Home built sled deck.

[SylvanLaker]

My deck i built and designed.... Steel with .063" wall. pretty light actually.. heavier than AL though..

 

[HardcoreAK]

Using a 2 place FLOE

Picked up a brand new aluminum 2 place (slightly damaged) for cheap from the local POLARIS dealer, hes keeping the axle,tires,tongue and tomorrow it will be a sled deck, complete with nice factory lighting. I am going to add a beaver tail and build folding ramp. When I get going I will post photos or at least try.
I bet I will have about 1200 in it all said and done. We will see.

 

[devilrmk]

I may be missing something in the photo....
What holds the deck down to the roller frame when it's loaded on the truck with your sled on it?

I'm sure you have a way of keeping it from bouncing off the rollers but I just don't see it in the photo.

Looks great BTW.

EDIT....Oh, I see it now. The winch holds down the front and you have plates and I'm guessing pins for the aft part?

Exactly, and for the earlier question.

The rear part extends it beyond the tailgate. To remove it just pull it out(has a pin to hold it in) throw it in the bed and close the tailgate. That is the biggest part I don't like, but I have a few ideas to make it better in that area for my next one.

 

[devilrmk]

If you are having to use a hoist to lift your steel deck in, you made it way overkill. I can load mine by myself, its on the heavy side for one guy but I have done it a couple times myself. If it was a standard deck I am sure I would need help, but overall it would be lighter just harder to deal with.

 

[SylvanLaker]

if you are going to use 1.25" sq. tubing, I would make sure the main frame is AT LEAST 3/16" thick.... IF I were to build one, I'd go 2 x 2 x .25 tubing... but then agian, I build stuff that a freight train would only skuff up....

Wow. The next time I need a freight train parked on my deck I'll make sure to consult you.. 3/16" are you serious???? .25"???? LMFAO!!! No offense bro. But as long as the stress in the steel doesn't reach it's yeilding strength then you will not have a failure.. Your comment about how a deck that weighs 149 lbs is not strong enough is uneducated. Do you even know what an aluminum deck weighs?? Some weight less. (Metal only) Structural Steel A36 has a yield of around 290 MPa, AL is around 276 MPa. But the difference is steel has a MUCH higer ultimante strength. The deck I designed was drawn on Pro Eng. and I did a section analysis on it to ensure my stress consentrations were within my chosen safety factor. If you were to build a deck with those thicknesses you would need 4 people to load it. Seroiusly.. People are on here to get advice not opinions, so Unless your a Mechanical engineer that has designed and calculated steel structres for a living like myself I'd maybe not post on topics that you are unsure of. Not trying to be a dick, but too many people post about topics they really have no experience in and making people buy 1/4" steel beams for a sled deck is retarded... Like someone said earlier the steel design is the foundation. The welds still need to be good as well..

 

[Bustedup]

Good Reply Sylvan

I'm doing just the opposite, bought a deck to turn into a trailer. I have a canopy so the deck was out of the question. But, I was surprised how light a steel deck was built. I'm like the rest and figure if you use more metal it's better, but it cost more and most of the time it's way overkill. Like the above post states there and calculations you can use to determine what is right and safe to use. It's only my opinion so take it with a grain of salt...

 

[logjammin]

Flakey, I helped my dad build a few sled beds. He wanted one, then I wanted one, then a friend wanted one......... They got better as he built more. I'll try to get a pic of his up. I'm heading up to his house soon. Or come take a look, its in Bothell.