Pickup trucks are designed primarily for the purpose of hauling and carrying things. Removing dirt, gravel or other bulk materials from a pickup truck can be time consuming. Dump truck hydraulic bed-conversion kits are available to turn full-sized pickup beds into dump trucks. The conversion process requires knowledge of welding and wiring. Also, the parts are large so strength is important to the task.
Park the pickup truck on a level surface. Set the parking brake. Place wheel chocks around at least two of the wheels. Open the hood and disconnect the negative battery cable with an open-ended wrench.
Disconnect the pickup bed's main wiring harness and any other possible electrical connections. Remove the truck bed mounting bolts with a socket wrench, then lift the bed of the truck off of the frame. Full-sized pickup truck beds are heavy and it takes four people to handle them properly. Smaller pickup trucks will still need two people to lift the bed.
Weld the skids along the length of the truck frame. The weld needs to be strong because the skids will bear the weight of the hydraulic ram. That in turn will bear the partial weight of the bed and what's in it.
Install the hydraulic ram between the two skids by welding it to the crossmember. Wire the power from the ram into the truck's wiring on an available circuit. Run the ram's second circuit into the truck's cab and install it. The process will vary depending on the truck, so refer to the truck's owner's manual for a wiring schematic.
Weld the perpendicular to the rear of the truck frame with heavy welds. Weld the slide guide rails to the bottom of the bed of the truck.
Replace the truck bed and weld the hinge to the perpendicular. The bed may need to be repositioned a few times before the hinge can be accessed.
Attach the hydraulic ram's post to the slide guide rails on the bed.
