Bought a deck and never had one before

[medler]

That is one of the front corners. Those tie down hooks are weak. I don't trust them IMO

 

[oler1234]

this thread is hilarious.


i think im going to go weld up all my decks to the frame. got me all scared now.

this way you cant go wrong. welding is the only solution.

.

dont make me start discussing metallurgy and dissimilar metals

 

[Modman]

Maxwell's right, this thread is hilarious. All this talk of bolting the deck down, well.....if you are overweight on your truck then bolting it down ain't going to make a lick of difference in an accident, you will still be negligent so good luck with that one.....you're getting sued. Somewhere here there is a thread about a guy building his own triple decker and lots of responses saying "go for it".....

engineering wise, you would have to look at the ratings for the turnbuckles and the welds on the deck. You are probably about as likely to rip the legs off the deck and/or the sleds off the deck before the turnbuckles break. Most standard tiedowns (the 1" ones) are rated for around 400 lbs (i think) and most superclamps are only held in with a few screws or onto plywood. More than likely the sleds are coming off the deck before the deck tears out of the truck. I thought that most deck manufacturers didn't like turnbuckles because they loosen off over time and then the deck tilts when loading. This is easily remedied with a lock nut on the threads.

and if it is bolted down, does that give the driver permission to drive 140km/hr in a snowstorm, passing people on double yellows, around corners and tops of hills? See lots of these "safety hero's" on the internet, then people drive like asshats on the way to the staging area to be first with only a superclamp on the skis, yes... the same guys that bolt the decks in because its "safer". No offence to some of you that do bolt the deck in, I'm sure there are guys that bolt the deck in and drive safe too, but I have seen "Mr. Safety" in the parking areas a lot, checking his beacon, strapping on his avy bag and telling everyone he won't ride with people who don't have AST 1, meanwhile he endangered 15 people on his 20 min drive to the staging area that morning......think about where your exposure points are before telling others that what they are doing is unsafe.

 

[hypnotoad]

and if it is bolted down, does that give the driver permission to drive 140km/hr in a snowstorm, passing people on double yellows, around corners and tops of hills? See lots of these "safety hero's" on the internet, then people drive like asshats on the way to the staging area to be first with only a superclamp on the skis, yes... the same guys that bolt the decks in because its "safer". No offence to some of you that do bolt the deck in, I'm sure there are guys that bolt the deck in and drive safe too, but I have seen "Mr. Safety" in the parking areas a lot, checking his beacon, strapping on his avy bag and telling everyone he won't ride with people who don't have AST 1, meanwhile he endangered 15 people on his 20 min drive to the staging area that morning......think about where your exposure points are before telling others that what they are doing is unsafe.

that's a pretty big generalization, but i do get where you are coming from

 

[Flatlander_01]

I am that guy you see in a lifted super duty with rhino on top of sled deck barely held down........at least i was that guy until this summer when i took a corner to fast scared me so bad thought i was going to lose the whole deal off the back now no more rhino on deck and everything is strapped in every corner just as long as your willing to have your family follow behind and feel safe doing so. lesson learned

 

[Chiebert]

Glad to hear you made it out of there in 1 piece flatlander. That type of occurance is never fun.

 

[maxwell]

yikes

 

[Flatlander_01]

ego was bruised thats all

 

[overkill131313]

this is why I bolt my deck to my frame.lol......oh and my center of gravity is much lower......when I have the two sleds on, it rides better than when empty.....and I dont need 30 feet of ramp! lol and my super clamp mounts are custom build and will never pull out of the 1/4" alum deck.

 

[Modman]

that's a pretty big generalization, but i do get where you are coming from

Yes it was a big generalization and not meant to offend, just meant to make people think about their actions all the time and what is really "safe" when we are sledding. I know some sled boarder guys that are pretty tight about the Avy thing, hold a big safety meeting every morning and talk about the snow safety, they will even pull people in from other groups because we all share the same mountain (which I think is good, we might need their help or they might need ours) but then they all ride off without helmets once the safety meeting is over........again, where is the risk exposure point? I don't know all the stats or percentages comparatively for avy's to trauma injuries for a given # of exposure hours, but I know the risks for head injury are probably fairly high when you look at the factors of strapping yourself to a 500 lb machine capable of 100 km/hr+ in under a few seconds, and riding it through trees etc.

Just trying to make people think about what is outside their "box" as well.

 

[RMK Junky]

I've done it two ways over the years. On my current pickup (2006) I first bolted and used turn buckles to secure the deck. She was solid and not going anywhere. 3 yrs later I had to replace my box due to a drunk driver t-boning the truck. The owner of the body shop who I also know personally told me the old box was busting out under the pedastals due to the way the deck was secured. Constant down pressure with no movement was too straining on the box. So now the week point was found. With the new box I only use the turn buckles as shown. The plywood was also used as cushion with the previous. So far so good. The tie down securement on the side of the box is standing up and the box is not being damaged. The turn buckles come loose because of movement but not that often. Mind you my driving is not like some. I never have to be there yesterday

 

[powderhoundbrr]

Thanks for that, I am thinking that you have the same tie downs as me as well. You win the most useful comment award on the subject.........

 

[ferniesnow]

this is why I bolt my deck to my frame.lol......oh and my center of gravity is much lower......when I have the two sleds on, it rides better than when empty.....and I dont need 30 feet of ramp! lol and my super clamp mounts are custom build and will never pull out of the 1/4" alum deck.

View attachment 111133

X2.....box is gone and custom deck/box is installed/bolted to the frame. No issues. Sides fold up for partial box when I take off the sleds or when I have one sled on.

 

[maxwell]

ya but we dont all have your kind of money ferniesnow

 

[ferniesnow]

ya but we dont all have your kind of money ferniesnow

just a matter of priorities young man! BTY, there's lots at the banks and they're itching to give some away.......

 

[Chiebert]

Thats pretty sick FS. Nice unit.

 

[goodngrubby]

Here's my take on turnbuckles...A pickup has quite a bit of side-to-side movement. When you install a deck, pull out the sides, and load two machines, you increase the center of gravity quite substantially, which in turns amplifies the side-to-side movement up top. If the deck is bolted to the box floor through the bottom of the legs, the weight up top acts like a fulcrum, and starts to split welds between the legs and deck frame. If turnbuckles are used coming off the frame (which is basically the highest point on the deck) down to the factory box anchors, then that extra side-to-side motion is basically eliminated. I have sold over 300 decks, and so far, I haven't heard of a single incident with the box anchors. If you allow the turnbuckles to loosen off, there could be some problems. Basically the same as jerking on a loose chain. If you're not totally convinced on the turnbuckles, then there's no harm in throwing in a couple bolts as well.

 

[Bnorth]

Chains and turnbuckles are good enough to hold in a 10.5' camper, they are good enough to hold in my deck.

 

[Bugs]

My deck slides into my fifth wheel plates. Will put up some pics after the long weekend when I load it.

 

[Iron Horse Racing]

Good post....just add a lock nut, as previously mentioned by ???(sorry dont remember and dont have the time to look) ......

Here's my take on turnbuckles...A pickup has quite a bit of side-to-side movement. When you install a deck, pull out the sides, and load two machines, you increase the center of gravity quite substantially, which in turns amplifies the side-to-side movement up top. If the deck is bolted to the box floor through the bottom of the legs, the weight up top acts like a fulcrum, and starts to split welds between the legs and deck frame. If turnbuckles are used coming off the frame (which is basically the highest point on the deck) down to the factory box anchors, then that extra side-to-side motion is basically eliminated. I have sold over 300 decks, and so far, I haven't heard of a single incident with the box anchors. If you allow the turnbuckles to loosen off, there could be some problems. Basically the same as jerking on a loose chain. If you're not totally convinced on the turnbuckles, then there's no harm in throwing in a couple bolts as well.