# Drop down sides on a dump body?



## tom18287 (Nov 22, 2008)

I'm gonna be ordering a new 450 dump pretty soon, and I'm considering drop down sides. Anyone have any experience with them? do they wear out or are they pretty durable?

Thanks,

Tom


----------



## peteo1 (Jul 4, 2011)

Keep the hinges and latches greased up otherwise they seize and it takes two of you to close them. As far as durability, we load ours with broken concrete and asphalt and they hold up just fine.


----------



## StuveCorp (Dec 20, 2005)

I think it should be mandatory and can't imagine not having them. Like Pete said, keep them greased. I've been using the same box since '99 and have put everything thru it. Some things have hurt it(boulders/big stumps) but had it fixed and still use it.


----------



## alldayrj (Feb 28, 2010)

When in doubt, overbuild it. My old truck had 3/8" pins and they sucked. New one has 3/4" and its diesel


----------



## TGS Inc. (Aug 17, 2010)

Had one on our '99 F-350. Loved it in the summer for landscape work. After a few years of plowing, the back corner posts were getting pulled back from the tailgate spreader. After a while the latches wouldn't work.


----------



## Snow Commandor (Jan 30, 2011)

tom18287;1624265 said:


> I'm gonna be ordering a new 450 dump pretty soon, and I'm considering drop down sides. Anyone have any experience with them? do they wear out or are they pretty durable?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Tom


Keep all the pivots lubed up with fluid film and you'll have no problem.


----------



## sparksrides (Dec 1, 2008)

not to hijack the thread but has any one picked up wet concrete in a bed with fold down sides? I like the idea for loading purposes but i pick up wet a lot and wouldn't want cream spilling all over the truck.


----------



## alldayrj (Feb 28, 2010)

That sounds terrible. You mean washout? I just throw some rca back there to soak it up. Any dump body will leak out the tailgate


----------



## tom18287 (Nov 22, 2008)

sparksrides;1625119 said:


> not to hijack the thread but has any one picked up wet concrete in a bed with fold down sides? I like the idea for loading purposes but i pick up wet a lot and wouldn't want cream spilling all over the truck.


thats actually a great question....i have done this before as well.


----------



## sparksrides (Dec 1, 2008)

with a $120 delivery charge I pick up anything under a yard and a half, the tail gate does leak a little but washes off easily. It also gives you more time to work with the concrete and no over time with the truck.


----------



## leigh (Jan 2, 2009)

I line my bed with some 4mil poly and drive slow , no sharp turns or stops, I learned the hard way!


----------



## Mr. Jon (Feb 24, 2010)

tom18287;1624265 said:


> I'm gonna be ordering a new 450 dump pretty soon, and I'm considering drop down sides. Anyone have any experience with them? do they wear out or are they pretty durable?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Tom


I've had drop down sides on a 2001 F450 since new. Just like others said, keep it greased and open them once in a while if you're not using the truck. I wouldn't have a truck without them. I just got a 2008 F550 with drop down sides. If you're buying new, I would seriously consider a 550. GVW goes up from 15k to 19.5k. These trucks (or at least mine) are 10k empty. So with a 450 you can only carry 2.5 TN. The 550 almost doubles the payload. Well worth the extra $$.


----------



## tom18287 (Nov 22, 2008)

Believe me, i'd love to get a 550, but the 450 has 16k GVW plus my 9990 trailer is less than 26k gcvw. in MA the total can't be more than 26 without CDL.


----------



## Mr. Jon (Feb 24, 2010)

Ok, works different in Jersey. Commercial trailers have to be registered at 0 lbs. and the truck has to be registered for the weight of the truck & trailer combined. My 550 is registered for 26k. When it's empty it's 10k, and I pull a 15k trailer, so I'm safe at 25k actual weight. When I pull out of the quarry with 5 TN it's only 20k, and the 550 handles much better than the 450 with that weight.


----------



## Rat_Power_78 (Sep 16, 2008)

sparksrides;1625397 said:


> with a $120 delivery charge I pick up anything under a yard and a half, the tail gate does leak a little but washes off easily. It also gives you more time to work with the concrete and no over time with the truck.


You can expect similar leakage out the sides with concrete as you would get out the tailgate. Probably not that big of a deal, like you said it washes off easy.


----------



## dfd9 (Aug 18, 2010)

I loved mine, but will admit didn't keep them lubed enough. Only had them on 1 truck then went to fixed sides.


----------



## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

tom18287;1626010 said:


> Believe me, i'd love to get a 550, but the 450 has 16k GVW plus my 9990 trailer is less than 26k gcvw. *in MA the total can't be more than 26 without CDL*.


Not true. When the trailer is 10k or under GVWR the truck can be up to 26k GVWR without a CDL.


----------



## BigBoyPlowin (Nov 16, 2012)

Drop down sides are nice but once you add 3 ft sides on it they tend to get heavy.... Or if you get bigger sides they touch the ground once folded down. 

Just something to keep an eye out for.


----------



## plowingkid35 (Nov 16, 2010)

Have them on my 99 F550 wouldn't ever go with out them, works awesome for skid loader attachment when you have a trailer on, can load stuff in the box without any hassle once so ever... But just as everyone said keep the hinges greased and lubed up, also we have sides on ours for hauling snow,mulch, or whatever but they do get very heavy and will touch the ground just like BigBoyPlowin said. Just another thing to keep in mind.


----------



## mcwlandscaping (Sep 8, 2005)

Mr. Jon;1626136 said:


> Ok, works different in Jersey. Commercial trailers have to be registered at 0 lbs. and the truck has to be registered for the weight of the truck & trailer combined. My 550 is registered for 26k. When it's empty it's 10k, and I pull a 15k trailer, so I'm safe at 25k actual weight. When I pull out of the quarry with 5 TN it's only 20k, and the 550 handles much better than the 450 with that weight.


What year are those trucks? Ive got an 06 F550, friends got an 05 F450, ive got a gvwr of 17,950 and his is 16k. I know the new trucks have higher gvwr options but both of our trucks are exactly the same in number of leaf springs and in every other way except the door sticker. I wouldn't be surprised if there are different options on the newer ones so that aspects like springs are actually upgraded on the 550's so that's why i'm just curious



cretebaby;1626600 said:


> Not true. When the trailer is 10k or under GVWR the truck can be up to 26k GVWR without a CDL.


Beat me to it :salute:


----------



## dfd9 (Aug 18, 2010)

mcwlandscaping;1631222 said:


> What year are those trucks? Ive got an 06 F550, friends got an 05 F450, ive got a gvwr of 17,950 and his is 16k. I know the new trucks have higher gvwr options but both of our trucks are exactly the same in number of leaf springs and in every other way except the door sticker. I wouldn't be surprised if there are different options on the newer ones so that aspects like springs are actually upgraded on the 550's so that's why i'm just curious
> 
> Beat me to it :salute:


Weird, my '04 550 has a 17,500 GVWR and my '05 has a 19,000 GVWR.


----------



## 1olddogtwo (Aug 6, 2007)

dfd9;1631367 said:


> Weird, my '04 550 has a 17,500 GVWR and my '05 has a 19,000 GVWR.


No, not weird at all. There was a "minor" design change. Chances are if you look at the incomplete vehicle sticker on the door, the 05 will say front GAWR 7000lbs and the 04 will say GAWR 6000lbs. A quick look under both trucks will show ya the minor difference.

Thats just the begining in difference between the years, its not even fair to compare the two together.


----------



## 1olddogtwo (Aug 6, 2007)

mcwlandscaping;1631222 said:


> What year are those trucks? Ive got an 06 F550, friends got an 05 F450, ive got a gvwr of 17,950 and his is 16k. I know the new trucks have higher gvwr options but both of our trucks are exactly the same in number of leaf springs and in every other way except the door sticker. I wouldn't be surprised if there are different options on the newer ones so that aspects like springs are actually upgraded on the 550's so that's why i'm just curious
> 
> Beat me to it :salute:


Ford offers a payload downgrade package just as they offer a upgrade. We have a few F450 downgraded to 15,000 just to keep within most of our drivers class of DL.


----------



## dfd9 (Aug 18, 2010)

1olddogtwo;1631467 said:


> No, not weird at all. There was a "minor" design change. Chances are if you look at the incomplete vehicle sticker on the door, the 05 will say front GAWR 7000lbs and the 04 will say GAWR 6000lbs. A quick look under both trucks will show ya the minor difference.
> 
> Thats just the begining in difference between the years, its not even fair to compare the two together.


What I meant by weird is that an '08 550 with only 450# more than my '04 with the old leaf spring setup.

No minor design change, either. They changed spring and steering components. Coil vs leaf and a far, far improved turning radius. And they bumped up the FAWR.


----------



## 1olddogtwo (Aug 6, 2007)

dfd9;1631482 said:


> What I meant by weird is that an '08 550 with only 450# more than my '04 with the old leaf spring setup.
> 
> No minor design change, either. They changed spring and steering components. Coil vs leaf and a far, far improved turning radius. And they bumped up the FAWR.


Your out in left field here my friend. You can't compare a 08 now to a 04 out of the blue. The only thing really in common is the sheetmetal on the doors and the same battery group. Once again, its not even fair to compare the two MY's

The 08 is 19K, and the 04 17.5K.


----------

