M818....I'm trying a new way to put a bed on it...

[Scarecrow1]

I'm in the research faze of the same thing . I've even ask if someone close by has one for me to Drive and do some measurements to explore the possibilties of such a conversion . ..Please keep us posted if you go through with it ...Pics and such would be Great .....

 

[Seatyger]

I realize it's the Christmas season so we can cut you a week or two of slack before we start screaming, begging and just plain ol'e unabashed grovelling for PHOTOS of this project LOL!

 

[wreckerman893]

I am considering the same idea for my M915.....I dont always need a tractor and I am trading for a dropside deuce body.
I too will post pics as the plan comes together.

 

[Csm Davis]

I too want to do this and have a extra deuce bed but wouldn't it be better to use a 5 ton bed because of the width of the frames

 

[tm america]

frames are the same width for a deuce or 5ton so it wouldnt matter they both are 34 inches

 

[M920]

Well.....since it is christmas I decided to give myself a christmas present and start on my bed conversion for the M818.

I'm using a 5 ton bed....but that's what I had laying around the yard.

I cut it down to 8' because I need extra room for putting a 45'000# hydraulic winch behind the cab. I'm also modifying the spare tire holder to hold a 1600-R20 and a hand crank winch boom to deploy and recover it when needed.

I got really lucky because the 5th-wheel plate fits perfectly between the C-channel sub-frame of the 5 ton bed. All I have to do on the front, is modify the end of the bed-frame, move the gussets outboard of the subframe and weld a plate with a kingpin to the bed's cross members.
I'm shooting for the surface of the bed to be the same hight as the top of the front fenders. that will give enough clearance for the 1600-R20's off road and should look decent.

This will make the bed sit about 4" higher than on a standard installation 800 series cargo truck....but oh well....

Then I will install a heavy wall piece of square tubing on the rear of the trucks frame for the rear bed support.....but more details of that part later....

I will post some pics of what I got done so far tomorrow.....

Soni

 

[dm22630]

Are you going to run into an issue with the front corner of the semi trailer hitting/rubbing the 16.00-20 spare tire when you make hard right turns??

 

[MilitaryRestoration]

m920 any progress/pictures yet?

 

[Csm Davis]

 

[Ferroequinologist]

Ditto on the pics, the wife said I could keep the 818 if I can put a bed on it, I want to keep the 5th wheel too.

 

[KsM715]

Any update on this?

 

[wreckerman893]

I have an update on my tractor conversion.....I have aquired a deuce dropside deuce bed (thanks to Derek at TaylorTradingCo) and intend to fab a temp mount so I can install it on my M915.
I am going to remove the "pogo stick" that the air lines and electrical plug fasten onto and the spare tire crane. The air lines will be stowed under the bed until the bed is removed and the truck reverts back to a tractor. The 5th wheel will not be removed.
I plan on leaving the spare tire rack in place since it will allow me to square the bed by butting it against the rack. The spare tire can still be stowed and removed with the rack in place.
The crane will be remounted in the left front corner of the bed.
I am going to leave the deck plate in place and the trailer ramp/guides behind the 5th wheel. They will prob have to be notched to allow the mounts to be bolted to the frame behind the 5th wheel. There are existing bolt holes up front that will allow the front mounts to be attached up there.
I have a large section of deuce frame that I intend to use for fabbing the mounts from.
I will post pics as the work progresses.

 

[KsM715]

If I wasnt going to put a dump cylinder under mine I'd go this way just so I could keep the 5th wheel but I dont really intend to pull any large trailers. However I do intend to haul dirt and gravel (tons of landscape projects around my house) so I need the dump bed.

 

[MWMULES]

Ok I finally started to get everything rounded up for a 5wheel bed on my M818. Have a M105 that my buddy wanted the axle to build a vismod 105mm gun, so down to the shop for deconstruction. Ordered a fifth wheel bolster king pin from Croft trailer, cut a 37x37 1/4" plate welded the pin in the middle. It will be this week end before I have enough time to mock it up on the truck. I plan on making the 105 bed straight sided and fill in the wheel wells.

 

[wreckerman893]

That 105 bed on an 818 is going to look like an ant trying to hump an elephant.

 

[MWMULES]

Ok, 2nd work day. Started mid morning locked the king pin and plate to the 5th wheel #1. Got the bed onto the truck with engine lift. It was very shaky going wish we had a wrecker or large A frame. Next spent some time getting the bed all squared up to the truck, tacked welded the bed to the king pin/plate. Pulled the bed back off #2, using chain fall and a Duce as a anchor setting it on the tail gate to do the rest of the welding#3. Pulled bed back on with the chain fall. There is a lot of space under bed about 12". Still left to do fab rear supports to go from bed brackets pic 7 to truck frame and fab front supports. Next weekend I'll start with plasma cutter to take out the wheel wells. This is almost a natural dump without under supports the bed goes to this angle just on 5th wheel #4&5. Picture 6 is how it is now till the supports are fabbed up and is about 2" high in the front. If I would of had a duce bed to cut down I would have used it but, had this bed lying around. Going to need a step ladder to get in the bed!

 

[yeager1]

I love the concept, but WOW that thing is high! Definitely makes it much less useable

 

[eldgenb]

I would just use the tractor and pull a trailer, seems like this setup shaky will be a best case scenario.

 

[Hammer]

Well, with 16r20 tires on there, that will not look AS out of place. Plus getting something to fill in the gaps will make it more appealing to the eye.
That looks like it confirms my plan of using a second set of ramps put on upside down on the trailer to mate up with the ones on the truck. I don't think I would have to make up much room to have those work like I would want.

 

[MWMULES]

I love the concept, but WOW that thing is high! Definitely makes it much less useable

Yep, it is high, the 5th wheel puts it 12" off the cat walk. If I had big ass tires I would need that clearance if you were off road. I thought about recessing the pin up into the floor but that would have lost a lot of space, also thought of cutting hole in floor to clear the 5th wheel, again big loss of space.

eldgenb I have another M105 to pull and would like to get a bigger trailer to pull behind but the auction Gods have not seemed to grant me one yet. Also here in KS if I get a M871 or a M127 I would then need to get my CDL back.
I got the rest of the brackets fabbed up to day and it is real sturdy, but still high.

This Idea of retaining the 5 wheel and mounting a removable bed has been floating on here for awhile. If I had retained the frame and mounted the plate to it then it would be even higher. I figured I would take a crack at it and right now all the cash I had to put out was $63 for the king pin and $12 for to hitch pins. Last but not least the help of 2 buddies, shepsjeep and, that have the same OD sickness!