Ok guys need some advice and opinions here. Building a sled deck out of old aluminum 2 place trailer. My questions are what length do i make the actual deck? I would like it to be able to fit a 6 or 8 foot bed. I also plan on adding 1 foot dove tail to help with loading. My main concern is if using a truck with a 6 foot bed would i have issues if wanted to pull trailer as well? Thanks in advance guys.
Sled Deck
- Thread starter etzkorn13
- Start date
most I have ever seen are 10 ft long, so on a 6 ft bed you will have a good 4+ ft sticking out behind the truck, YOU should still have a LOT of room before hitting a enclosed trailer when turning, all but VERY SHARP 90+ degree turns that is, and in them situations, just keep it in mind and watch as you go
the bigger question I would have is the weight going to be a lot on the Tail of the truck, IF mounted to a 6 ft bed, and making handling on truck be lousy or even unsafe??
and I am sure hoping your NOT planning to mount it on a 1/2 ton short bed !!
that says BAD for me
the bigger question I would have is the weight going to be a lot on the Tail of the truck, IF mounted to a 6 ft bed, and making handling on truck be lousy or even unsafe??
and I am sure hoping your NOT planning to mount it on a 1/2 ton short bed !!
that says BAD for me
sweeperguy
Active member
With adding a dove tail you may end up having very limited access to the truck bed, if you plan on using to haul gear.
sweeperguy
Active member
Yea tailgate clearance to open, but what about actually loading gear in, won't the dovetail really limit the size of the opening. At least that is how I'm visualizing it, no autocad here. I can see on a shortbox not too much of concern, but on longer beds thinking it may hinder loading gear.
But hey I don't know a whole lot, no education here, so better chance I'm wrong than right.
But hey I don't know a whole lot, no education here, so better chance I'm wrong than right.
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indy_500
Well-known member
The companies that make sled decks, usually offer them in an 8' length (for 6.5' short beds) or a 10' length (for 8' long beds). If you were going custom and plan to use almost entirely on a long bed truck with the chance of being used on a short, I would maybe split the difference and go 9'. What kind of sleds are you putting on it? If they're short tracks really no needs to make it longer than 8'.
sweeper guy i understand where you are coming from on being able to get into tailgate alot of that space will depend on how far deck sits off of bed rails. Which brings up another question anyone with one know how far the deck sits off your bed rails? or what distant i should make it?