"Enough truck" for todays big 5ers, gooseneck horse trailers with living quarters (LQ), hot-shot and other heavy trailers, or even big slide-in campers might mean an F-450 or F-550. But until the 2008 F-450 came out, the F-450s were all chassis-cab trucks without a bed, and the F-550 still is. And the F-450 pickup may not be the be all/end all for some jobs, as the F-450 chassis cab comes with additional choices of wheelbase, bed/body length, GVWR, and GCWR not offered on the pickup.
If you want a bed or tow body on that truck, you have to get it either aftermarket, or have your Ford dealer order it installed by a ship-thru upfitter, or perhaps you might buy the complete truck from a custom truck upfitter such as Western Hauler.
Below is a list of sources of such tow bodies and upfitters and complete haulers. If you have others, holler at me via PM and I'll add them to the list to help folks get the perfect Ford diesel truck for their towing needs.
A ship-thru upfitter means when your new truck is intransit between the assembly plant and your Ford dealer, Ford can detour your ordered truck through the upfitter. The upfitter will add your truck body (and any other aftermarket options the upfitter offers that you're willing to pay for), then ship the completed truck to your dealer - all at no extra shipping cost to you.
SHIP-THRU UPFITTERS
Utility Bodywerks = see the feature article about "Light Medium Duty Trucks" in the feature articles section off the "contents" button on the home page of TheDieselStop.
Manning Hauler = Manning is right outside the KTP truck plant, and their motto is "When was the last time you got mad at yourself for buying the best." The Hauler is a nice tow body, and Manning will instead mount a plain ole Dooley pickup bed on a chassis cab.
Monroe Versa-Hauler = Monroe is in WI. Scroll down to the "Ford F550 Crew Cab with Versa-Hauler Towing Body and Optional Trim Kit, Running Boards, Wheel Simulators and Sun Visor." Also note that Monroe will mount other types of tow bodies and flat beds on your rig.
Knapheide = a famous service body outfit also makes the Knapheide Westerner Storage Body, which provides safe secure storage plus towing ability in a low-profile body. If I were designing a tow body, this would be very close to perfect if you have payload capacity for a heavy steel body. Knapheid also has a Westerner flatbed gooseneck hauler.
Knapheide also has several distributors that are also Ford ship-thru upfitters:
Ranews Companies
Auto Safety House in Arizona.
Carter Industries in California.
Dealer's Truck Equipment Co. in Louisana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas
Frontier Truck near Denver.
Layton Truck Equipment in Colorado, Indiana, and Illinois.
Unicell Body Co. in western New York.
Truck Equipment Sales - Standard Bodies
Welcome to Nelson Truck Equipment = Knapheid & several other brands in the Seattle area
Zoresco® - The Truck Equipment People. "We Do it All!" - Products
--------------end of Knapheide upfitters
Cook Truck Eqpt: Products = several brands of flatbeds and gooseneck haulers
Southwest Trailers Truck Equipment Division in Oklahoma, then click on CM flatbeds to see a nice hauler body that's not exactly a flatbed..
Welcome to Aspen Equipment Company
Auto Truck Group
Rough Rider = Harbor Truck Bodies in CA offers a plain flatbed gooseneck hauler.
Omaha Standard
Badger = Hoekstra in Michigan will mount you a heavy-duty flatbed gooseneck hauler with side boxes, the Badger by Omaha Standard. Look under "Platform and Stake bodies".
Redi-Dek
Ship-thru upfitters that will install a Reading Redi-Dek:
Worktrux - Products
Fisher Plows, Snowplows, Snowplow Parts, Truck Bodies, Equipment and Much More. in Salem, MA.
Rayside Truck and Trailer in south Florida.
---------end of Reading upfitters
Most upfitters that will install a flat bed or platform body will also add a gooseneck or fifth-wheel hitch and side boxes. So you might want to check out the following Ford ship-thru upfitters who have flat beds or platform bodies or stake bodies, but don't mention on their website that they'll customize them into towing machines:
Leggett & Platt Commercial Vehicle Products
Louisville Truck Equipment
General Truck Body in Houston.
NBC Truck Equipment in Washington state.
Scelzi Enterprises in Fresno, CA.
Stahl Div., Scott Fetzer Co. = Stahl is a famous maker of service bodies and flat beds, and is a Ford ship-thru upfitter. They don't make tow bodies, as far as I can tell.
Truck Equipment Sales - Standard Bodies
OTHERS:
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Most of these will accept a new truck drop-shipped from the factory, and fix it up to your specs.
Fontaine = Fontaine Classic Traveler tow body by Fontaine Modification. Looks sorta like a Dooley pickup, only better.
A.E. Truck Equipment = They have "trailer towing bodies"
Pickup Truck; Semi Tool boxes, Cab guards, Pickup Headache Racks, bed slides, Truck Flatbeds, RV Truck Tow bodies, RV Hauler, RV Toter, Trailer and Flatbed underbody toolbox manufacturer since 1980. = tow body by Highway Products (800 ToolBox)
Western Hauler = Western Hauler tow body in Fort Worth
America's Body Company with plants in OH, LA, CA, MD, PA, NJ, MO, MI, KY, and OR.
Classy Chassis Trucks - Custom RV Truck Design & Sales = they have new trucks ready to go, or you can drop-ship your new Ford to them and they will fix it up exactly like you want it.
Gooseneck = The original Gooseneck company also makes aluminum tow bodies
Douglass = Douglass Truck Bodies 5th-wheel tow bodies
Herrin Haulers = several styles made in Kilgore, TX
AACSON = nice aluminum flatbed/gooseneck hauler made in western Canada
American Cargo in Indiana.
SIA Truck Bodies with several locations in Florida and Alabama
B&W Custom Truck Beds, Inc. - then click on "Custom Truck Beds" to see their nice tow bodies. Be sure to look at the Elite tow body. These are the same folks that make the B&W Turnover Ball gooseneck ball mount and Companion fifth-wheel hitch.
Boden Fabricating = in Edmonton, Alberta. Talk to Ab Deacon about tow bodies, welding decks, or service beds.
2L Custom Trucks = has nice tow bodies. Looks good!
Intercontinental Truck Body - Home = An oufit in MT that will mount you a lightweight aluminum flatbed with an optional fifth wheel hitch.
Mountain Master Home = makes a heavy-duty tow body in Phoenix.
New Haven Body for those folks in New England that want a local upfitter.
FarmBro is an upfitter in eastern Canada that does Fontaine conversions and other work.
Godwin is a big outfit for folks "back east". They will make you anything you can dream up - not just the standard stuff on their website.
Trail-Hauler makes hauler bodies in Tennessee.
Ford trucks, F-150, F-250, Tuscany Custom Trucks makes hauler conversions in Elkhart, Indiana.
TruckCraft Corporation ::: Truck Bodies and Equipment has aluminum flatbeds/platform bodies with optional gooseneck balls or fifth-wheel hitches and storage bins. Made in Pennsylvania, with dealers throughout the U.S.A. and Canada.
Select Design Vehicles, Select Solutions Group, Super Hauler Vehicles does beds, interior and exterior upgrades to F350-F550 trucks.
Haulers - Chariot RV - Custom Luxury Motorcoaches and Haulers aluminum body with a few upgrades and accessories available.
Alum-Line | Truck Bodies: Pro-Hauler | AlumLine manufacturer of aluminum flatbed trailers | aluminum livestock trailers | aluminum utility trailers | aluminum truck beds | aluminum car trailers | truck utility beds | trailer tool boxes | tool trailer = click on their gallery and you'll see at least one Ford SuperDuty among all those medium-duty haulers they make.
CASECO Manufacturing's Products - Flatbeds
Supreme Corporation is one of the big boys you've heard of, with plants in IN, NC, GA, TX,CA, PA, FL and CO.
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