Van-Trailer Roof and vertical supports . Do they support the floor frame at all ?

There's a reason every reefer company has one or two trailers out back with the unit removed and roof ripped out of it .
They typically sit there for a few years until someone decides that God isn't goin to fix it and it's time to scrap it .

 

Vans are structured to carry a certain amount of weight across the length of the trailer. Platform deck trailers are engineered to take that same weight or more in a very small area of trailer. That's why they have hefty beams running the length of trailer and vans do not. You shouldn't try this.

 

If you took the sidewalls and roof off of a van trailer to try to make a flatbed, it would likely collapse before you even tried to load anything on it. Like others have said, a van can't even support a large single item like a paper roll, with the sides and roof still there. So, no, you cannot make a flatbed out of an old van trailer. Simply will not work.

 

Look around on Craigslist: you can prolly find one that someone has already done this to: they are always cheap, and might even make it all the way back to your yard if you don't load it!

 

Don't listen to these nay-sayers. Go ahead and do it. Live your dream, I say! I made a convertible in much the same manner.

 

Worl' Stahhh!