoln 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:Here's mine!
Reply:If you can make a flatbed trailer for a semi with plain old mild steel, I don't forsee any problems making a little pickup out of it.