Is this safe to tow with?
 

Hey guys sorry I havnt been on and contributing lately, just been so busy with work and school and side jobs I havnt had any time to get on. Anyway, I built a motor for a good friends 240. Helped him put it in, and long story short it doesn't run to great (nothing to do with assembly, thank God!) and I told him I'd help him tow it to a shop to get wiring issues sorted out. I'm not concerned about the ability to tow it, but when I put my flatbed on my truck, I only bolted it in with those u-bolts. A few months ago I heard a guy talking about how you have to cut tabs in the bed that go through the frame if you want to tow with it. Is this true? I'd be pulling a lightweight car trailer and a car that weighs less than 2500 pounds, should I do it or get a another truck? Thanks for the help.

So your hitch is part of the bed and not attached to the frame of the truck ?

Yessir. It's a Bradford built flatbed.

Do the U-Bolts go around the frame? Is that how the deck is secured to the truck frame?

Yessir, four u bolts around the frame

I think you would be fine, especially if that is the way the manufacturer tells you how to mount it. There are only 4 U-Bolts holding you axle to your suspension. :humm:

Wow...never thought about it like that lol. I guess I'll put a breaker bar on the bolts and make sure they are as tight as I can...but im not to worried.

but when the U bolts hold an axle to the spring the main force it will see is rotational force. the U bolts holding the bed to the frame will have a lot of shear load with lateral forces pushing and pulling it.

if you could add some bolts through the bed and frame, or add some tabs to bolt the bed to the frame it would be stronger than 4 u bolts clamping around the frame. holes in the frame with a bolt running through it will be stronger than any force the U-bolts can ever produce and should eliminate the bed from sliding forward, backward or left and right.

Okay. I'll try and find a place in the frame where a whole is already drilled and slip a few bolts in them for added safety

So how did you make out? Any problems?