Cab & Chassis vs Truck Bed

[into-the-rv]

hello - i'm looking at pulling the triger on getting a 1 ton and wondered how important having a bed would be, seeing there are some good deals on bedless vehicles. one of them i thought had an interesting setup

[RustyJC]

You may want to check with your insurance carrier. Not all will insure a C&C as a private vehicle.

Rusty

[Alan_Hepburn]

Check with your state DMV as well - when we bought our F450 back in 1999 the dealer could not deliver the cab/chassis to us - he had to deliver it to a body builder. From the factory they are classed as "Incomplete Vehicle" and can't be registered as such. So, we bought it at the dealer, who delivered it to a body builder to have our custom box built and installed. Then he returned it to the dealer, who took a bunch of photos before delivering it to us.

[into-the-rv]

thanks Rusty & Alan - I found a sweet 2003 f350/7.3 with a bed having a little bit more miles for less than the best one I was eyeing; no comercial troubles = happy camper!

[tnance]

I have bought two trucks as a cab chassis. I have not had problems with taking possession, licensing, or insurance.
When I purchased my last truck the Freightliner dealer wanted to license my truck at its GVWR of 31,000 lbs. I told them no, I would take the truck home build the bed and then license it for the weight it would carry. This is what I did. I did have to weigh the truck. Even though the truck with the steel bed weighed in around 14K lbs, the least they would license my truck was for 20K lbs.
As far as insurance goes I have Progressive. It is a non-commercial policy. Its cost is about 1/3 what I paid for my old pickup. Go figure! My license and insurance is cheaper than my old pickup.
I did have to go on the internet to get the policy. Even though my local insurance company is a Progressive agent, they could not write me a policy unless it was for a commercial purpose. Their computer says an M2 Freightliner has to be a commercial vehicle. Well, it does not. Only if you use it as such.
The same goes for inspection stickers. The Freightliner dealer put a commercial inspection sticker on my truck when they delivered it. This is because my truck is a class 7, (air brakes). Since I am non-commercial I can choose which inspection sticker to have. I now have the non-commercial sticker just like I did with my old pickup. Same cost etc. I can get it inspected at any automobile inspection place. By the way most inspection stations don’t know this.
I personally prefer custom beds over the standard pickup bed. Much more versatile.

[IC2]

I too would really like a C&C as a tow vehicle, but I do occasionally (well more then that) use my truck as a pick up.

A curiosity question to those who have a TV like the Freightliner - is the suspension "as delivered" too stiff for hauling a standard 5er? I've seen a few, but never where I could question the owner.

[Barlow46]

I bought a new 2004 F450 cab and chassis with a Manning Equipment pick up bed installed just across the street from the Ford truck plant. I had no problem registering it or insuring it with State Farm Florida. My brother bought the same truck new but with an aftermarket flat bed installed. No problem with the registration but his insurance is almost twice what mine is with the same company as they will only classify his as a commercial truck even though we both only have used them as RV's. He loves his flat bed and I would prefer it also but I live in a community with deed restrictions which allow my pick up bed on a F450 but would not allow a flatbed on the same chassis.

[tnance]

In general I would answer your question, “Yes”. Most MDT and HDT suspensions are too stiff for a standard fifth wheel.

Unlike the major three pickup manufacturers you have many more options when you have a MDT or HDT built from scratch. For example the first thing the Freightliner salesman asked me was “do you want Huck bolts or grade 8 bolts in your frame. How many batteries do you want? Where do you want the batteries located? Etc.

My build sheet on my truck is 41 pages long. I had many choices of rear axles and suspensions. So it might be possible to use a very light rear axle and suspension, and thus get by without an air hitch.

For my truck I chose to go heavy. I have a 21,000 lb rear axle and a 26,000 lb rear Airliner suspension. The only time I see my truck’s rear suspension move a lot is when I am hauling my dozer, or if I have three round hay bales on the truck in addition to a flat bed gooseneck loaded with round bales.
The manufacturer of my fifth wheel, Teton, states in their frame warranty that you must use some type of air hitch if you pull the trailer with a MDT or HDT. The air hitch can either be on the trailer or the truck.

I use a TrailAir hitch on my fifth wheel. I chose this because the air hitch is on the trailer. I then can use a simple fifth wheel hitch on my truck. This way I can easily remove my fifth wheel hitch and convert my truck bed to a flat bed. In five minutes I can remove my fifth wheel hitch and replace the bed trough with steel plates that convert my bed to a flat bed.



I was born and raised on a ranch. I have owned pickups all my life. A well designed flat bed is far more useful for hauling than any standard pickup bed.

[IC2]

That then sounds like a great way to go rather then really burden a conventional 3/4-1 ton pick up especially if you are doing a lot of traveling. I happened to see an F350/450 pulling a huge toy hauler a couple of days ago on I-90 - and to say it was suffering would be nice

As far as my use, a conventional pick up works for me, but I can see if you are hauling those round hay bales or similar size loads that a flatbed works best. That is really a nice combination you have.

Thanks for the information -

[dezee]

Also I believe that a chassi model has a narrow wheel track, compared to a regular dually.