Low-Cost Method To Extend Truck Bed

Low-Cost Method To Extend Truck Bed TRUCKS Miscellaneous After Karol Kazmierczak picked up a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 at an auction he knew he would have to lengthen the frame in order to fit it with a utility bed he already owned The accepted industry practice for extending a bed is to use splice sleeves and stubs which afford easy alignment of the frame However sleeves are expensive and require specialty tools “A splice kit of this kind from a truck extension shop in Utah would have cost roughly the same as the truck and the bed ” says Kazmierczak “I figured out a less expensive way to extend the wheelbase to match the bed length and assure the wheels are aligned ” Kazmierczak found a Ram 2500 on Craigslist that was being parted out He bought the rear half of the frame and also the rear springs He marked the 2 frames to get the lengths needed and made cuts to each where he planned to graft the frames together After jacking up the Ram 1500 disconnecting the drive and removing the axle he slid the Ram 2500 frame underneath The top 2/3 of the new frame was precisely trimmed off with a plasma cutter to match the end of the original frame like a hand in a glove The lower 1/3 extended underneath the original frame “I married the 2 frames using jack stands and clamps and measured and roughed off all impeding material It took trial and error ” says Kazmierczak “Once I got them to fit well enough I welded them together with 7018 electrodes ” He says the longitudinal cut allowed him to match edges even with the rough measurements This made the quality of welding less of a concern with more concern given to managing stress in the steel “One of the expected challenges was the new stiffer graft section would strain the original softer section ” says Kazmierczak “I added gussets as support for the bed at the transition ” Once Kazmierczak repositioned the axle with an extended driveshaft under the new section he mounted the utility bed Space between the cab and the bed serves as a tool rack He added a steel frame for a canvas canopy a vise compressor air hose and an LPG-fueled generator He also added Trojan batteries with 3-phase charger pure sine wave inverter and a full 110V distribution system with a welder and power extension reels The added weight of the accessories was too much for the original tires so he replaced them with 315/70r17 Hummer tires on stock rims The front end also had to be lifted on rods to match the rear In spite of the lifting the added tire radius required 1/4-in thick wheel spacers in front for clearance The truck passed the rebuild salvage inspection in Florida Kazmierczak says it has worked well on the highway Occasionally he tows a heavy-duty trailer with a Bobcat or trencher “After 5 000 miles I examined the welds and they are holding fine ” says Kazmierczak who adds that the larger wheels have also worked out well “I’ve been able to use it in the field servicing construction equipment and haven’t had to dig it out yet ” Kazmierczak lives and works in Florida and also in his native Poland He has since shipped his truck there after converting the engine to LPG as it is cheaper there than gasoline He estimates the LPG conversion was the most expensive single part of the process costing about $1 500 He estimates the truck parts totaled about $4 000 and tool add-ons about $2 000 “I don’t use it enough to have justified a new truck This was a project for some downtime ” says Kazmierczak “If not for that it would probably not be worth it I shipped it to Poland because I am building a house there in the middle of nowhere I needed a truck to get in and out and it does the job ” Contact:  FARM SHOW Followup Karol Kazmierczak 713 SW 8th Ave Hallandale Florida 33009 ph 305 600-0516; spam@karol us

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