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| First Piece |
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| Drom Box Members |
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| Steps and Tanks |
The deck frame is made out of 2 x 2 box tubing. The head tube is the reference tube for the rest of the design. Placement
of this tube is critical to the overall quality of the deck. There are three frame members that will be used to mount the
drom storage box. It will be attached to these members with U-Bolts. The head has two stepped cutouts. The front is designed
to clear the fuel tank fillers. The second creates a step from the steel steps of the rear side skirts.
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| Flipping it Over |
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| Completed Frame |
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| Taking Pictures |
We had to flip it over to weld the bottom side of the frame. At this point, the entire deck weighs about 500 lbs. So,
a forklift is required to flip it over. The completed frame (pictured upside down) has all of the bushing mounts, the sub-frame,
and the deck done. This thing is big, so getting pictures is getting into the area of stupid human tricks.
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| Milling Out the Brackets |
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| Air Manifold For TSLB3 |
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| Trailer Air and Electric |
After the main frame was completed, then the accessories needed to be added. The rear end has connections for trailer
air brakes (service and emergency), trailer electrical, and controls for the TrailerSaver air hitch. These were milled out
of 4 x 2 box tubing.
After the rear connection mounts were set in the top was put on. The top is 3/16 steel diamond plate that will get a
coating of Premiun 1 Spray-on Bedliner.
Once the skirts were completed, then the serious detail work could begin. Grinding the welds into somewhat smooth corners
was an ugly 14 hour day with my close personal friend, the angle grinder. We also added a set of eight hold downs welded directly
to the top of the bed deck. I have an all new respect for the welders that fabricated my ballast bumper assembly.
The last picture in this set shows the holes for the trailer connections. The left side will contain the trailer emergency
air brake, the trailer service air brake and the wiring connector. The right side has the regulated valve assembly for the Trailer
Saver.
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