Why not more cab chassis?

[GreatWhitehunter]

In my situation I'd be trading in my current 1 ton for a new cab chassis and adding the bed myself. I for sure would add sides via stake pockets. A gooseneck would absolutely be on the list as it just makes sense to add before throwing the bed on. My reason for posing this question was more from a versatility stand point. It seems most of you guys here use your trucks the same way that I do. So it stands to reason there would be more cab chassis around the forum.

Matt

 

[Rustyiron]

….. and it totally impossible to reach in from the side of today's pick up bed's. A friend just got a new truck, pulled the bed and got an aluminum with stake pockets & g/n hitch. Very versatile and a simple 2x8 side board is all you need. His bed does lack stake pockets on the back side, not that you'd need a back board all the time, but if you had a load of pumpkins…….:laughing:

 

[QRTRHRS]

The insurance issue can go either way in my experiance. When I was operating a horse boarding operation, I had farm insurance through Farm Family out of Albany, NY. Full coverage on my dually was 275. I would have to dig up papers to see if that was six months or a year. On the other hand, my wife's Explorer had to go through a standard policy with a regular carrier. Farm Family also covered my trailers.

Here in KY, I have insurance through Farm Bureau. When I still had my 3500 dually, they covered it as well as my wife's car. My E-450 box truck has to be on a seperate commercial policy though it is pretty reasonable again through Farm Bureau.

 

[dieselcrawler]

My dually is a cab n chassis truck... bought with no bed as I had 2 beds for it already, both of which have been on it at one point or another. Had a flatbed for a few years, and utility box bed for the past few years. Both have their advantage, missed the storage space with only the flat bed.

 

[Mikeeemo]

We replaced a dually bed on an F350 with a CM truck bed. I wish I had gotten one long before. Much easier to access the bed.
We do not have special rules requiring commercial insurance.

 

[ShowroomShine]

If your talking 3/4 - 1 ton srw, I'd suggest just getting the factory bed and save or sell it. My experience has been the dealer credit for bed delete is squat. (price out just a replacement tailgate). Now if you order a c/c, you should be able to get a 60" c/a (cab to axle) and have a 9' bed. Pickups are 56" c/a. Just a little info. for your decision making.

Spoken like a guy who has owned a bunch or has sold beds. I was a Knapheide rep for years, its hard keeping up with all the numbers.

And yes, just buy a DRW factory truck and sell the bed. You'll end up with a nicer truck with the maximum power from the engine (some of the cab/chassis trucks come with engines that have less power than the normal trucks). A good Knapheide bed installed is less than $10K.

 

[jenkinsph]

I have had a multitude of cab and chassis trucks over the years and find them much easier to work out of than a pickup. At 5'7" I am short enough that the new pickup are irritating to reach into.

Here are some pictures of the last three C/C trucks I have built up. I have had the Knapheide and Koenig service bodies and while well made they are extremely limited in design, no thinking outside the box. I built the tan truck in the fall of 1998 for the F550 4x4 and it is working today and still getting compliments. The two red trucks are newer with less time and money in these builds but have worked out well too. All three trucks are 84" cab to axle 4x4 diesel with automatics.

Next year I will build a new "ranch truck" body for the red 550 tailored to my tractor work needs. I will refurbish the existing tool bed at that time. My new ranch body and the older tool bed will be set up where I can swap out the beds. Using jacks with sockets built into the frames means I can swap out the beds quickly and have two different set ups using one truck. Consider the savings in truck expenses with this possibility. This will have quick mountings to secure the beds in place and should allow changing beds in 10 minutes or less. I have spent more time than that cross loading tools for a days work.

 

[Piston]

I think instead of trading your 1 ton in, you should sell it to me instead. I remember when I saw your truck I thought it was a REALLY nice looking truck.
Just the family vehicle I could use

 

[gsganzer]

I've been looking at new trucks and have also considered a CC with an aftermarket body. The main issue I have with the new pickups is the height of the beds and the bed side top rails. Truck beds are getting ridiculously high in height. It's especially an issue if you have a gooseneck horse trailer. Starting to seem like a flatbed is the only way to go if you have a gooseneck.

 

[jenkinsph]

I've been looking at new trucks and have also considered a CC with an aftermarket body. The main issue I have with the new pickups is the height of the beds and the bed side top rails. Truck beds are getting ridiculously high in height. It's especially an issue if you have a gooseneck horse trailer. Starting to seem like a flatbed is the only way to go if you have a gooseneck.

Big difference in reaching across the bed of an old Jeep Comanche pick up and a modern day pick up. I too find this very irritating. The new trucks sit higher off the ground (about a foot) and have more travel for the suspension. This enables a smoother ride than the older trucks. I can only suspect that raising the height is also an attempt to make them feel bigger.

 

[downsizingnow48]

I am 6-4 and can barely get stuff in and out of my f150. Went shopping Ram 2500s the other day the sides were at least 4-5" higher.

 

[gsganzer]

Big difference in reaching across the bed of an old Jeep Comanche pick up and a modern day pick up. I too find this very irritating. The new trucks sit higher off the ground (about a foot) and have more travel for the suspension. This enables a smoother ride than the older trucks. I can only suspect that raising the height is also an attempt to make them feel bigger.

In some of my research, on the Fords (and maybe some of the other brands), supposedly, there are body to frame spacers that can be changed/swapped by the dealer to lower them.

I've never understood the ever increasing height in pickups, surely it's only for marketing to make a truck look tougher. It's a detriment in almost all other regards. It raises the center of gravity, doesn't change ground clearance, makes it harder to get in/out, screws you on leveling a trailer without a drop hitch and makes it a PITA to load things in the bed.

 

[TheGoose]

Spoken like a guy who has owned a bunch or has sold beds. I was a Knapheide rep for years, its hard keeping up with all the numbers.

And yes, just buy a DRW factory truck and sell the bed. You'll end up with a nicer truck with the maximum power from the engine (some of the cab/chassis trucks come with engines that have less power than the normal trucks). A good Knapheide bed installed is less than $10K.

Yeah, like you really need 400 HP and 800 TQ. I'd much rather take the "severe service" rating of the reduced HP engines and the longevity that comes with it.

 

[Piston]

Yeah, like you really need 400 HP and 800 TQ. I'd much rather take the "severe service" rating of the reduced HP engines and the longevity that comes with it.

This is true, today's trucks have more power than the older tractor trailers. It's getting a bit ridiculous. I'd like to see more emphasis on the transmissions, more gears, stronger, and longer lasting.

 

[dieselcrawler]

I'd like to see GM and Ford still offer a manual trans option. If the option presents itself, I'll swap my dually to 6spd manual in an instant. I like kicking a clutch. That's one of the main reasons I like my F250 (and miss driving it so much), is the manual trans. And the fact that the auto trans is the weak link in my model trucks and several others.

 

[Rustyiron]

And the fact that the auto trans is the weak link in my model trucks and several others.

I had the trans (warranty) rebuilt every July (3 times at least) until the warranty ran out on my 01 F-350. That's when I quit towing with it and bought a F-450 w/6sp for towing duties. I don't know what they were trying to pull in those days with that vintage trans, they know how to build them, look at the old c-6.

 

[em14]

Since the Sterling Truck was brought up, I thought its history might be of interest. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sterling Trucks Corporation Sterling Trucks logo.png
Former type
Subsidiary
Industry Automotive
Founded 1952
Defunct 2009
Headquarters Redford Township, Michigan, U.S.
Products Trucks
Owner Daimler AG
Parent Daimler Trucks North America
Website sterlingtrucks.com

Sterling Trucks Corporation, commonly designated Sterling, was an American truck manufacturer headquartered in Redford Township, Michigan, USA and a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America LLC, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of the German Daimler AG. It was originally the heavy truck division of Ford Motor Company, but was purchased and rebranded in 1997.[1] Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, its conventional trucks were built in St. Thomas, Ontario. Sterling-brand trucks were sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand.

On October 14, 2008, Daimler Trucks North America announced a plan to discontinue the Sterling product line in an effort to consolidate its North American truck manufacturing operations under the Freightliner and Western Star brands. The company stopped taking orders for new trucks in January 2009, the St. Thomas manufacturing plant closed in March 2009, and the Portland, Oregon, plant was closed in June, 2010.[2]

 

[truckdiagnostics]

Some things to keep in mind, on a dually pick up the axle width is wider, so that a 48" sheet fits between the wheel wells. When you add a flat bed the fuel fill becomes an issue. Yes, you can get the bed lower, but what do you do with the fuel fill. When you put a flat bed built for a CC on a dually the tires stick out past the bed.

 

[jenkinsph]

Some things to keep in mind, on a dually pick up the axle width is wider, so that a 48" sheet fits between the wheel wells. When you add a flat bed the fuel fill becomes an issue. Yes, you can get the bed lower, but what do you do with the fuel fill. When you put a flat bed built for a CC on a dually the tires stick out past the bed.

I agree with this^^^ that is why I build my own beds to fit the trucks. The F450 and F550 since 2005 have the wide front and rear axles. My F550 tires are 95 inches wide while the F350 is 89 inches wide. The fuel fill needs to be mounted as high as you can get it and plan for it when building your own bed.

 

[QRTRHRS]

One issue not yet discussed is tracking, as in where the front tires track VS the rears. If your front's track in line with the center of the duals and you live in snow country, there is a slight issue. No problem on virgin snow but following others may have your rears wanting to wonder to one side and/or the other. Where as, if your front's are directly in line with the inner duals, the truck will handle more like a single rear wheel drive.

Your local roads also come into play here. On a narrow road with front's that track the inside dual, you can actually hang that outside dual over the edge of the road in order to safely pass oncoming vehicles. FWIW, larger trucks have the front wheels tracking the outside dual. That makes for very careful driving on narrow country roads.