Overkill Customs 5 ton Bobber

eldgenb · Sep 15, 2011

Ok Guys, this thread is a teaser of what is to come over the next few weeks, SS Member Ranchand and I bought an M812 Bridge Truck that was a fire dept use rig that has been highly cannibalized so it is not worth trying to rebuild. It has an old school boyce equipment one piece top, windshield frame fiberglass encolosure, winch, detroit no spins in both rears, double frame, all the usual cool bridge truck stuff. We are going to perform a bob job, 16.00 R 20's shorten a deuce bed for it, paint it all carc desert tan and sell it in the end, I am going to keep a rolling build report as we go. Judging by the photo's it looks like it has been converted to 12V. Stay tuned recovery operation begins on Monday next week. **Update** progress has been slow, that is what happens when the two of us are full time dads with full time other jobs I guess. We have undone all of the crap the county did to the truck and got some small bugs worked out of it. We have the frame cut to lenght, the deuce bed sectioned and rewelded(turned out very nice) and tonight I think we will put the rear bumper portion of the frame back together and mount the bed. Running to Seattle for some 5 ton wheels to single it out and should have it painted in a few weeks. A few poser shots, by the way ranchand is the one who could not keep his eyes open.
:beer:

jcappeljr · Sep 16, 2011

I have built 2 five ton bobbers,They are cool trucks when they are done.Power steering is sweet..

eldgenb · Sep 16, 2011

jcappeljr said:
I have built 2 five ton bobbers,They are cool trucks when they are done.Power steering is sweet..

Hi John, yes I have followed a couple of your builds on them, I have even photoshop'd one of them for some different idea's of my own, yours were an inspiration for this one.
Thanks again.

Floridianson · Sep 16, 2011

Nice find. Been harping a little this month bobbing is good no lockers in at least the rear well enough said. Just lost out on two rears with lockers cause my friend did not think of ME when he sold them and they went cheap Travis. That would have made two more bobbers I could have built. Sorry to rant have fun with the build and I love my magnet drill press and I use the bad azz annular bit and keep it lubed.

obee1kubota · Sep 17, 2011

soft (relatively speaking) 5 ton

There seems to be some experienced fabricators on this thread already so I hope it is OK to ask some questions here. I am a noob to SS and MV so don't laugh to hard

My wish list is a 5 ton bobber that rides like a deuce and I do not need the weight capacity of the 5 ton. I just like the 5 ton looks and price. I was thinking just removing a few leafs front and rear would do the job but after searching the site I see coil over shocks. air bags etc mentioned.

I am going to use it for local 50 mile radius hauling jobs. Dirt, gravel, firewood and palletized material so a drop side bed would be nice. If a dropside is really scarce or spendy a flat bed would work. Speed is not an issue too much though 55mph would be nice and I prefer the Dually look. I will be towing a kubota tractor that weighs 7500lbs including the trailer. An M818 with tandems would work except I would think it pretty rough riding (maybe singles?) thus the bobber idea.

I would appreciate your input on the following:

1. proper bed length on a stock M818.
2. Best way to get a softer ride. Maybe I should say less hard.
3. I read on some threads using 50% WMO is doable. Yes? No?
4. Largest tires that can be used on stock rims and resulting speed increase.
5. preferred method to suit my needs. Modified tandem or Bob Job.
6. Mounting spare prerunner style except on a head ache rack on the bed.
6. Salvaged dropside or custom built.

I have a small metal fabricating shop for the bed work but little or no mechanic skills for truck mods or maintenance.

Thanks a lot. Love this site.

Torisco · Sep 17, 2011

I await your build PIC's with great zeal.

steelandcanvas · Sep 17, 2011

obee1kubota said:
I would appreciate your input on the following:

1. proper bed length on a stock M818.
2. Best way to get a softer ride. Maybe I should say less hard.
3. I read on some threads using 50% WMO is doable. Yes? No?
4. Largest tires that can be used on stock rims and resulting speed increase.
5. preferred method to suit my needs. Modified tandem or Bob Job.
6. Mounting spare prerunner style except on a head ache rack on the bed.
6. Salvaged dropside or custom built.

Welcome! Most, if not all of your questions have been discussed at one time or another. Try the search function and see if you can find an acceptable answer. A quick Google came up with this: An M818 is a tractor, no bed length on a tractor. M813 Cargo Truck has a bed length of 168.24".

eldgenb · Sep 17, 2011

obee1kubota said:
There seems to be some experienced fabricators on this thread already so I hope it is OK to ask some questions here. I am a noob to SS and MV so don't laugh to hard

My wish list is a 5 ton bobber that rides like a deuce and I do not need the weight capacity of the 5 ton. I just like the 5 ton looks and price. I was thinking just removing a few leafs front and rear would do the job but after searching the site I see coil over shocks. air bags etc mentioned.

I am going to use it for local 50 mile radius hauling jobs. Dirt, gravel, firewood and palletized material so a drop side bed would be nice. If a dropside is really scarce or spendy a flat bed would work. Speed is not an issue too much though 55mph would be nice and I prefer the Dually look. I will be towing a kubota tractor that weighs 7500lbs including the trailer. An M818 with tandems would work except I would think it pretty rough riding (maybe singles?) thus the bobber idea.

I would appreciate your input on the following:

1. proper bed length on a stock M818.
2. Best way to get a softer ride. Maybe I should say less hard.
3. I read on some threads using 50% WMO is doable. Yes? No?
4. Largest tires that can be used on stock rims and resulting speed increase.
5. preferred method to suit my needs. Modified tandem or Bob Job.
6. Mounting spare prerunner style except on a head ache rack on the bed.
6. Salvaged dropside or custom built.

I have a small metal fabricating shop for the bed work but little or no mechanic skills for truck mods or maintenance.

Thanks a lot. Love this site.

as far as the softer ride, I would get an air ride seat and I usually use 2.5 ton front springs to soften the rear, if you take leaves out of the front then you lose capacity for the 3k lbs engine that sits on top of them. I have done air bags in the rear and it works nice, a bit more money to get everything and not as offroad friendly as springs. I run 16.00R20's on all of my 5 ton's and they can do 70mph if you want (tires are only rated for 55 mph while used to their carrying capacity of over 10k lbs each) I run Sheila (my M920) at 65 all the time and she weighs 30k lbs +. An 818 would not be real comfortable driving without some weight on it but can be made manageable.
As far as your list
1. 9ft
2. listed above
3. mixed reviews, it all comes down to how well you filter it.
4. I personally would say no more than 395/85R20's these are too big to use in a dually configuration and any bigger and you will have to buy new tubes at close to $80 a pop. If I was in that situation I would spend the money on super single wheels for better, safer performance all around.
5. I think the bobbers drive better, more unique, better turning radius, and gotta love that power steering, reduced weight so depending on your state you can squeak by without a CDL.
6. Tires weigh about 550 lbs for a complete tire and wheel, the higher you put it, the harder it is to get up and down but anything is possible.
7. if you are looking at a purpose built truck than custom for your needs are always better.

hope this helps.

eldgenb · Oct 6, 2011

by the way, that is NOT the final cut to the frame, just a rough cut to remove the axles, wont know where the final will be till the bed is on the truck and moved around a bit.

Flat Black · Oct 23, 2011

delete this if its out of line, but probably not a great idea to come into someone else's build up thread and ask a bunch of questions about a truck that you want to build. Especially when the questions have been answered many times before.

.02

MidnightDuramax · Oct 24, 2011

Any update on this build?

RIDDLE1 · Oct 24, 2011

Subscribed. I am planning to bob an 818 next year and would love to pick up some pointers.

eldgenb · Oct 24, 2011

sorry guys, there has been a delay on this build, I have yet to have time to go get the super single wheels that I have ordered. The truck is bobbed, the bed is done but before I do final assembly I want to mount the tires and wheels to see if I need to build a sub frame for the bed to make sure there is enough clearance. I have some updated pics, i will try to get them up.

eldgenb · Oct 24, 2011

here we go, nothing too exciting at this point, and if droopypete comes on this thread... Look buddy, truss's are on the shop, sheeted and tin going on this weekend all before the snow!!

simp5782 · Oct 31, 2011

Im jealous

. Im only 2 hours away in Western MT if you need any help.

eldgenb · Oct 31, 2011

simp5782 said:
Im jealous . Im only 2 hours away in Western MT if you need any help.

Thanks, planning my trip for wheels and such this week, so hopefully will have things moving along better now. I have been working on getting THIS truck done since the weather has gotten really cold and I needed to get the paint done. I usually tend to work on them only a few hours a night when ever ranchand and I can get together, with the seasons changing there is a lot to do. Thanks for the offer!

Fort Powell · Oct 31, 2011

Looks good.

droopypete · Oct 31, 2011

Hey, I must have missed this, great work on the shed, I have been lining mine for the last few days, both thermally and acoustically (the former to keep me happy and the latter to keep the neighbours happy) I sometimes think I will never get all the jobs done that I have to do in the one lifetime that I have.
Peter.

Ps, time to stop typing and start working :mrgreen:

Bighurt · Oct 31, 2011

I can't believe you bobbed a Bridge truck...

Looks good so far but really a bridge truck? Shop's coming together as well I see...looks like we are both trying to beat mother nature.

eldgenb · Nov 1, 2011

Bighurt said:
I can't believe you bobbed a Bridge truck...

Looks good so far but really a bridge truck? Shop's coming together as well I see...looks like we are both trying to beat mother nature.

yeah, she was hardly recognizable as a bridge truck after the county got a hold of her, I am just trying to make her look military again... with a twist!

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