I am working on my flatbed and came across a little design flaw (oops) - How much clearance should I have between the top of my rear tire, and the flatbed deck at the lowest point ?

 

Mine bed is on 4"x4" steel tubing then 4" c channel on top of that. So i have about 8" from top of the tire to the diamond plate deck. The c channel is spaced so the tire is between them, if that makes sense. I will load a 1 ton pallet and not rub. The overloads sit about 2" below the stops when empty , it's a heavy bed.

 

Thanks. Yes I think I get what you are saying with the crossmembers, they are spaced so the tire would hit the lowest point of the deck, not the lowest point of the crossmember.

This idiot used 2x2 for the front to rear crossmembers and 1x1s for the side/side... so I am just trying to figure out what to do to fix this without being too ghetto. I could weld a 4x2 underneath the 2x2 or just start over with a 6x2 or 8x2.

 

measure your stop block traval and and 1" (with new tires) thats what I did when I inclosed the sides of my flatbed.

 

Great point. bump stop is about 6" from the axle...

 

Measure the distance from your bumpstop to axle (you have 6") then add your desired clearance to that measurement and go to the top of the tire to find how close the bed can be.

My flatbed is mounted on a 4" C Channel subframe on top of the framerails in rear and front box mounts. This gives me 2.5" of clearance over a 265 when I am sitting on the bumpstops. Also this left the actual flatbed height approximately 2" higher than the box.

Up north I wanted 2.5" of clearance over my winter tire size to run chains, but otherwise 1" is probably sufficient. I see you have a 01.5 so getting through the overloads and onto the bumpstops probably takes quite a load.

Also consider any potential tire wheel combos you might install down the road. Aftermarket wheels with a different offset, bigger tires, etc. With a 2wd might not be an issue, but tucking the tires under a heavy load inside the flatbed might not work that well if something changes.

 

Good Point,
I can't put chains on the rear , not enough room with the skirting and tool boxes.

 

dont forget to add at least another inch for articulation,,,