Hauler talk---spitballing a little here but looking for opinions

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Bart brought up a good point in another gas vs. diesel thread re: building a "hauler" (flatbed truck chassis that can haul the crawler and the family). This is something I've thought about a LOT esp. since Bucking Bronco snagged that F450 and extended the frame. That seems to work quite well for him and I think a similar rig would for me.

Ben follows that up with his GMC 6.0L gasser version and now I'm really intrigued with the concept. I know just enough about medium duty trucks to be dangerous (drove a medium duty wrecker for about a year in the 90s---80-90k miles) but like what they bring to the table for the most part. I'd like to find an older (cheapish $5k-10k) crew cab chassis that I could do a similar version of this with. I'm at least six months out on purchasing but I've always liked to have a plan and kick it around for a while in my head for something like this.

Rocky Mountain Wrecker will extend a chassis on a dually truck for an actual wrecker for roughly $3k (I called on a few rigs a couple months ago) + driveline mods (they don't do those so they can't really predict cost). My question is what would people buy to do this work? I'd love to get peoples opinions.

Requirements (for me)
1) MUST meet above price requirements
2) crew cab
3) insurance (I've called my insurance guy re: this---I'm OK with an F450 but he was hesitant with the F550)--happy to insure F450 as long as I was under mfg load ratings--otherwise, I'm on my own (not what you want from insurance in a bad situation)
4) at least a 10' flatbed/carrier bed (with recent JK purchase, I might want to extend that a few feet)
5) ability to tow a "reasonable" camp trailer from bumper hitch while hauling trail rig --- Say 6000 lbs and 25'ish
6) R134 AC and good seats

I'll start with my thoughts. "SuperDuty" style ('99-current) F450-550 would likely be my preference for a few reasons. They're more available than other trucks and some parts carry over from the F250-350 trucks. Solid platforms for the most part. They have their issues, but if you seek out a V10, manual truck, I would think you'd have something fairly reliable? Sources are old .gov trucks, thrashed commercial stuff that have had snow plows on them, etc.

I've considered GM 3500 trucks, but I'm at or above weight with at least 2k of truck bed, 5k of Jeep and 6k of trailer. I like 7.4L and am very intrigued by 8.1L motors. They like the fuel but ....

...need to work, but let's see what responses this gets. :D
 

STAG

On my grind
Location
Pleasant Grove
We have a couple 2005 power strokes with the manual trans. They have a 14'x8' flatbed. Good trucks. The only thing that would concern me about putting a rig in the bed would be body roll/sway? We often tow up to 11k lbs load plus 3k of trailer, does it no problem.
 

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
We have a couple 2005 power strokes with the manual trans. They have a 14'x8' flatbed. Good trucks. The only thing that would concern me about putting a rig in the bed would be body roll/sway? We often tow up to 11k lbs load plus 3k of trailer, does it no problem.


No 6.0L PowerJoke issues?
 

1adam12

THE BEAST
Location
MAGNA
I love this idea. No more trailer tires and bearinngs ,and one less trip to the dmv plus one less thing to store.
 

STAG

On my grind
Location
Pleasant Grove
No 6.0L PowerJoke issues?

A bunch of our 250's and 350's have had EGR deletes and oil coolers, injectors, cups and seals. A few high-pressure oil pump leaks. But the 450's have been issue free so far. Put 18k miles on them last year and the only issue was one of our guys (6'7" and 300+lbs) broke the shift lever off the transmission.
 

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
Along these lines, you sure you'll have a YJ by the time you pull the trigger? I'm in kind of the same boat, I doubt the JK will ever be on the trailer so maybe it's time to just move on.


Good question. Part of the waiting process to pull the trigger in addition to building funds. :D
 

Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
If I were you, I would wait to purchase anything. Wheel that new JK for a year and see if it fills your Offroading needs. Sell the YJ after that.

The tow rig game is annoying as hell. Will you miss hard core trails enough to still want a PITA tow rig situation?
 

ricsrx

Well-Known Member
what would it take to convert a 350 to a 450/550? can a convertion be done cheaper than finding the truck?
 

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
If I were you, I would wait to purchase anything. Wheel that new JK for a year and see if it fills your Offroading needs. Sell the YJ after that.

The tow rig game is annoying as hell. Will you miss hard core trails enough to still want a PITA tow rig situation?

Not sure I've done a "hard core" trail since Nasty Half a couple years ago. Good thing a Buick was there to drag my crap off the trail :D You've got a point and I'm not really in a hurry. Just looking for solutions to old problems that might not be an issue any longer?


what would it take to convert a 350 to a 450/550? can a convertion be done cheaper than finding the truck?

Depends on the chassis and vintage. Some frames are taller on the 450 or 550. Some just differ in axles?
 

neagtea

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Location
farmington
There have been a few chevy gassers
around already built....but it will be like my motor home 95% of the time, Parked and growing roots.
Or do the sky's extreme route with a school bus?
 

Team1k

Active Member
Location
Lehi
My friend made this out of a stock F-450. Is this what your thinking? The dove tail ramps actually unbolt so its just a flatbed.

100_2908_zps210142b8.jpg100MEDIA$IMAG1530.jpg
 

Team1k

Active Member
Location
Lehi
How does that drive with the jeep loaded on it?

He put some air bags on it which helped a ton. I just texted him and he said "The front end feels light but it drives great" I also asked about mileage and he says "11-12mpg" It mostly stock i think except for an EGR delete so maybe the mileage could be helped out with some upgrades. He drove it through a snowstorm to the Swell last weekend and looking at the pictures from the trip it looks like he was comfortable enough to even drive it offroad a bit to the campsite.
 

mbryson

.......a few dollars more
Supporting Member
He put some air bags on it which helped a ton. I just texted him and he said "The front end feels light but it drives great" I also asked about mileage and he says "11-12mpg" It mostly stock i think except for an EGR delete so maybe the mileage could be helped out with some upgrades. He drove it through a snowstorm to the Swell last weekend and looking at the pictures from the trip it looks like he was comfortable enough to even drive it offroad a bit to the campsite.



Thats almost exactly what I'm thinking but with an extended frame/wheelbase. How long is that bed? I'm thinking I want a 12-14' bed
 
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Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
If you added some short ramps to the headache rack, you could get the front tires to touch the rack and move more weight onto the front axle. Center of gravity shouldn't be a concern. My Lance camper weighed 3k and sat higher than those jeeps by a bunch.
 
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