2000 Super Duty CC SB 7.3: Alum-line flatbed and installation

[mangymarmot]

If I was tackling this project, I think I would "create" flat frame rails like a cab and chassis and then bolt the flat bed to the newly created frame rails.

Totally agree.

 

[cbattles]

If I was tackling this project, I think I would "create" flat frame rails like a cab and chassis and then bolt the flat bed to the newly created frame rails.

I also want the bed to end up about 4 inches or so higher than it is now for tire clearance and so the bottom of the boxes are at about the same height as the body.

Looking at the factory bed bolt locations, it looks like the pairs at the front and rear are on the flat area of the frame. The middle two pairs are maybe 1/2 higher.

I was thinking about cutting some 3/16 square/rectangle tubing to span across the frame between each pair of holes, sized/shimmed appropriately so the tops are all on the same plane. I'd bolt these into the factory holes on polyurethane bushings to allow for a little less rigidity.

Then, using some long pieces of large angle, bolt it vertically to the new cross members on each side to create a channel for the bed supports to sit in.

Then bolt the angle horizontally through the bed supports.

My thoughts are that the cross members would support the whole structure and the angle would both locate it laterally and also add additional support to compensate for the installation damage.

 

[Alloy]

I guarantee you that every flatbed installer has put a lot of beds on a lot of trucks with my exact frame. Do you think they just pretend that they've never done it before to keep it interesting?

And yeah, I guess they could pay a couple of people full time to just try to remember stuff, or they could probably just put some notes into a spreadsheet or a big notebook.

Either way, I wasn't begging them to install it. They gave me a price, I paid it, and then they royally ************ it up.

There is no pretending. It's a production welding shop. They do each job as it comes in the door and make/take the absolute most they can from each job.

The deck and install probably have 300% margin. Having people keep notes or trying to find info on a spreadsheet would reduce the margin.

 

[cbattles]

There is no pretending. It's a production welding shop. They do each job as it comes in the door and make/take the absolute most they can from each job.

The deck and install probably have 300% margin. Having people keep notes or trying to find info on a spreadsheet would reduce the margin.

I'm still addressing your original assertion that $1000 isn't enough to do a proper install.

All I'm saying is, if you put the same bed on the same truck 5 times and it's not any easier on the 5th time than it was on the first, then you're a ************** idiot.

But no matter how you feel about the profitability, they set the the price, and I paid for a proper install. That's not what happened here.

 

[mangymarmot]

There is no pretending. It's a production welding shop. They do each job as it comes in the door and make/take the absolute most they can from each job.

The deck and install probably have 300% margin. Having people keep notes or trying to find info on a spreadsheet would reduce the margin.

It’s an established business that’s offering an install service of their own “custom” bed. They set their own price. Whether its 100 or 1000 dollars is not the issue. The issue is the quality of the install job that they claim and advertise that they’re able to do. Of course, there’s many different frame designs and obstacles that you run into when installing a flatbed. Point taken. I just don’t believe it’s ethical to be charging any amount for this poor of a job and claiming it’s done correctly and professionally.

By the way Alloy, your motorcycle rack build is what I would call quality work. Kudos. That’s at least the standard that most people should expect when given a bill. Whatever they are charging.

 

[cbattles]

It’s an established business that’s offering an install service of their own “custom” bed. They set their own price. Whether its 100 or 1000 dollars is not the issue. The issue is the quality of the install job that they claim and advertise that they’re able to do. Of course, there’s many different frame designs and obstacles that you run into when installing a flatbed. Point taken. I just don’t believe it’s ethical to be charging any amount for this poor of a job and claiming it’s done correctly and professionally.

By the way Alloy, your motorcycle rack build is what I would call quality work. Kudos. That’s at least the standard that most people should expect when given a bill. Whatever they are charging.

Well said.

 

[Alloy]

It’s an established business that’s offering an install service of their own “custom” bed. They set their own price. Whether its 100 or 1000 dollars is not the issue. The issue is the quality of the install job that they claim and advertise that they’re able to do. Of course, there’s many different frame designs and obstacles that you run into when installing a flatbed. Point taken. I just don’t believe it’s ethical to be charging any amount for this poor of a job and claiming it’s done correctly and professionally.

By the way Alloy, your motorcycle rack build is what I would call quality work. Kudos. That’s at least the standard that most people should expect when given a bill. Whatever they are charging.

The fewer the ethics there are the more profitable the company is.

 

[cbattles]

The fewer the ethics there are the more profitable the company is.

Maybe per job, but long-term success isn't built by screwing over your customers.

 

[Alloy]

Maybe per job, but long-term success isn't built by screwing over your customers.

Did you ask for certification and/or specify how you wanted it installed? If you didn't the company didn't screw you over.

One look at their welding is all one needs to know what kind of work they do.

 

[DirtWhiskey]

Did you ask for certification and/or specify how you wanted it installed? If you didn't the company didn't screw you over.

One look at their welding is all one needs to know what kind of work they do.
View attachment 672215

Get outta here. As a consumer he relied on the expertise of Alumline to install their own product without hacking it to pieces. Certifications? How about trusting that they will not destroy their own work and then charge him for the pleasure?

 

[Alloy]

Get outta here. As a consumer he relied on the expertise of Alumline to install their own product without hacking it to pieces. Certifications? How about trusting that they will not destroy their own work and then charge him for the pleasure?

I'm assuming the pictures doesn't tell you what kind of expertise they have?

 

[cbattles]

Did you ask for certification and/or specify how you wanted it installed? If you didn't the company didn't screw you over.

So, you go to a dentist for a cavity. He cuts your tooth in half. It's your fault for not telling him how you wanted it filled?

I didn't just find a guy on the street and ask him to do some work for me.

 

[Alloy]

So, you go to a dentist for a cavity. He cuts your tooth in half. It's your fault for not telling him how you wanted it filled?

I didn't just find a guy on the street and ask him to do some work for me.

The picture I posted is the equivalent a dentist advertising fillings done with bubble gum.

It would be good to know what you would look for or do differently so others don't end up doing the same.

 

[cbattles]

The picture I posted is the equivalent a dentist advertising fillings done with bubble gum.

I don't really disagree, but I also don't know where that picture came from and I certainly didn't see (or notice) anything that looked that questionable from them prior to placing the order.

It would be good to know what you would look for or do differently so others don't end up doing the same.

That's a reasonable question, but it's difficult to answer because there are two distinct considerations here.

First is the bed itself:

Given what I paid, I'm obviously not happy with the overall fit and finish. I had never seen their work in person before. I saw plenty of pictures online, and it all looked really good. In hindsight, I guess plenty of stuff does from 10+ feet away, especially in a picture. But, the picture that you posted is the first that I've seen of their work that really makes it look bad. All in all, if I just had just bought the bed and had it shipped to me, I'd probably just quietly feel like I overpaid a little but I wouldn't have raised a fuss. In terms of what I'd do differently regarding the bed itself, I really don't know. I think it'd probably be very easy to order a custom anything from just about anyone and end up with one that just isn't quite up to par with their typical work, regardless of the level of research done. With this particular vendor, maybe there are plenty of examples of bad work that I just didn't see beforehand.

The second is the installation, which is what this thread was really about:

Even IF I had asked for a lot more detail about the installation, I'm certain that they wouldn't have described it as letting the guy that usually pushes the broom chop out half of the longsills freehand, in a failed attempt to make the rest of it sit flat on the frame rails. Had they accomplished what they intended to, and made decent, accurate relief cuts that allowed the rest of the longsills to actually sit flat on the frame, I probably wouldn't have been happy about it (because it doesn't seem like the best way to do it) but I would have written it off as my fault for not confirming that their installation method was consistent with my expectations. But, that's not at all what happened.

Let me be crystal clear, I do not at all agree with what seems to be their intended method of installation because they're just chopping out a good portion of the support that was designed into the bed. However, at its core, my complaint is that the installation was not executed properly even according to what appears to be their own standards. The bed is twisted out of plane, uneven on the truck, and 75% of the rubber that they glued to the frame rails is barely even in contact with the longsill supports.

Taking your car into an oil change place seems like a totally straightforward proposition. Changing the oil is what they do, and as such, the expectation is that they do it in a way that doesn't create a problem. Of course, there's always a risk that they guy they hired that morning goes rogue and crossthreads everything.

Likewise, this SEEMED like a pretty straightforward proposition. They make and install a bunch of beds. They seem to have a pretty large presence. The pictures of their work that I saw looked good. I don't have an oddball truck. I pulled in and saw at least 7 high-dollar trucks with beds that they had apparently just installed. At no point in time were there any red-flags that made me question their ability to just do what they do. But, despite all of that, they managed to screw this up in a way that just seems totally bonkers to me.

 

[Alloy]

I don't really disagree, but I also don't know where that picture came from and I certainly didn't see (or notice) anything that looked that questionable from them prior to placing the order.



That's a reasonable question, but it's difficult to answer because there are two distinct considerations here.

First is the bed itself:

Given what I paid, I'm obviously not happy with the overall fit and finish. I had never seen their work in person before. I saw plenty of pictures online, and it all looked really good. In hindsight, I guess plenty of stuff does from 10+ feet away, especially in a picture. But, the picture that you posted is the first that I've seen of their work that really makes it look bad. All in all, if I just had just bought the bed and had it shipped to me, I'd probably just quietly feel like I overpaid a little but I wouldn't have raised a fuss. In terms of what I'd do differently regarding the bed itself, I really don't know. I think it'd probably be very easy to order a custom anything from just about anyone and end up with one that just isn't quite up to par with their typical work, regardless of the level of research done. With this particular vendor, maybe there are plenty of examples of bad work that I just didn't see beforehand.

The second is the installation, which is what this thread was really about:

Even IF I had asked for a lot more detail about the installation, I'm certain that they wouldn't have described it as letting the guy that usually pushes the broom chop out half of the longsills freehand, in a failed attempt to make the rest of it sit flat on the frame rails. Had they accomplished what they intended to, and made decent, accurate relief cuts that allowed the rest of the longsills to actually sit flat on the frame, I probably wouldn't have been happy about it (because it doesn't seem like the best way to do it) but I would have written it off as my fault for not confirming that their installation method was consistent with my expectations. But, that's not at all what happened.

Let me be crystal clear, I do not at all agree with what seems to be their intended method of installation because they're just chopping out a good portion of the support that was designed into the bed. However, at its core, my complaint is that the installation was not executed properly even according to what appears to be their own standards. The bed is twisted out of plane, uneven on the truck, and 75% of the rubber that they glued to the frame rails is barely even in contact with the longsill supports.

Taking your car into an oil change place seems like a totally straightforward proposition. Changing the oil is what they do, and as such, the expectation is that they do it in a way that doesn't create a problem. Of course, there's always a risk that they guy they hired that morning goes rogue and crossthreads everything.

Likewise, this SEEMED like a pretty straightforward proposition. They make and install a bunch of beds. They seem to have a pretty large presence. The pictures of their work that I saw looked good. I don't have an oddball truck. I pulled in and saw at least 7 high-dollar trucks with beds that they had apparently just installed. At no point in time were there any red-flags that made me question their ability to just do what they do. But, despite all of that, they managed to screw this up in a way that just seems totally bonkers to me.

The picture was a screen capture at 4:05 on their video. The workmanship is also visible at 4:08 on the spare tire mount.



Years ago a buddy of mine worked at a place that did fast oil changes. He didn't last long because the practice was to save oil by putting the plug in before all of the old oil drained out.