Fabricated Accessories – Stakesides

Stakesides, which are removable, turn a flatbed trailer, Figure 5.22, into a box trailer which can then always be returned to a full flatbed. The rear can be left open, filled with an additional stake-rack, or a drop down steel tailgate for lightweight loads. No one has developed or marketed a universal stake-rack that will work with all heights, lengths and hole separations. Hence, lots of options are possible with stakesides. 

Wooden slats of 1″ x 6″ or 1″ x 4″ dimension can be used. An inexpensive hardwood, such as Apitong, will be more resistant to warping. Special formed lightweight steel slats are also available at a few places. Posts can be made from 2″ x 4″ wood, 2″ x 3″ formed steel hat sections with special stamped bottoms or universally available rectangular tubing. Depending on the receptacle dimension and height, tubing of 3/4″ x 1-1/2″, 1″ x 2″ or 1-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ are sizes which can create a nice stake-rack. 

Pockets need to be dimensioned to fit the post and securely mounted. Latches along the sides and at the corners hold the racks in place. Once built, the racks should be marked with large letters as to their respective positions so that replacement is easy. Stake sides are quite strong in spite of their removability. However, leaning heavy materials against them is probably a mistake and could cause some irreversible problems. Figure 5.23 shows two stake-rack styles with standard parts to give you a start on building your own. If stake-racks are desired, they should be part of the initial design so the structure can be planned to accept the pockets properly.