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wrongway · 11-08-2007, 12:41 PM

We had a customer come into today looking at a New Excel. He is also considering a New 2008 Chevy 1 ton or 3/4 ton Pickup.

In his truck shopping he has measured the back of the truck to find the height on the 1 ton at 59 & 1/2 inches from ground up.
On the 3/4 ton pickup it was approx. 2" lower.

The customers question to us is if the New 1 Tons are going to be able to fit under the Excel fifth wheels.

What he was looking at here was a Excel 26 RT Series Model TRW. We used our truck that was here and it measured 56& 1/2" from ground to top of box on the rear. The Excel is in the lowest setting on the axle riser (making it in the tallest overall position). What we were calculating is that with the 1 ton that he would have approx. 1" clearance between the bottom of the fifth wheel and the top of the box.

We have not had the opportunity to have a New 1 ton in the shop to work with yet (lots of 3/4's). Does or has anyone been around the New Chevy one tons and seen them hookup to a fifth, and what type of clearance did you happen to see.

Thanks for any information.

wrongway · 11-08-2007, 12:41 PM

We had a customer come into today looking at a New Excel. He is also considering a New 2008 Chevy 1 ton or 3/4 ton Pickup.

In his truck shopping he has measured the back of the truck to find the height on the 1 ton at 59 & 1/2 inches from ground up.
On the 3/4 ton pickup it was approx. 2" lower.

The customers question to us is if the New 1 Tons are going to be able to fit under the Excel fifth wheels.

What he was looking at here was a Excel 26 RT Series Model TRW. We used our truck that was here and it measured 56& 1/2" from ground to top of box on the rear. The Excel is in the lowest setting on the axle riser (making it in the tallest overall position). What we were calculating is that with the 1 ton that he would have approx. 1" clearance between the bottom of the fifth wheel and the top of the box.

We have not had the opportunity to have a New 1 ton in the shop to work with yet (lots of 3/4's). Does or has anyone been around the New Chevy one tons and seen them hookup to a fifth, and what type of clearance did you happen to see.

Thanks for any information.

camperguy · 11-09-2007, 05:01 AM

I can't help you out with the '08 model, but a guy I know wanted a new 1 ton Chevy dually to pull his trailer. He solved the height problem by getting a Chevy 3500 cab and chasis model. He then had a local machine shop build a custom bed for it. It looked really sharp, and it saved him a lot of money over buying a standard dually truck. No more clearence problems either. I don't understand why the big three automakers keep building their truck beds taller each year. Must be just for looks!

RustyJC · 11-09-2007, 05:13 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by wrongway:
The Excel is in the lowest setting on the axle riser (making it in the tallest overall position). What we were calculating is that with the 1 ton that he would have approx. 1" clearance between the bottom of the fifth wheel and the top of the box. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I'm assuming that the axles were above the springs. In that case, an "axle flip" using the Dexter (or applicable axle manufacturer) kit should give adequate clearance.

It's an ongoing problem that all manufacturers are going to have to address, however, since it's apparent that pickup bed rails keep getting higher and higher!

Rusty

rockintom · 11-09-2007, 05:27 AM

Tom (wrongway),

The only thing I can help with is "I have heard" the same story about the heighth of the 08 Chevy. Also "heard" the 2wd and 4 wd are exactly the same measurement. We have the 05 Chevy 1 ton and 2 wd w/DRW and we really split the difference to get as close to perfect as possible. We have our 20K Reese hitch as far down as possible, the coach pinbox (Demco regular length)at the middle set of holes, and coach springs on the lowest hole (coach high as possible). What we ended up with is a coach that is just a very little bit nose high, truck bedrail to coach clearance at 6" at closest point(rear of bedrail). I wished I had more bed clearance, but it's just the best of all worlds
without going to a more drastic measure. I don't like to get the coach too high as it defeats the low profile concept of Excel. Just FYI Tom

Highgturn · 11-09-2007, 07:25 AM

This particular measurement on my 05 F-350 TowBoss is 55.3 inches. Load bed height is 35.3 inches. Considering there are several on this forum pulling the Excel with the new F-450 it appears that this dimension must still be in this ball park. I bet the engineers at Ford are all smiles knowing that GM made this brilliant decision.

450Donn · 11-09-2007, 07:37 AM

Question for you. How much does the rear end drop when there is a load added? I know on my 2007 Dodge, that the rear end drops maybe 4 inches as I add the pin weight to the hitch.

Highgturn · 11-09-2007, 07:58 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by 450Donn:
Question for you. How much does the rear end drop when there is a load added? I know on my 2007 Dodge, that the rear end drops maybe 4 inches as I add the pin weight to the hitch. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

450Donn,

If you were asking me, the answer is 2 inches, but I have Timbrens on the truck which really makes a difference. I don't know what it would be without them. My pin weight is 3700 pounds.

Dutch_man39 · 11-09-2007, 12:44 PM

This is the truck (or GMC twin) we would like to get as our TV so I'm interested to see if there is a solution.

I have read somewhere that there are ways to lower the height of these trucks but don't know what that does to the ride, warranty, etc. Maybe someone here will have some input.

Bill

D and J · 11-09-2007, 02:25 PM

Why not order the truck from GM without the pickup bed. You save about 1000 bucks with the bed delete option.

Then buy something like this to have added to the rear. Gives you locking storage and extra fuel capacity.2L custom beds

Ray,IN · 11-11-2007, 07:36 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dutch_man39:
This is the truck (or GMC twin) we would like to get as our TV so I'm interested to see if there is a solution.

I have read somewhere that there are ways to lower the height of these trucks but don't know what that does to the ride, warranty, etc. Maybe someone here will have some input.

Bill </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

About half-way down the page; is BellTech what you have in mind? I'm strongly considering the spring shackle kit for my 02 K3500.

Dutch_man39 · 11-11-2007, 10:58 AM

Ray,

Thanks, that might be what I want.

How does this affect the ride and will there be any issues with being able to tow level?

Bill

d.duin · 11-27-2007, 12:04 PM

I have a new 07 Silverado that fit right under our trailer. However I am a little unhappy with the truck as the turbo started giving trouble at 1300 miles. At 4000 miles the dealer and cheve decided to replace it. Guess what? To replace the turbo on the new units you have to pull the cab off the unit. A sickening sight. I understand the new Fords have to pull the cab to remove valvue covers?
Anyway I'm to get it back tomorrow and we will see, but I think they should give me a new truck.
Doyle

clspds · 11-27-2007, 01:03 PM

Doyle
Are you saying that the cab has to be removed from the frame?

I had the turbo replaced on my 04 Silverado at 25,000 miles, and while I didn't notice any change in perfomance I'm getting about 2 mpg better. Good Luck.
Paul