EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

I am in the market for a Skirted Flatbed for a Dodge dually, with four boxes and a trough.

  I currently have a Bradford Built on one of my trucks, and I really like how it's put together, but they don't have much of a dealer network in Texas.

MFG's I have considered, and some observations.
CM - What appears to be proprietary lighting, and must upgrade to fancier bed to get LED lights. (What I was told by one dealer)
Bradford Built - Really like the hinged sideboards and tie down points. Well built, not available locally.
J&I -  Appear to use standard oval lights, so upgrading to LED should be a simple modification.
Gooseneck - ???  Always liked their trailers, no real experience with their beds.
Neckover  -  ???  Always liked their trailers, no real experience with their beds.

Any other MFG's I ought to be looking at, and is one of the above better than the others... If so, what makes it better?

Also looking for the best price on one picked up. I'll install it myself. Any recommendations on a dealer within a couple hundred miles of Houston?

This is pretty much the bed I am interested in.
(http://jitruckbeds.com/gallery/ranch-hand-7.jpg)

Have you looked into the beds by easley, hughes, and reyes? I know they are a little pricey, but they are stout and these beds are really great looking. Here is a link to an easley bed for a dodge dually to give you a picture of what one looks like.....http://www.ranchworldads.com/classified.php?listing=7867.

On another note I know a couple of people that have gooseneck brand beds and they don't have a problem with them.

i got a cm on my one ton single wheel love it its got 4 boxes    i like easly beds but good luck finding one  most the time you have to go to anson to order them thats where they are built

Forgot all about easley, reyes and Hughes.  I assume if they are anything like their trailers they are hell for stout and carry a price tag to match. I'll give them a call tomorrow and see how they measure up.

W Tate,
Do the boxes stay dry on your cm?

I almost forgot that i have a JI flatbed w/ 2 tool boxes and the boxes stay dry but they do cover anything in the box with dust if you travel gravel roads much.

I have a CM skirted on my dodge 2500. You can see it in my pic. Has 4 boxes. Mine stay dry and only problem I have had is one of the drain plugs poped out one of the rear boxes and it filled up with dust before I noticed. Me and a buddy installed it in no time. I got lucky. The day I went to see about getting one the truck was leaving Oklahoma the next morning and they had this bed built. I was told they could build one in just a few weeks but problem is the local dealer only gets shipments when he gets enough orders to fill a truck. Only thing I would have liked is a trough. But since there was no wait i settled for what I got. Have had it a little over a year and love it. As long as im in the ranching business I will own a truck with a flat bed.

Jake

I had the CM and I liked it, it stayed plenty dry. Once a year I would take the high gloss black paint to it and it stayed looking new for years. I did not have the trough, it is an ankle breaker (literally). It is worth raising the trailer a couple more inches, people I know that had a trough did not get another one. I got mine in Pairland.

Chris, i never thought i'd want a bed with a trough, but i gather that you're sold on the them. any advantages to them other than not having to jack the trailer up as much? any disasvantages?

Luke, I have a trough on my 2500 srw.  As soon as the hitch clears the ball I am good to go. Haven't found the negative yet. I haul pallets, feed sacks, rolls of hay,etc. As for hauling on the deck, the trough being there is insignificant.

Bigtex will change out the lights from standard to LED on any bed you want for $150.

That's a much better deal than Rodney at Texan mentioned.  My understanding was that you had to upgrade to the bed with all the chrome.

I'd gladly pay $150.00 to have the LED's.

Matt,
  What's your take on the GN bed, I know you had one on your SRW Dodge at one time?

How much are the beds you are looking costing??? How much do they get for installing?? Need one for my 2008 srw dodge for sure, the tailgate is too heavy and its too tall to see in the bed for me, do any of these beds offer optional sideboards where one could haul a jumping mule with it??  How about rust protection, how much more for bedlinner etc??  I know about year ago I priced a cm single rear wheel at Sequin at  DD farm and ranch center, it was $3500 for plain vanilla installed, for sure it needs those updates led lights and bedlinner, I have never understood the trough deal either, seems like one could take it or leave it, what bothers me about most of the beds is the angle and bracing down at the rear of the bed if you get into mud in 4x4 so it does not build up and get you stuck due to no clearance??  if i had the money i would buy an aliumin one and add bed pockets for sideboards so everything would not go sliding off of the bed and add a spare tire carrier so one could load a 4x8 dog box on the bed and be able to get to the tire/jack easy instead of carrying it under the bed in mud or rusty bolt carrier set up, seems like it is very hard to go anywhere down here and see more than one type of bed, who has the most stock inventory of beds in texas anyways now days??  I see a few places in Livestock weekly in the hill country but most of the beds down here are those cheap j and l's with no boxes and look weak where the rear receiver goes to me, think they are like $1400 installed cheapie i saw, looked like a mexico special welder did it too and painted it with spay can with no primer??  I have thought about adding a lift gate as well to help load stuff but have never seen a cm type 4 box bed with a liftgate so far??  Has anybody every seen a liftgate on flatbed single rear wheel long wheel base truck in 1 ton??

Knightstockterrier,

Troughs seem to be black and white, love em or hate em...
Here is the deal for me regarding troughs. I don't run a leveling kit on my trucks, so the rear sets up about 3-4" higher at the edge of the tailgate, than it does at the GN hitch. As it is, I can clear the ball, and pull the truck out, without hitting.  I have used a recessed ball in the past, and it seemed like I had to have the coupler a good 6-8" higher than the ball to clear the rear of the bed.   May not seem like much when unhooking an empty trailer, but put 300 squares on a 32' with single speed jacks, and I bet you will appreciate my predicament.

Here is a pic of a year old CM that my bud picked up at a local junkyard for $500.00 from a wrecked truck. We had to reattach the headache rack and improve the bracing. I was surprised out how lightly the beds are built, but also took into consideration the number of satisfied customers out there too... I guess they are built stout enough???
My bud ended up selling this truck shortly after we put the bed on, so I don't really know how it would have held up to our kind of abuse.

(http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p204/ccoughran/91DODGE1.jpg)

Initial quotes.

CM Skirted, trough, four boxes.

Midway - Madisonville - $3775.00 +  475.00 install

Big Tex - Mt Pleasant - $3700.00 +  420.00 install

Texan - Tomball - $4000.00 + 500.00 install


J&I skirted, trough, four boxes.

J&I - Madill - $3692.00, did not quote installation.

I have also attached a pic of my Bradford Built bed, and the trough I put in it.  The sideboards on the Bradford Built are the cat's meow as far as I am concerned. They are built with spring loaded slam latches, do not rattle, have flush mount dees, an slotted front and rear for a 2x6.
(http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/268851_10150232093687407_558347406_7715412_2626246_n.jpg)

Chris
 have you looked at these, http://butlerbeds.com/index.html  
I seen one ofthe spike beds at the feed store a few days ago and it was one sweet looking rig
      Dexter

I really like the GN brand beds, they are built to last.  The only thing I didn't like was the headache rack and how it stuck up on the corners.  The one thing I like about the GN is if I was ordering one you can go to them and set down with the man that will be building it and make it exactly like you want it.  Everything is a la cart to them from the hinges to metal used to lights etc and they are priced very competively.  You just have to be willing to wait for them to finish it.  The one I had was purchased already on the truck and I would have made a few changes but overall I really liked it.  You have to order the taller sides because they like to put the skinny sides on their beds standard but like I said after talking to them on the phone it was nice to hear the lady say bring your truck and pictures and we will draw it up and build it like you want it.
Matt

  When u said loaded trailer cranking i just snapped out of it, get the trough for sure sounds like to me, I like that bed u modded in your picture, sounds like i will go surf bradford beds, never heard of them until today, spring loaded latches sound good too, gees steel has gone up a bunch since i priced them out for sure, thanks for the info and prices as well!!!

I've been thinking of putting a flatbed on my truck for a while now.

As for the trough, i've been thinking on it and I think a hinged plate that flipped over the trough would be a pretty good idea, best of both worlds.

I actually have a JI flatbed and haven't had a problem with it and mine is 4 years old and the paint is still good. I have put just about anything you can imagine on it and it never appeared weak to me. I know one guy that has a basic JI bale bed and he bought it new in madill in 2003 and has fed cattle with it every year and never had a problem with it. JI makes good quality beds i can speak from experience.

I had a Neckover Bed built for me a couple months ago and like everything about it.

Craig,

Do you mind spilling some details about your bed? Option, cost, and where you bought it? PM me if you don't want to broadcast it online.


Thanks,
Chris

Chris when u decide on one post some pics i been thinking about a flatbed to!