# BED KITS



## 2K IMPALA (Sep 7, 2006)

What's goin on,
I'm looking for a dancing bed kit. I was around back in the day when mini-truckin was poppin' off hard; I'm thinking of fixing up my old Hadbody, and wanna put a diamond rack on it. Anybody know where to find those kits anymore?


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## dreday (Sep 29, 2003)

Haven't seen an actual kit in yrs. You'd just have to piece together one & do alot of fab'ing.


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## 2K IMPALA (Sep 7, 2006)

Thanks for the getback holmes, yeah, it's been some time since I,ve seen them even on trucks. But it'd be different to have one for fools to be like "Hell naw, this fool has a dancing bed...aint seen that shit in a minute!"


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## DuezPaid (Jul 11, 2005)

Nice, post pictures when your done. :thumbsup:


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## 66LOU (Jun 26, 2004)

> _Originally posted by 2K IMPALA_@Sep 7 2006, 12:46 PM~6124698
> *What's goin on,
> I'm looking for a dancing bed kit. I was around back in the day when mini-truckin was poppin' off hard; I'm thinking of fixing up my old Hadbody, and wanna put a diamond rack on it. Anybody know where to find those kits anymore?
> *


DO IT AND SAVE YOUR PLANS SO I CAN PUT A DOUBLE DIMOND ON MY 86 NISSAN :biggrin:


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## buggsyjackrabbit (Apr 28, 2005)

copy the design off of a man lift it's just a scissor lift but it would be alot of work try callin reds or see if somone will post pics i have a 1986harbody too its a v6 heavyduty rwd with a 5 speed and lond bed i would love to juice mine sumday :biggrin:


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## Kandy Drippa (Jun 20, 2004)

bringin back tha 90s :thumbsup:


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## dreday (Sep 29, 2003)

Every customer I have come in w/ a truck I try to talk them into doing a dancing bed! Guess I'll end up doing one my fuckin self, then these fools will fall in line. :biggrin:


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## DuezPaid (Jul 11, 2005)

> _Originally posted by dreday_@Sep 9 2006, 07:45 PM~6139239
> *Every customer I have come in w/ a truck I try to talk them into doing a dancing bed! Guess I'll end up doing one my fuckin self, then these fools will fall in line. :biggrin:
> *


I'll do one if you do one.


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## dreday (Sep 29, 2003)

> _Originally posted by DuezPaid_@Sep 9 2006, 08:00 PM~6139294
> *I'll do one if you do one.
> *


 :0 You first :biggrin:


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## dreday (Sep 29, 2003)

> _Originally posted by DuezPaid_@Sep 9 2006, 08:00 PM~6139294
> *I'll do one if you do one.
> *


 :0 You first :biggrin:


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## DuezPaid (Jul 11, 2005)

I'll do it after I get back from the super show.


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## dreday (Sep 29, 2003)

Damn server causing double posts. :angry:


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## Kandy Drippa (Jun 20, 2004)

somebody do it already :uh:


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## AndrewH (Dec 12, 2002)

man that crappy incomplete inaccurate How To Build A Lowrider book had plans for a Z rack. looked interesting but I didn't really study them enough to follow it all.


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## rag-4 (Jul 19, 2002)

> _Originally posted by DuezPaid_@Sep 9 2006, 07:00 PM~6139294
> *I'll do one if you do one.
> *



If both of you get it done, maybe after seeing some pics... I'll consider it doing it to my truck also... :biggrin:


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## CLOWNINWAYZ (Nov 11, 2003)

i think lona and sons still builds kits :dunno:


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## lolow (Jan 25, 2003)

> _Originally posted by CLOWNINWAYZ_@Sep 12 2006, 12:38 PM~6155503
> *i think lona and sons still builds kits  :dunno:
> *


they sell the tilt bed kit only


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## buggsyjackrabbit (Apr 28, 2005)

theres a guy with a 80,s red nissan up here in MN from infamous cc he makes them i just want lots of pics what happened to the trucks with the spinnig doors and front clip that shit was hardf as hell gotta get that stuff back in the game before all the OG,s die with all the secrets


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## lolow (Jan 25, 2003)

its eazy to do  :biggrin:


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## buggsyjackrabbit (Apr 28, 2005)

post sum pics if you have some that would be greatly appreciated thanks


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## Wicked One (Feb 20, 2002)

check out my web site lona-sons.com . i did the jimmy hendricks mazda truck a few years back . there are some pics of the setup and rack (it also has a spinnning bed). the picks are in the installation section. later tim


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## lolow (Jan 25, 2003)

very litle info on doing the z-rack :biggrin: 





some view of z-rcks :biggrin: 








great view   



or go see his wep page got some info if i remember :biggrin: 
http://www.radicalbed.com/


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## lolow (Jan 25, 2003)

hope its gonna help you :biggrin:


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## DuezPaid (Jul 11, 2005)

I requested his technicle report, I'll post it if he sends it.


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## lolow (Jan 25, 2003)




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## dreday (Sep 29, 2003)

That shits tight. :biggrin:


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## slo (Jan 12, 2004)

> _Originally posted by dreday_@Sep 13 2006, 05:00 PM~6166151
> *That shits tight. :biggrin:
> *


x2


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## 2K IMPALA (Sep 7, 2006)

> _Originally posted by buggsyjackrabbit_@Sep 12 2006, 10:52 AM~6155593
> *  "what happened to the trucks with the spinnig doors and front clip that shit was hardf as hell  gotta get that stuff back in the game before all the OG,s die with all the secrets"
> *


 You got that right! I can't believe nobody wants to see bed dancing comps anymore...even just for exhibition. Those pics of the Nissan Hardbodys are proper than a mutha fu...!! Anybody remember Wrapped with Envy?


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## wildmini (Jun 18, 2003)

Check out the new pics of "Schizophrenia" @ RADICALBED.COM

Here is one of them:


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## DuezPaid (Jul 11, 2005)

Technicle report from RADICALBED.COM *Download Full Report*
*How the Pieces Come Together*

A topic that is extremely important to any builder is “Order of Operations”. Some parts must be installed before others. Otherwise, a whole host of problem will occur. Often, access to a section is blocked because the work wasn’t completed at the right time. During this project, you will find that there is a right and wrong way to go about handling tasks. So, let’s make the job easier by applying this important note: COMPLETE ONE STAGE AT A TIME! Working this way will save errors and back strain in the long run. Imagine having the entire structure built and killing yourself to get it on the truck frame only to find out…some measurement is not correct! Think about priority…does it mean more for the bed to lift at a particular angle or for the cab to remain intact? 

The “how to” information in this report is configured into sections concerning mechanical, electrical and hydraulic issues. However, that in no way implies that all of one aspect should be completed before moving to the next (not talking about the stages here). No person’s design is going to be just like another. As you may have already guessed, the entire concept is about being different. Therefore, you must use your own skills to figure out how to best solve these problems.

Think about clearance issues before you begin. You don’t want parts ramming into each other as they are moving. (A performance certainly will not go as planned if a stage is being told to go up, but a bolt somewhere is standing in the way. Make sure that everything fits together neatly.) Look at movement and where all of the stages end up when they are at every possible point. A major problem is the possibility of hitting the cab with the bed. Usually this is related to the positioning of the 4th stage (the one that goes toward the cab). But, you can’t leave it out because the spin depends on it for clearance of the rack itself. Next, check how the framework folds back up and sits on the suspension frame. If something hits beforehand, your bed will not line up right with the cab. So, to recap, a problem with clearance will not only look stupid but it might break parts in the process.

Fasteners are used to hold parts together. They have many different forms. Hime joints are meant to create a connection between the cylinder’s shaft and whatever is being pushed. Basically, it is a threaded rod with a swiveling eye. However, bolts are the most used fastener for this project. In the end, you are going to have to rely on one bolt to hold the entire bed from flying off. If that seems like a scary thought, it probably is. But wait, I forgot to mention that the bolt in question is a grade 8 (heat treated) and 1” thick. They are usually rated at a tensile strength of several hundred thousand pounds. Let’s go back to the smaller versions; the ½ inch diameter size. While they are not able to take as much stress, it’s still pretty hard to break them. So, just in case the point was missed…ANYTHING LESS THAN GRADE 8 IS A WEAK LINK WAITING TO BREAK! 


*

Mechanical*

The actual structure must be strong enough to support all the stress being put on it. 
Material choice makes the difference between coming back to show off again or something going horribly wrong. The strongest shapes are symmetrical. Building from flat bar is ok if you’re only purpose is to “lift it and leave it”. But let’s face it, people ask to see action. In the end, spectators will pry a little movement from an eager switch finger. Beware: If you try to dance this type of rack, it will quickly fall apart! 2 x 2 x 3/16 box tube is the most practical steel for this purpose. Check out figure 1 below.








However, even with this material, a sound structure must be developed. This means the use of triangles. Put a lot of these into your design (thank me later). Also, reinforcements are still mandatory at identifiable stress points. These do not have to be ugly and bulky looking either. For example: Try sliding a piece of tight fitting angle inside the box tube. 
There are going to be less solid points of lift where movement takes place. These are related to hinges and cylinder connections. Hinges have to be welded in an alternating pattern for the entire length of a stage. 3” increments or less will work. Sometimes, one of those strong bolts (mentioned a couple of paragraphs ago) will break at a cylinder connection. This is not a good thing! Depending on your design, the whole truck’s welfare could hang in the balance. Protect your ride by creating backup brackets. This bracket does not have to be very complicated. Just figure out where the force is going if a bolt does break. Now, determine how to stop this unwelcome action from happening. There are a few things you need to know about cylinder placement; mainly how they make the stages open and close. Think about some right angle Trigonometry. Just kidding, that would be way too complicated. About the only thing you really need to know is: an 8” cylinder placed 8” from the pivot point will give a 60° lift. The rest is trial and error. What you are trying to accomplish is this: First, make the bed go up at a reasonable angle (while keeping in mind our talk about clearance issues); second, make everything lay together flat when it’s closed. In accomplishing this feat, remember a golden rule: LET THINGS SEAT THEMSELVES. It is possible to make things work without complex math equations. Why hope for the correct answer when you can just put it all in place and watch it work? Follow these steps for a sure fire installation:
1.)	Extend both stages where you want them
2.)	Mark a point of reference where the cylinder’s hime joint connection needs to be 
3.)	Extend the cylinder all the way
4.)	While holding the mark (made in step 2), allow the cylinder to pivot
5.)	When the cylinder’s collar is even with the stage it is to be mounted on, you are there

As you can see there is more than one correct solution to placement. However, the issue of clearance comes up again. If the cylinder is in that particular spot, what is going to happen when other things start moving around it? And what about the hose connections? Because each design is different, there are many variables. So, now that there is an exact place to put the cylinder, how is it to be attached? Ok, let’s take a look at the steps involved:
1.)	Drill a ½ clearance hole where the reference mark is located
2.)	Thread a (yes, grade 8) nut onto a ½ bolt
3.)	Using the bolt as a guide (to hold hole position) butt the nut up against that part of the framework
4.)	Now, weld it! All of a sudden you have a reliable attachment with great holding power!

Now comes the hard part; somehow the free end must be connected. A piece of flat stock 2 x ½ x 5 will have to be shaped to fit. Also, you will want to go ahead and drill a clearance hole for the bolt which holds that end. After shaping, it must be welded to the cylinder. This can be a tricky process because metal has a tendency to expand a little when heated. If the cylinder casing becomes too hot, a problem will be created internally. While it may appear to be unaltered to the naked eye, wait until you try to get the piston back into its casing. Oh, no! But there is a two part solution:
1.)	Use lower amperage (60 amps is perfect)
2.)	Completely fill the cylinder with oil and plug it off before welding

Now, for the last process in attachment. A longer piece of that 2 x ½ stock needs to be connected at two points. One end will link to the bracket you just welded to the cylinder casing. The other must be secured to the bottom stage of your setup. Once the first part of that is done, the other will be a matter of opening and closing stages while checking alignment. The sketch drawn in Figure 2 will help out.








So, you want to go for a spin? Awesome…until the whole thing starts wobbling out of control! Here the name of the game is support, balance, weight distribution, leverage…you get the picture. 

A 5th wheel is an extremely practical solution to part of this problem. They have a wide ball bearing race that will help to support the bed while it’s spinning. Of course, a lot of work must be done to make the action happen. Because these are made from cast iron, welding is not an option. One side of the structure must be milled flat. Build a metal drum with a sprocket in the middle and attach it to the milled side of the 5th wheel. Dimensions should make the bed sit at a good height. Locate this assembly relative to the bed’s cage (it will not be exactly centered on the top of the lift frame). Bolt everything up to the bed cage’s center point. Now, move bed and all on top of the fifth stage. Watch for proper alignment with the cab. A hydraulic motor will power the whole thing through a chain connection. Kind of like a motor cycle, only with fluid pressure instead of an engine. By the way, the 1” inch bolt I mentioned earlier goes through the center of the 5th wheel to hold it together. Balance changes as the bed moves from side to side. The best policy is to use a spin that has plenty of support and adjust weight distribution as needed. Here is a top view picture of the spin assembly mounted to the top stage.









*Electrical*

Time to wire the setup! There are really two sides to the wiring job. One is the primary circuit. This is where all of the high current flows. It’s gonna need thick cable (usually 2 gauge) to handle the motor’s demand. A motor takes a certain amount of watts to do a job. Volts x Amps = Watts. If your batteries are going dead, then it could be said that a voltage deficiency has occurred. Amperage must increase to compensate. But, a high amp rating without the volts to push it through just ends up creating a hot mess of a motor (and solenoids). Here is a rule: KEEP YOUR BATTERIES CHARGED TO AT LEAST 70%. Another thing to have on the primary circuit is a quick disconnect of some sort. Just in case a solenoid group burns up (due to the whole amperage thing), this disconnect will protect your setup from developing a runaway pump. This situation can be very nasty depending on where the bed is in its gyrations. 

Ok, now that you know the bad things to expect, let’s talk about how to actually wire the thing. Electricity will get its start from the big disconnect I was telling you about. That wire grounds the first battery in the circuit. Usually, at least 4 batteries are needed (but 6 are better). A lift doesn’t require a lot of voltage because it isn’t really heavy (compared to lets say…a car suspension). In light of that fact, 24 volts is probably all that will be needed. So, where do the other 4 batteries come into play? Well, they are needed for their amp/hour rating. The amount of time you are able to play with the bed depends on this accumulated rating. To keep the 24 volt part, group the batteries into sets of two. Use some thick cable and go from positive to negative (making sure all connections are tight). Now, jumper all of the resulting positives and negatives together. From there, go to whichever side of the solenoid groups is convenient (it doesn’t matter because electricity can flow either way through them). Here is a hint: Only 1 thick cable needs to go up to the groups of solenoids because they can be jumped off of each other. Make a connection from the other side of a solenoid group to its corresponding pump. Figure 4 will help you get a visual of this setup.








The other part is a secondary or control circuit. Always wire the secondary to 24 volts.
That way dump valves can still work even if there isn’t enough power to raise a stage. (Hey, it beats having the bed stuck up in the air on the way home). That 24 volt signal is going straight to your switchbox. There is no need to run a ground to the switches because it is provided by solenoids and dump valves on the other end. Wire the switches to the appropriate terminals (being sure to have nice color coded wire) to whatever action you are trying to make happen. And please, use connectors; it is so lame to see wire wrapped around a terminal! 

This setup only involves single pole/double throw switches for safety purposes. (Trying to do more than one action at a time with a spinning bed could prove to be catastrophic!) It is easy to get caught up in the moment and forget what switch to hit next. This is definitely a concern for any switchman. One stage, in particular, to watch out for is the 5th. Even for an expert, that stage could cause the bed to shatter if lowered at the wrong time. There are two ways to protect against this scenario. First, NEVER USE SWITCH EXTENDERS FOR A BED LIFT! Second, create a safety circuit (like the one shown below). Since only one side of the spin’s switch is normally being used, designate the other side for power to the 5th stage switch. Now, two switches must be hit simultaneously for the trouble stage to lower. Also, keep an eye on mounting procedures, remember wiring is done opposite of what you might expect (there is a rocker effect onside the switch itself). Here is an illustration of how the secondary circuit will appear.









*Hydraulic*

Finally, the structure is completed, all the components have been mounted, and electrical circuitry is finished. Ready to move to the last step? Let’s install the hydraulics….What? You say my order of operations is all wrong….Good for you! This means we are making progress! 

So, how do you get that fluid pressure all the way up there? Elementary my dear Watson…With valves and hydraulic hose I presume. As noted earlier, it is best to individualize all actions. Especially when it comes to hydraulic plumbing. This holds true for maintenance and wear purposes. Consider this: A setup where a single pump is used to drive the entire setup through a system of valves. A problem arises whereby one stage refuses to open or even opens inadvertently. So, where is the problem? It could conceivably be a whole gamut of possibilities. However, if there is a single pump for each stage of the lift, the guess work is virtually eliminated. 

Let’s start plumbing the setup. Begin by installing the necessary components on the pump itself. These are a check valve, dump valve and needle valve. Certain adaptors and short hoses will be needed to make this happen. Have a look at this detailed illustration.








up with 2 ½ quarts of transmission fluid yet, now is the chance. Why transmission fluid? Because of it’s viscosity rating. This type of fluid is very thin, but has good lubricating properties and resists foaming. Best of all, ambient temperature does not effect its state.

Find an acceptable place (via our discussion on clearance issues) and mount the newly plumbed pump. After mounting, let’s jump into some hose work. Its gonna take a lot (between 125 and 150 ft.) of hose to run this setup. The best policy is to use a ball of thick string to make initial measurements. (Although string will get your measurements close, it’s not an exact science. Comparatively, hose is much wide in diameter and will not twist or take corners like string will). Label each one as you measure. Once a reference has been made for the entire setup, add up all the figures. Take that final figure and go to your local hydraulic dealer and buy a roll of double ply 3/8 flexible line. Tell him not to worry, you will be back to have some of his expensive fittings crimped on later. 

Return to your project with a heavy roll of hose in hand. Now, you can effectively make your own sections right where they are going to lie (and there should have enough to do the whole thing right in front of you). Use either a chop saw or handheld grinder for nice smooth cuts. Label each as to their purpose and type of ends (if the ends are either 45° or 90° mark the hose accordingly; these will be connected later). That brings the discussion to fittings (the ends I just spoke of); make sure to include them in the length. Choosing the correct length isn’t as easy as you might think. Sometimes, the difference between an inch or two can come back to bite you. (Again, that is why a string measurement alone is not reliable). The major goal here is to have just enough hose to follow around the individual stages and all the way to the top. But, when the framework closes, those same flexible lines must have a place to go without being squashed. To help with this problem, the use of clamps is mandatory. Place them all along a line’s path (just don’t get really gaudy with it). Attachment is as easy as drilling and tapping a hole in the framework.
Once you have worked out all the details, go have those expensive ends crimped on.
Now you should be ready to lift the entire structure for the first time. Get a load of my progress (Figure 7).








It’s good you have made it this far. Think about all the problems you have been able to solve with a little common sense. Hopefully, it will be your decision to follow through with the spin (mentioned earlier in the mechanical section). That has, after all, been the unreachable goal for many Lowrider fans in the past. Granted it can be very difficult to achieve, but with the instruction presented in this report, IT’S NOT IMPOSSIBLE!
Here is a picture of the next level…advance with me!


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