Minor 5 Ton Build

[100dollarman]

I have a very nice M818 that I am doing some minor mods to. I have been meaning to get this done for awhile now- been too busy to work on it. Today we got the 53s on HEMTT wheels installed. My next item is to modify (shorten to fit) a dropside bed from a deuce for it. I plan to leave the spare and tool box as they are and leave space for a walk way between them and the dropside bed. I'll pull the 5th wheel off. Possibly will figure out how to have it AND the bed...maybe.
Here are a few pics to get it started-

 

[drdstny]

THOSE are HEMTT wheels? Are they inverted? How well do the rears line up with the front like that?

 

[dm22630]

Looks good Hundy!

Yeah Drdstny....he just flipped the rims instead of flipping the hubs. They track almost identical as if you flip the hubs....just a LOT less work involved. Also....with the HEMTT rims, you can NOT line the rears up w/the front. The front tires stick 1-2" past the fenders.

Here is a pic of my M813 w/the same rims & tires....but the rear hubs were flipped.

 

[drdstny]

Oh wow. OK, so even though you went to the trouble of flipping the hubs, the fronts stick out a bit?

Both your trucks look good, BTW.

 

[100dollarman]

Correct- HEMTT Wheels. DM actually helped me decide NOT to flip the hubs because its a lot of work (I'm allergic!). But they go on nice and line up pretty good dished out.

Thanks!

 

[Hammer]

Looking good!
Btw, the 105 bed is a nice length for the frame length if you want to keep the tool box and spare tire.

And with the HEMTT rims, the tires line up almost perfectly front to rear.
Btw, I just put over 1,100 miles on my setup, I LOVE them!
Finding the right pressure for your speeds and weight can be a pita. Right now I am at 50 front and 40 rear.

Oh yeah, being able to CRUISE at 65 mph is awesome!

 

[Coldfusion21]

I'll pull the 5th wheel off. Possibly will figure out how to have it AND the bed...maybe.

With how tall those tires are your best bet for bed+tractor is probably a converter dolly. You already have the fifth wheel setup.

 

[bigelk50]

Looks great Hundy!!

 

[DUG]

Looks great Hundy!

 

[atankersdad]

I love the drop side bed. I may get my son to do the same with my 818..Nice looking tractor $100man.

 

[100dollarman]

OK- I am BACK on the 5ton!!!

I sold this truck, so now I have to get 'er done!

We installed a front winch the other day. Dug the dropside bed out of the pile. Got a headache trying to figure where and how I am going to cut the bed. Basically, I am going to cut one "section" from the bed and weld it back together. I decided to use a 00 torch for most of the cutting. We'll see how that goes. I'll post pics after. I think the bed will end up about 116" long. It will overhang the back of the tire a bit. The bed looks like it is going to sit up pretty high.

Cant wait to see how it looks when done! I am kinda "winging" it, so we'll see...

 

[drdstny]

You can get a cleaner cut using a regular circular saw and a box of abrasive cutoff wheels. For the straight-line stuff, this is a LOT easier, cleaner, neater and easier to flange than a blue-tip wrench.

If memory serves, a box of 10 is like $15, and they replace 7.25" saw blades. I once bought 2 boxes to cut up a car back in the Nineties and I still haven't opened the second box.

Might still have to use a torch on the tougher corners and places that are thicker than 3", but for the flat parts of the sides and bed...

 

[100dollarman]

Yeah- I spent a few brain cells thinking about this (and I dont have many to spare!!). I plan to plate it back together for strength and for a clean look, so I was thinking I would make the best cut I can with the torch. I think it will be the fastest and easiest. But I may change my mind by tomorrow when I am cutting!

This first one will be somewhat of an experiment.

 

[goldneagle]

Yeah- I spent a few brain cells thinking about this (and I dont have many to spare!!). I plan to plate it back together for strength and for a clean look, so I was thinking I would make the best cut I can with the torch. I think it will be the fastest and easiest. But I may change my mind by tomorrow when I am cutting!

This first one will be somewhat of an experiment.

Milwaukee makes a 8-1/4" circular saw that is designed to cut steel. It cuts it like butter! Another option is a plasma cutter. The saw will cut through hollow tubing where a plasma won't. I cut a liftgate and removed 11" of it to fit my truck. The cut was so accurate that we were able to mig weld it together with no filler.

 

[Rattlewagon]

I bought my plasma cutter and thought my metal cutting troubles would be over... I spent a bunch of money on it and I rarely use.

I end up using my torch for most everything that my portaband wont cut and only use the plasma for SS and AL... and half the time I use a cutoff wheel in my grinder for those!

I would try the metal cutting circular saw as well.


sorry for the rant...

 

[Boatcarpenter]

There ought to be a way to set the bed up with a pin on the bottom to slide into the fifth wheel and then lock her down somehow. Then, when you want the fifth wheel, unlock the bed and slide her off. Bed would be pretty high though unless you recessed the pin up as far as you could under it.
Just a thought.
BC

 

[100dollarman]

Yes- I told the customer we could gigure out how to utilize the 5th whl hitch also, but he wanted to see if he can get figured out by himself at his leisure. I am including the hitch in the sale.

It is not going to be easy because of the height of the bed. But the bed will be bolted on, and shouldnt be terribly difficult to remove and then re-install the 5th whl hitch if needed.

I havent set the bed on the frame-rails yet- but is going to be tall!




I dont have a Plasma cutter (although I threaten to buy one every month or two). I have saws and grinders. Will give a report on cutting after I get into it tomorrow---

 

[vinny-socom1]

I can't wait for the updated pics!!!

Vinny

 

[Hammer]

The bed NEEDS to be high, the 818 with big tires really needs a bit of room to allow for them to move around.
This picture has the front tandem OFF the ground, but I know the rear tandem will will still move more. Just to give you an idea of how much the tires will move.
And that is both tires moving together. I haven't tested the clearance need for a single tire type of articulation yet.
I tested this because I plan on a bed for my 818 as well. I will use a 105 bed, without the wheel wells. That way the sides and cover will all work 'as is'.

 

[100dollarman]

Well, my guy had already torched the bed apart by the time I got to the shop this morning! I was out shopping for carbide bit circular saw blades! I'll make it work.

We will clean up the joint a bit before we weld it together. And I am going to use some 1/8"x 1.5" plate over the joint to make it stronger, and give it a clean look.

I will saw cut the dropsides tomorrow with the carbide bit blade and see how that works. I did have a non- carbide blade that I tried for a few minutes--- that did not work well.

Here are a couple of pics-