Cab and Chassis with Fleetside bed

[SaveRustySqBodys]

Hello this is my first thread/post so forgive me if this is in the wrong section.


I recently traded my 1986 K20 for an 83 K30 135.5 wb Cab and chassis. Previous owner put a beatup 8ft fleetside bed on it.





The wheels under the bed are not centered due to the previous owner sliding the bed forward to eliminate the infamous 4 inch bed gap between bed and cab.

I would like to see pictures of any regular cab C&C that has had an 8ft bed converted onto it. I can only find about 5 or so pictures on google about this.....I'm torn on making this fleet side conversion a bit better or just getting rid of it and installing a dump flatbed.

and yes the lightbar is going. and more than likely the bumper as well

[Warrens69GMC]

That bed has rust? Looks like it. cut that bed 6" from the front of the header panel, and source a rust free bed to make the full bed you need.

Some others will also say to cut the frame the 4"

[SaveRustySqBodys]

Yes unfortunately each bedside has numerous holes all along the bed. I will take more pictures tomorrow of the bedsides. It actually doesn't look too bad considering the lower quarter of the bed on each side is rotted gone completely for a few inches so the axle almost centers itself due to the rotted bed !


That's not a bad idea though- extending the bed itself by grafting on an extra portion of it.


I do have a rust free 8 ft bed I was considering throwing on it since the rest of the truck is so clean for a Connecticut truck. But I'm weary of how bad the gap would look since I would only want to put it on if I was centering it with the axle...and with centering would leave the 4 inch gap.


The po welded part of the bed to the frame sadly. I may just cut the brackets off and slide it back myself to see for sure in person.

[andyh1956]

A company called Lund used to sell a product called "Lund Wideside Fender Flare" made just for trucks with dual rear wheels w/ a bed on them. Not near as wide as a dually fender I have seen them & they look good. They were about 4" wide.
I don't know if they still make them or not.

[SaveRustySqBodys]

Fender flares wouldn't look to bad in the rear. I also haven't even think about legality of the duals under the bed here in CT till just now. I believe the outer duals do stick out slightly from the bed. We have pretty relaxed motor vehicle laws here so I'm not sure.



One thing for sure is I'm definitly not cutting the frame. I thought about even making this truck a SRW by throwing on some single wheel hubs up front and running a 2 inch spacer in the rear if I didn't want to change the hubs/backing plate. Since the 14 bolt dually is narrower. From what I've read they run the same housing as the single wheel version just have to change the hubs and bring the backing plates out a few inches. but that's only a dream/idea. Makes more practical sense to just leave a dually


Too many possibilitys

[mongocanfly]

shortening the frame would be tremendously easier than extending the bed...
or just go with a nice cm style truck bed

[sweetk30]

my friend has a c&c with the box centered on the rear wheels . . . looks just fine to the un-trained eye that dosnt know the gap spacing .

i will have to dig up a pic or 2 for you tonight.

[obijuan]

these will move the wheelbase two inches forward with just a spring perch change.
I would just move the spring hangers though if it were me.

https://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/2PLUS.html

[SaveRustySqBodys]

Wow that looks like the best idea yet. 2-3 inches would definitly make it much better. I think i've heard of these before.. any idea how safe these are? I imagine being welded in and all theyd be okay I just question towing and heavy loads with them. It's like what I've heard with shackle flips. They are bad for towing. (only what I've heard though, no real world experience with it)



moving Spring hangers is probably the cheapest and easiest method. It could be done. The truck has enough springs to not really need to be centered in the frame hump (not worried about axle hitting frame) I just hate to cut factory rivets. You could practically eat off this frame in some spots. Then again this truck isn't in mint original condition either. Supposedly was a fire truck. At some point someone replaced the 350 with a 400 sb with a mild cam in it


so far obijuan's suggest of the perches or the other idea of sliding spring hangers are probably best bet.





Still looking to see if anyone has pictures of any C&C they've put an 8ft on.

thanks everyone for your input so far

[obijuan]

Those spring plates are way overbuilt. I guess they are as good as your welds. I have installed them on a few trucks without issues. Just make sure you have a torque wrench and locktite.

[SCOTI]

14bolts have 3.25" axle tubes right? That kit descript said it's for 3" tubes.

[obijuan]

3-3/8. Grind it out to fit.

[sweetk30]

here is the most current pic with box set with the extra gap and axle a bit off . the rear is on 2600lb per pack leafs for a light 3/4 ton suburban and a 4" flip kit in the rear . tad high we just have to dial it in yet . trucks on 37" tires.

[SaveRustySqBodys]

SweetK30, that looks great! You're positive that's a 135.5 in wheelbase? aka dump truck frame. It definitly looks like a C&C frame (no bend in the middle) That shackle flip really pushes it forward nice and center!

Problem with if I slide the whole axle /hangers forward 4 inches is, After I get done drilling all the holes and buying all the expensive grade 8 hardware I may as well have just done the shackle flip due to the cost and work invovled.


I'll update this thread with pics when I've finally done one of the ideas suggested here.




1. Shackle flip
2. Slide Axle/springs/hanger forward a couple inches
3. Leave everything, throw a dump flat bed on it

[sweetk30]

my buddy owns the truck and i built a lot of it . its a c&c frame !

had a dump bed on it . and measured out at 135"

i have 4 k30 trucks my self so i know them just a little bit .

he wants a bed swapped out for a military trailer bed . then we will drop the rear just a bit to get her butt down a hair . thats a 4" flip kit . prob swap to a 2.5" flip and be super happy then .

[SaveRustySqBodys]

that's excellent, thank you!


Yeah I also own a 1987 K30 SRW I plan to restore when it gets a littttle bit warmer out here. Watch out for the build thread on that one!



This info is great. Great forum. Haven't paid attention to shackle flips really until now. I'm thinking I'll go with the 2inch from ORD to fix the wheel base a bit. Maybe eventually slide springs up but for now ORD will work. This truck is going to be a daily soon, just have to register it and do a few other things. I want to convert it to SRW but I don't want to completely disable having a rear dually right now, so I think I'll run a 1 or 2 inch spacer in the back to make up for the shorter wheel width.