I am almost at the stage to start building my flatbed...currently I have a 8 yd dump box on my truck...I want to build a bed to be versatile as well as functional...my design criteria includes a 14'X8'4" wide flatbed...the front of the bed will have a headache rack with loading lights, clearance lights as well as turn and brake lights up high...in the front of this rack, between the cab I am mounting a 8,000lb Warn winch for loading broken cars or truck or maybe just for moving heavy equipment.

The sides of two styles will be built...I will have some nice wood sides for the every day run of the mill hauling and build some removable steel sides for hauling dirt or other material that can be installed as needed...the back of the truck will also incorporate some loading ramps that I can also install for loading of vehicles...these ramps will be very similar to the ones you see on those heavy car haulers that swing up and will sit upright or can stay in the down position if the vehicle has a long wheelbase...I will have to add some lights for this function though.

As you can see I have a lot of planning to do and some ideals to work out to pull this build off...one other nice feature I will be installing is a rear camera so that I can keep an eye on a load if anything should shift I can fix it or I can get my truck in the right spot to dump material...so, I know there are a lot of creative minds out there who would like to share their inputs, I am all ears...this build is not set in stone as I am still in the design stages...one of my problems if figuring out after the metal sides are in place how to design my rear gate to operate right from the cab, to lock and unlock the load just before dumping...I have thought of using air cylinders but that will require an on-board compressor which is maybe another addition I might consider doing using a old A/C compressor and adding a air tank which I have room for.