Deuce bed on M-818

Maxgussam · Jul 2, 2012

Has anyone done this?
How much, if any, did the bed need to be shortened?
I would like to retain the 5th wheel, if possible, and devise some method of removing the bed in order to pull a trailer. I thought about welding an old kingpin plate to latch to the 5th wheel, and using something similar to the holding system used on container chassis to secure the bed onto the truck.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated!

maddawg308 · Jul 2, 2012

junkyardwarscrusher had an old M52 tractor with a deuce bed on. It looked sharp, great for offroading too. Here's a pic.

Here's what I would do if you want to go that route - get a M818, remove the fifth wheel hitch and the spare tire holder behind the cab. Mark on a DROPSIDE DEUCE BED where all the bolt holes are to mount the fifth wheel plate with the bolts going THROUGH the bed to attach to the frame underneath. Mount the bed, THEN the fifth wheel plate. If you want to use it as a cargo truck, you're already set. If you want to use it as a tractor, pull the sides off the DROPSIDE DEUCE BED, and the tailgate, and use the fifth wheel hitch with the bed still installed.

Maxgussam · Jul 2, 2012

That is a good idea!
Thank you for your reply!

CUCVFAN · Jul 2, 2012

I recently put a dropside bed on mine, but did not keep the 5th wheel...

wreckerman893 · Jul 2, 2012

IMHO you do not want the 5th wheel on top of the bed. You need for the trailer to be able to move up and down as the tractor moves over obstacles.

I had thought about doing the same thing to my M915 since I only pull a trailer once or twice a year.

My plan was to remove the spare tire rack so I could get the bed as close to the cab as possible.

I was then going to attach anchor points to the front and rear of the frame.

Heavy duty turnbuckles would hold the bed into place and I considered putting a kingpin plate on the bottom of the bed for extra security.

The bed would have been suspended from a frame when not on the truck and it would have been easy to remove/install.

The bed would have sat a little higher to clear the fifth wheel but not more than a few inches.

I actually have a deuce bed sitting on my M275 just to keep it off the ground. I'll try to make some pics tomorrow.

One thing to think about is that tractors have very heavy duty springs........you are going to have a very rough ride unless you bolt a couple of plates of 1/2 steel into the bottom of the bed.

KsM715 · Jul 2, 2012

MWMULES put a M105 bed on with a 5th wheel plate. http://www.steelsoldiers.com/560330-post45.html

I too will be putting a cut down deuce bed on my M818 without retaining the 5thwheel

MWMULES · Jul 2, 2012

Here is how it looked after i filled in the wheel wells. If I had it to do over make the front stab legs removable. I don't have a forktruck so bed must be slid on and slid off and it is a real bit-h to get those to clear the 5th wheel.
MWMULES leaving the MVPA convention in Topka - YouTube

73m819 · Jul 2, 2012

Maxgussam said:
Has anyone done this?
How much, if any, did the bed need to be shortened?
I would like to retain the 5th wheel, if possible, and devise some method of removing the bed in order to pull a trailer. I thought about welding an old kingpin plate to latch to the 5th wheel, and using something similar to the holding system used on container chassis to secure the bed onto the truck.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated!

HUM, just a thought, wonder what search would have found, I would bet not much so most likly would have been a waste of time looking anyway..

dezert ratt · Jul 3, 2012

my 818 with a shortened deuce bed. I kinda wish i had a full length bed so i could get a cover for the back. Someday ill have one made. As far as keeping a functional 5th wheel hitch, seems like it wouldnt work out too well with the bed mounted.

MyothersanM1 · Jul 3, 2012

Bed sectioned out about 2 ft. and retained the spare tire/utility box rack. The bed hangs off the frame end about 14". I like the short wheelbase for ease of maneuvering. Only drawback is I will have to custom cut a cargo cover to fit when I get one. I did not retain the fifth wheel.

Maxgussam · Jul 3, 2012

wreckerman893 said:
IMHO you do not want the 5th wheel on top of the bed. You need for the trailer to be able to move up and down as the tractor moves over obstacles.

I had thought about doing the same thing to my M915 since I only pull a trailer once or twice a year.

My plan was to remove the spare tire rack so I could get the bed as close to the cab as possible.

I was then going to attach anchor points to the front and rear of the frame.

Heavy duty turnbuckles would hold the bed into place and I considered putting a kingpin plate on the bottom of the bed for extra security.

The bed would have been suspended from a frame when not on the truck and it would have been easy to remove/install.

The bed would have sat a little higher to clear the fifth wheel but not more than a few inches.

I actually have a deuce bed sitting on my M275 just to keep it off the ground. I'll try to make some pics tomorrow.

One thing to think about is that tractors have very heavy duty springs........you are going to have a very rough ride unless you bolt a couple of plates of 1/2 steel into the bottom of the bed.

This is very close to what I was planning. I think that for now I will install the bed minus the 5th wheel.
I see from the video that I may have issues with the height of the bed ( loading, unloading) if I retain the 5th wheel. I did not realize that the kingpin height was so much greater than on a road tractor.
Thanks to everyone for the opinions and pics, I hope that my truck turns out as well as all of yours!

zebedee · Jul 3, 2012

Maxgussam said:
This is very close to what I was planning. I think that for now I will install the bed minus the 5th wheel.

May be the way to go 'till you realise you really do need that 5th wheel, but it will give you time to see if you can accept the higher bed...

Maxgussam said:
I see from the video that I may have issues with the height of the bed ( loading, unloading) if I retain the 5th wheel. I did not realize that the kingpin height was so much greater than on a road tractor.

On the other hand, I think I would slot the bottom/front of the bed, so that the it slides past and around the fifth wheel, keeping the outsides and the rear the same height as the standard height. Kind of a reverse stepside pickup. I agree it would be a lot of work, but a secret 5th wheel!

rrrr · Jul 3, 2012

Here's my M932a1 with a shortend deuce drop side bed. I thought about trying to leave the tow plate on and do the same thing. There would be way too much fabrication required to get it to work right.

Maxgussam · Jul 3, 2012

zebedee said:
May be the way to go 'till you realise you really do need that 5th wheel, but it will give you time to see if you can accept the higher bed...

On the other hand, I think I would slot the bottom/front of the bed, so that the it slides past and around the fifth wheel, keeping the outsides and the rear the same height as the standard height. Kind of a reverse stepside pickup. I agree it would be a lot of work, but a secret 5th wheel!

Kind of like the "channeling" mod the hot rodders do to lower a car, I guess.
Cool idea!

swbradley1 · Jul 3, 2012

Sevin7 did a Deuce bed on his 818. It might be in this year's Haspin pics.

11Echo · Jul 4, 2012

maddawg308 said:
junkyardwarscrusher had an old M52 tractor with a deuce bed on. It looked sharp, great for offroading too. Here's a pic.

Actually that truck had been a M51 dump before adding deuce bed.

MT4222 · Jul 5, 2012

dezert ratt said:
my 818 with a shortened deuce bed. I kinda wish i had a full length bed so i could get a cover for the back. Someday ill have one made. As far as keeping a functional 5th wheel hitch, seems like it wouldnt work out too well with the bed mounted.

How much did you take off your deuce bed?

Gunner0311 · Jul 5, 2012

Yes!

I shorted mine 24 inches before I mounted it on my M52A2, but I left about a twenty
inch gap between the cargo box and the tool box to step up onto and access the
air lines. Plus the gap allowed me to climb up into the cargo much with less effort...

dezert ratt · Jul 5, 2012

MT4222 said:
How much did you take off your deuce bed?

3 feet i think

goldneagle · Jul 5, 2012

Instead of cutting the bed why not just raise the tool box and tire mount over the Deuce bed?

Deuce bed on M-818

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