Best sled deck?

[Bourboncty]

Who makes the best sled deck? I have heard good things about lotus, marlon, and truckboss but curious what people's experiences have been. Would like to get one that bolts into the bed and seals (any risk of bed rot if i do this).

 

[Dragonflya]

Truckboss

I love my TruckBoss sled Deck, had it for a year now. New Company Owner here now in Pacific NW. It is sealed underneath so nothing gets wet. I also have the optional sliding Tray. All Aluminum so nothing to rot and looks good all year around. The extenders are awesome as well when 2 sleds are going. The Ramp is also better and has safety locks. I like the accessory lighting as well both inside and exterior. The Sledlocks are the real deal as well.
I get lots of compliments daily with this deck on my lifted 3500 Silverado with 37’ Toyo’s, it’s a piece of artwork.

I left my deck on all summer. Worked great for multi purpose. I was able to haul 4 Kayaks on top to Redfish Lake pulling a travel trailer.

Saw some Russians struggling to load their sleds last weekend at Mt. Adams. They had an off brand deck with a sub par ramp, glad I went with TruckBoss. You get what you pay for.

 

[snowracer21]

I know the Marlons are built overseas...but I've had mine for two years and I love it. No problems, still looks new.

 

[slednfool]

I have an older silverlake, with a dove tail. Buddy has the slide in sides with no dove. It's cool when the sleds aren't loaded but the ramps kind of a pain not having the dove to land on.

 

[SRXSRULE]

Truckboss.

VERY well engineered and amazing quality.

Watch for summer package deals on their website. Buy direct for the best deals and honest flat rate shipping prices.

They look great year after year and have very good resale value.

 

[JETJOHNSO]

MARLON

I my opinion , its pretty hard to beat a marlon pro for price, ease of use, quality and function and fit, We've sold a lot of them , 2 in my family alone, great decks , good resale value and hard to beat, Just my 2 cents worth

 

[94fordguy]

I've had my Silverlake beavertail deck for about 9 years and it was used when I bought it. I've had zero issues with it. It's obviously not weather-tight to the bed as that concept hadn't been thought of at that time, but it does everything I ask of it and I've done literally nothing to it since they year I bought it. Still very happy with it 9 years later!

 

[AndrettiDog]

Another vote for TruckBoss. But...if you need to take your deck out, TruckBoss might not be for you. I just finished two years of use with this deck and taking it in and out kinda sucks. You don't just pick it up and out like traditional decks. I take mine out so that I can use my fifth wheel hitch for a camper. But, the deck is awesome. Seals up well, and the modular design is money. TruckBoss is expensive, but I think it is the best. I also had one of the traditional decks, and they just are not the same. TruckBoss needs to re-work the extension too. It just doesn't work as well as they intended. Doesn't flip well and causes the sides to be out more than they should. Overall...I'd still do a TruckBoss.

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

The marlon's are pretty dang nice for the price. the tracks down the side make it easy to tie things down that aren't just sleds. I would say they are the best mix of well designed and reasonable cost.

The truckboss's are super nice, but like mentioned, if your someone that has to pull the deck multiple times a year for goosneck use etc then its not really a worthwhile setup.

Silverlake makes a nice deck, good explandable sides, nice well built ramp etc.

Jetstream, i've run one of these for multiple years, pretty no frills setup and incredible pricing. low 2k pricing for all aluminum and treated decking.

Regardless of brand, do an aluminum deck. There are plenty of people whipping up steel decks as anyone with a mig and a chopsaw can make one. They work but not really worth paying for, takes around a day to make one if its not powdercoated its going to rust sooner then later and with the cost of powdercoating alone you can get into some cheaper aluminum purchased models.


Quick thoughts on pricing, IMO once a deck exceeds 4k with accessories its time to consider a custom flatbed. There are numerous companies that make them (Silverlake T-rex Fab etc) I got a killer deal on a used one and its the best of every world. You can haul sleds and have goose neck hitch with no compromises or change over. I hauled our large gooseneck shop trailer to jackson hole this year. Park trailer in display spot, unload sleds out of the back, go riding, bring them back, hook up and head home when its all over. This is a pretty specific scenario, but a deck does have some limitations. Also the lower CG of flatbeds makes loading way less sketchy (around 16" lower then a deck) also it caries the sleds weight really nice, much less body roll when tearing down the highway. Overall just more useful more of the time.

 

[boondocker97]

...Quick thoughts on pricing, IMO once a deck exceeds 4k with accessories its time to consider a custom flatbed. There are numerous companies that make them (Silverlake T-rex Fab etc) I got a killer deal on a used one and its the best of every world. You can haul sleds and have goose neck hitch with no compromises or change over. I hauled our large gooseneck shop trailer to jackson hole this year. Park trailer in display spot, unload sleds out of the back, go riding, bring them back, hook up and head home when its all over. This is a pretty specific scenario, but a deck does have some limitations. Also the lower CG of flatbeds makes loading way less sketchy (around 16" lower then a deck) also it caries the sleds weight really nice, much less body roll when tearing down the highway. Overall just more useful more of the time.

Exactly my thoughts.

 

[snowrunner]

I picked up a used Marlon in March this year and have been very happy with it. I went back and forth for a number of years until I found the right deal. I looked at all the different brands and for the price, the Marlon is worth it. I've used a friend's old silverlake and while it was nice, the Marlon's and Truckboss's ramps are far better. The way they lock on the deck it nice. My friend's current Truckboss is pretty nice for the sealing aspect and adjust-ability from truck to truck. That is the one down side of my marlon, it sits a little higher than I'd like in the bed. I found out after installing that the front of my bed curves up from the bottom to the side quicker that i'd like. The front mounts don't sit flat, had to make a spacer. Also found out the hard way that a 12' ramp doesn't fit a short bed truck. Made a couple of modifications to the ramp and good to go. I agree, the flat bed would be awesome if I had a long bed and did't use the bed for hauling stuff in the summer. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the choices mentioned.

Tracy