Why not more cab chassis?

[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.