«Previous    Next»
“Made It Myself” Truck Bed Has It All
Henry Daugherty turned a worn-out pickup truck bed into a rugged flat bed equipped with a crane, storage and more. It has a rebuilt cab and an 80 by 108-in. treated lumber bed with internal 1 3/4 by 3 3/4-in. (I.D) stake pockets. The stake pockets are used to hold side and backend boards, as well as a portable vise.
“I do excavating, trucking, snow removal, and equipment sales,” says Daugherty. “The factory bed on the pickup was rusted out. I disposed of it and built a replacement. It has hand grabs and tie-down rails, as well as bump posts on the headboard for holding pipe, ladders, and other long material.”
Daugherty added cargo lights, under body tool storage, and a 1/2-ton crane with a 5-ft. reach boom powered by a 12-volt electric winch.
“I added a grab bar on the side of the crane and a ladder under the bed so I can climb onto the bed easily,” says Daugherty. “I also installed a 6,000-watt inverter in the cab behind the passenger seat to provide 115-volt AC power to power outlets on the side of the bed.”
For added longevity, Daugherty added two coats of used motor oil to the surface of the 2 by 6-in. floorboard bed. The sideboards are treated 1 by 6-in. decking. The headboard is 2 by 4-in. tubing.
“I built the bed for my own use and didn’t keep track of materials or labor,” says Daugherty. “If I did it over, the only change I would make is to go with standard 2 by 4-in. stake pockets.”
He says he is not interested in going into the custom truck bed business, at least in the short term. “I am building a retirement shop and will probably be busy with it for the next 2 years,” says Daugherty.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Henry Industries, 107 Sierra Heights Rd., Dubois, Penn. 15801 (ph 814 371-8010; mobile 814 603-0788; henryindustries@yahoo.com).


  Click here to download page story appeared in.



  Click here to read entire issue




To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.
Order the Issue Containing This Story
2021 - Volume #45, Issue #4