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Old 12-09-2008, 01:51 AM   #1
technician#2
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Default How I Made a Cheap Dump Bed

This is an exceptionally easy way to build a nice, cheap dump bed for an EZGO-TXT golf cart if you have the original back seat mount bracket. I built mine in one afternoon.

First you need to aquire a sheet of plywood 1/2" to 3/4'' thick.
I used a sheet of #2 1/2" plywood I had just sitting around.
I cut mine to the following deminsions: 36'' wide by 30" long.
I then cut the side boards 12" high. The front is 36" wide, the sides are 29-1/2" long.
I also cut a piece 36" by12" for the tailgate.
The first thing I did after cutting all of the pieces, was to install the original seat bracket.
Then I laid out the bottom and the front pieces on a work table and screwed the two together with 1-1/2" drywall screws from the bottom. (All screws are from the bottom).
After this is finished, I laid it out on the back seat brackets, and marked the back rest holes in the front part of the dump bed, then bolted this together with 1/4" bolts.
This allowed me to lift the whole assembly up and support the bottom to mark the holes for the bottom (make sure it is square to the mount brackets!).
I then removed the whole assembly and drilled out the bottom mount holes, and screwed the side panels onto the bottom.
I then set the tailgate piece on the assembled bed, and since it was to be a dump bed, I drilled the sideboards and the tailgate piece out simultaneously for alingment. The hole is 1" down from the top for strength, and I drilled it out with a 1/8" drill bit. I then installed a couple of 3" long deck screws for the hinges with a couple of flat washers on the screw heads for side strength. The deck screws are hardened steel and won't break as easy as regular screws.
THE THING TO REMEMBER HERE IS THAT THIS IS A VERY SMALL DUMP BED, AND NOT TO TRY TO OVERLOAD IT WITH TOO MUCH WEIGHT!!!
Now the whole assembly gets re mounted to the back seat bracket, and re hinged back on the cart. We now have a functional dump bed, and we need an actuator to lift the dump bed up and down.
I scrounged around in my spare parts shed, and sure enough, I had an old, salvaged power jack from a sears (I think!) riding mower from years ago just sitting there and waiting for a new home. What a great piece to put on this little dump bed. The length of the power jack (actuator) is 20" center to center of the mount holes.
To mount the power jack, I cut a piece of 2" by 1/2" flat steel 21" long, and drilled out 3/8" holes 1/2" from each end, and .687 in from the bottom side. I then cut four 3/8 by 1-1/2" flat steel bars at a 45 degree angle, and and drilled out 1/2" holes in each one 3/8" in from the square end, centered. Two of these are welded to the center of the flat bar 1-1/8" apart.
I then bolted this assembly down in the bottom of the rear of the "trunk" of the cart where the rear step bumper was bolted before I removed it. The 45 degree pitch of the welded on bars makes the power jack just clear the bottom of the cart.
To attach the power jack to the bottom of the dump bed, I cut a piece of 2" by 1/4" angle iron 18" long, and welded the other 2 bars to the center of it, with a spacing of 1-1/4" apart. (The top end of the power jack is suprisingly, wider than the bottom end is). I made a miscalculation when I welded this up, and turned the angles toward the back end of the bed, and it should have been toward the front of the bed. This made the spacing wrong, and the bed would not come all the way down. Since I had already welded the angle bracket assembly into place on the seat bracket assembly (front end of the dump bed, between the two brackets where it makes a 90 degree turn from bottom to top), and I sure did not want to dissassemble and cut off the bracket and start all over again, I decided to shorten the power jack by 1-1/2". This now makes the bed raise and dump properly. I won't go into the specifics of shortening the power jack, let's just say this: NEVER AGAIN!!
To get power to the jack, I used the "extra fuse location" that is not used on the TXT. I took a double-pole-double-throw (center return) switch from the auto parts house, and mounted it beside my choke cable in the little black plastic square recessed panel. It was a tight fit to get it in there, but it fits just right, and isn't in the way of the choke. And the choke isn't in the way of the switch. It works out real good, and being that it is recessed, it doesn't get accidently moved.
To make the lift go up and down properly, you can either use 2 relays and a switch, or do what I did, and wire the switch up as follows: First thing...you need a fuse!! Both the +(positive) and -(ground) wires run to the switch. One on each middle terminal. Both motor wires run to the switch. One on each terminal on one end of the switch. Then comes the tricky part, you have to solder a wire diagonally across the switch for both sides!! This transfers the power (+&-) back and forth to the two motor wires, and makes the power jack run up and down. Works like a charm, and the switch is rated high enough that it handles the load (tested with several loads of rocks) (I live on a hill, LOTS OF ROCKS!!).
A little paint, and the project is finished. The nice thing about using plywood is that it's very functional, cheap, looks OK, and is easy to make a new one when I wear/tear it up. The downside is that it wants to warp the tailgate when it rains, but it straitens itself back out when the sun comes back out for a day or two.
I will post some pictures of this soon.

JB...
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Old 12-09-2008, 02:12 AM   #2
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Default Re: How I Made a Cheap Dump Bed

This is the switch
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Old 12-09-2008, 07:08 AM   #3
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Default Re: How I Made a Cheap Dump Bed

The switch is call a "reversing momentary switch"
maybe some paint would help with the warping issue
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Old 12-09-2008, 02:08 PM   #4
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Default Re: How I Made a Cheap Dump Bed

Thanx for the comment Jon, but it was raining yesterday, and a little late to take pictures. I have been working on the word document for a while from which I cut/pasted this info, just thought someone might be interested in making a cheap bed for their buggy. (not all of us have money running out their azzes).
anyway.... here are some pictures taken today after the rain finally stopped.
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Old 12-09-2008, 02:11 PM   #5
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Default Re: How I Made a Cheap Dump Bed

And a few more.
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Old 12-09-2008, 02:12 PM   #6
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Default Re: How I Made a Cheap Dump Bed

A couple more!!
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Old 12-09-2008, 02:15 PM   #7
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Default Re: How I Made a Cheap Dump Bed

THISTHREADNOWHASLOTS OF PICTURES
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Old 12-09-2008, 02:22 PM   #8
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Default Re: How I Made a Cheap Dump Bed

YES, a little more paint would have helped, but it was cold and the paint I used did not want to stick too well, it will get another coat or 3 when it warms up some. I have a lot of things slated to do to it when warm weather sets in again. But it is functional for now, and gives me and my granddaughter a lot of enjoyment when it's warm enough.
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Old 12-09-2008, 09:41 PM   #9
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Default Re: How I Made a Cheap Dump Bed

Nice build! Iwondered how those actuators worked. Thanks.
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Old 12-09-2008, 10:27 PM   #10
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Default Re: How I Made a Cheap Dump Bed

Neat, thanks for taking the time to share it with us
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