Ever thought about replacing the regular box on your pickup with a flatbed utility platform? If so, you'll get a lot of encouragement from Everett Henderson, president of Henderson Manufacturing, Woodward, Okl. Farmers and ranchers from all corners of the U.S. are driving their new or used pickups to his Oklahoma plant to have them equipped with flat utility platforms.

"You can feed off of it, use it for fencing and/or dozens of other jobs that are awkward to handle with a conventional box," Henderson told FARM SHOW.

The flat platforms are available for 3 or 1 ton GMC, Ford, Chevrolet or Dodge pickups. The bed for a one ton pickup measures 90 in. wide and 108 in. long. Four stake pockets are built into the platform. There is a recessed 2 5/16 in. ball hitch imbedded into the center for towing a gooseneck trailer. When not in use, the hitch is covered with a floor-flush lid.

"Most owners keep the pickup box and put it back on when they sell the pickup. The shiny new box makes the old pickup more attractive and thus worth more money," explains Henderson. "Or, if they prefer, we'll take the box in trade on the flat platform. In some cases, farmers and ranchers have ordered pickups direct from the factory without a box, then brought them here to have the platform installed. We prefer to make installations by appointment. We can have a pickup in and out of here, ready to go, in less than 3 hrs."

If desired, detachable sides can be slipped into the flatbed's stake holes to make a grain-tight box. The pickup floor is made of 1-in. plate steel through the center where the ball hitch for a fifth wheel trailer connects.