Hey guys and gals. I have a 16'6 dump box on my western star, and to safety the truck I need to replace a few of the boards on the bottom of the box. I took a quick look at it yesterday and will try and explain it the best i can (raining today, too wet and muddy to climb underneath!!) The box has a steel floor, and under the steel it has planks. The planks are ontop of the crossmembers of the box. How does a guy replace those planks? Do I have to get the steel floor cut out to replace them? (I would assume theres an easier way!) At a quick glance they looked like they are in there pretty good, so i was just curious. Im not familiar with dump box's at all, so if the answer is easy and obvious, then forgive me!
Cmon fellas dont leave me hanging here lol. I went and looked at it a little closer today, and it looks like im gonna have to cut the whole floor out and reinstall the wood.
I think you might need some pics
Pics would be nice. I have never seen anything like that. Is this a home made box, or some kind of flatbed dump that was converted.
I've never seen this either, it sounds as if it may be some type of rock body. If you aren't hauling rocks all the time, I think I'd cut the floor out, remove the boards and weld a new steel floor to the crossmembers.
At one time we had a dump box that had a layer of wood decking, probably oak, between a lower sheet of steel and the steel floor. Until we wore the floor out and started to get holes, the floor stayed amazingly free of dents and waves. When we started to wear holes the wood rotted out and we replaced it all with a regular steel floor. It was a factory deal but I don't remember the brand of box.
I will try my best to post a few pics. I took some, but not sure if they will accurately show what i am talking about. Seems like everyone I have talked to, said they think it was used for hauling rocks and whatnot, and the wood was under there to provide a "bounce" when rocks were dropped in the box. Im in the process of talking to the right people, and seeing if wood is required under there, or maybe I can extend the crossmembers up. Do any of you fellas know how they made some of those older dump boxes? Was it just the crossmembers, then the steel floor ontop of that? 1/8th sheet metal or...?
Never seen anything like it. I have seen plywood put on the in side of body to prevent dents. Can you raise the dump body and take a pic?
Ok pics as promised
Fixed that pic for you. Do you know who is the manufacturer of this box?
Have never seen any think under the body like that we would just line the floor with oak boards and bolt them in .
Im not sure who the manufacturer is, I havent seen a stamp or sticker at all. See the problem is still that the crosssmembers are there, and the steel floor is ontop, so a person has to cut something to get boards in and out! Went back to the place that safetied it, and asked what was acceptable for a repair, and they told me to weld some thin sheet metal to cover up where the planks are cracked, so they cant see that they are broken haha. I would like to fix it properly, but if all else fails I might just do what they suggested.
The lumber dose not appear to be rotten.I see a weak spot just above the tire chains on the first picture.I might just ad a crossmember at the weak spots.Or cut out crossmembers as needed to replace a small section of lumber,then weld the crossmembers back in.patch up steel floor as needed on top.
Any way to access the wood at either end and slide the boards out? A removable end cover? Definately a different set up.
About the only way to do it that way Muffler, would be to either cut out a space on the front, or the back of the truck, try to slid them out (I assume the steel floor in the box would have hammered down against the wood making sliding the wood in and out pretty tough too) then do what you suggested and slid the new ones in. I can tell ya all one thing, next truck I buy, I sure know alot more stuff to look for then when I bought this bad boy!
Yeah I thought about the floor being hammered down afterwards. I'm just trying to think of how it was constructed. It doesn't seem right to seal those boards in there. What was the last piece installed? the bed? thats a lot of work to torch then reweld all that channel tim
Dumper container made of wood? It is same that this dump container is made of wooden, what's kind of bulk material this dump truck used for carry? _______________________________________ Heli Dumper Truck Manufacturer
The truck is being used mainly for towing a backhoe haha. What it hauls is base gravel, and 1 inch rock. Occasionally topsoil, and trees and other random light garbage.
Is it possible that this was a old grain hauling truck bed? Many of those had a original wood floor, grain doesn't hit hard. Someone decided to haul heavier material and installed steel on top of the bed to make a dump truck. If you're not using it for large boulders and such, I'd be tempted to do sort of what they told you at the station. That is take a plate of steel, cut it to fit between the support rails, and weld it in place. Steel on top and steel below the wood is really just acting as a spacer, as long as its just cracked and not rotten. With as close as the supports are, I'm not sure you would have too much trouble, but maybe you're just looking for a project!
I dont think it was ever a grain box. I think it was a regular box that someone most likely dented the floor up from heavy use, installed the wood underneath before they put the new floor in. POOR idea if you ask me, especially if you ask me right now haha. Im definately not looking to make work haha. The wood isnt rotten at all, just broken up a little, and splintered up a little. I was contemplating just cutting the wood out, but there would be no spacer at all between the cross members and the floor, so I can only imagine how long the steel floor would last, even with light loads.
Very well could have been factory. A quick google showed some for sale and one at an auction with wood between two layers of steel. They called it a demolition box.