floor bracing?

[NEK5]

OK, last summer when i replaced all the rot i found in my floor, we used regular sheet metal, and now i`m finiding the floor is really flexible. You can literally grab the top of the seat, and pull it side was like 4 or 5 inches, and it can also be felt when you`re sitting in it. My buddys dad describes it as "oil canning". So i think i need some type of bracing to stiffen up the floor some, any ideas?

Tried searching, but with limited time, couldnt come up with much...

 

[diesel4me]

yep...flexy floors suck...

I've used things like those green fence posts they sell at home centers to beef up the floor area,to keep it from flexing and popping....they are like a "U" channel,with a flange on each side,and are easy to cut and weld in...you could use angle iron or some square or rectangular tubing too,which can also be found at Home Depot or Lowes..

One truck I had with floors "patched" by the previous owner had steel welded over the holes,but it was paper thin--(probably stove pipe or similar thin galvanized duct work!)..he also used a peice of 3/4" plywood as "reinforcement"... --he must have run low on steel,because the passenger side floor was plywood only!..gave a whole new meaning to the term "rotted out floor!"..

--I used 16 gauge galvanized steel to make new floors,that was thick enough not to flex ,without having to add any reinforcement..

 

[NEK5]

--I used 16 gauge galvanized steel to make new floors,that was thick enough not to flex ,without having to add any reinforcement..

really, I`m almost positive thats what we used.

 

[MEK5]

You could do something like I did,trust me that floor dont flex.I used 2x3x1/8" for the supports but you could use smaller material if you dont have sliders.

 

[diesel4me]

ribs!

You needed to put "Ribs" in the metal for maximum stiffness,or use additional reinforcement...I had a friend with a bead roller put a few "ribs" in the patches I made for the floors on the truck I used the 16 ga galvanized on....it looked almost like a snow shovel,same idea,they do the same thing so the shovel wont fold in two when it hits ice...but welding or bolting a brace to the floor underneath works just as well...

 

[NEK5]

You needed to put "Ribs" in the metal for maximum stiffness,or use additional reinforcement...I had a friend with a bead roller put a few "ribs" in the patches I made for the floors on the truck I used the 16 ga galvanized on....it looked almost like a snow shovel,same idea,they do the same thing so the shovel wont fold in two when it hits ice...but welding or bolting a brace to the floor underneath works just as well...

Yea, thats what I`ll do....I wont be able to weld now though, not with the undercoating underneath, and the herc inside.