Custom F-450 and F-550's with factory bed

[BretMS]

Has anybody ever owned, seen or pulled with one of these converted F-450 or F-550 pickups? I found an artice about this company at my local Ford dealer. Would like to know how much more heavy duty these really are over the standard F-350's.

http://www.accubuilttrucks.com/index.html

[DZLJIM]

Yes, they are alot more heavy duty than an F-350.
<font color="red"> HERE</font> is a link to fellow TDS member "weweld"'s F-450, more of a DIY approach.

I've seen alot of these trucks around here (F-450/550 with pick-up bed) that take up the extra space behind the cab with stacks.

[96STROKE]

The F450-F550 are medium duty trucks, not little tinker toy pickup trucks.
Oh ya, ford doesn't make a factory bed for the F450-F550, what you have seen is a aftermarket bed that looks simmilar to the factory F250-F350. They are not cheep either!

I would love to upgrade to a F550, just can't see spending $80-90K to haul the trailer around a few times a year.

[weweld]

[ QUOTE ]
Yes, they are alot more heavy duty than an F-350.
<font color="red"> HERE</font> is a link to fellow TDS member "weweld"'s F-450, more of a DIY approach.

I've seen alot of these trucks around here (F-450/550 with pick-up bed) that take up the extra space behind the cab with stacks.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you want to take up the space between the the cab and the bed there is a fiberglass cap you can put on the front of the bed that is available from Centurion. I didn't like it so I cut the frame and shortned it for that factory look. I still have the truck it is my daily driver with 200K on it. Thanks for the link Jim been a long time since I saw those pics.

GENE

[DarylB]

weweld, what is your welding process on the frames? Tig, mig, stick,? Also do you weld the plate in too? If so, what material is it made from? Cool truck by the way!

[ritschner]

Ford is using Bannon to extend the factory bed on the F450-F550 so they can sell them off the lot with pickup beds. The local dealer had a F450 CC Lariat 4WD with a sticker of $56,000 back in June. That particular truck had 4.30 gearing and a GCWR of 26,000lbs, which is the same as the F350 Tow Boss but the truck weighs more. But the ride was worse than the 79 R-model Mack I used to drive. You can get the F450 in 30,000 GCWR and the F550 in a 33,000 GCWR.

[weweld]

I mig weld the frames witha stiffing plate on the inside welded top and bottom only with a piece of frame cut to fit.

GENE

[SmokeyWren]

Several outfits make custom F-450/550 with a Ford steel Dooley pickup bed. It's a big job to mount a pickup bed on a chassis cab, so the conversion ain't cheap - around $5,000. The most popular in recent years has been the Manning conversion, because their plant is right outside the KTP plant where the chassis cabs are assembled. Ford builds the truck and drives it next door. Manning mounts the bed then gives it back to Ford. Ford then ships the completed truck to your dealer. Manning Home Page

Would like to know how much more heavy duty these really are over the standard F-350's.

Specs for 2006 CrewCab 4x4 PSD models with automatic tranny:

 
                                  Brakes/
                                  Tires/
                 GVWR     GCWR    Wheels  Rear end        
F-350 DRW:      13,000    23,500   17"    4.10
F-350 TowBoss:  13,000    26,000   17"    4.30
F-450           16,000    26,000   19.5"  4.30 or 4.88
F-550           17,500    26,000   19.5"  4.88
F-450 Tow Pkg   16,000    30,000   19.5"  4.88
F-550 Tow Pkg   17,500    33,000   19.5"  4.88

F-550 can be pumped up with GVWR of 19,000 pounds and GCWR of 26,000 only on regular cab with long frame (often used for roll-back wreckers).

F-450 and F-550 are both available (speciaal order) with high capacity tow pkg with a manual tranny. F-450 GCWR = 28k, F-550 GCWR = 30k

[SmokeyWren]

Another chassis cab with a "pickup" bed is the Fontaine Modification Classic Traveler. The composite bed is swoopier than a stock Ford bed, and somewhere I heard the base price is around $7,000. The main advantage - other than style and looks - is the top of the bedrails is lower than a pickup, so it can tow some 5ers that are too low for an F-450 with a normal pickup bed.

Their conversion facility is about 125 miles from KTP, so they haul your truck there on a flatbed, then haul it back to KTP and give it back to Ford for shipment to your dealer.

http://www.fontainemod.com/ClassicTraveler.asp

[wpzone]

I have one done by Tuscany and love it! Have pics in my sig.

[BretMS]

[ QUOTE ]
I have one done by Tuscany and love it! Have pics in my sig.

[/ QUOTE ]

Really nice. How much more did that conversion cost?

[DZLJIM]

Holy Camper!! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img]
[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smokin.gif[/img]

[F350Heavy]

My truck cost $35,000 out the door in 2003. Ordered the truck at local Ford dealer for $200 over invoice. It was drop shipped by the factory to Rayside Truck and Trailer in West Palm Beach where they mounted the bed and installed the RevPak behind the cab. They painted the bed and RevPak to match the cab. The total price included the Rayside work.
The truck is a base F450 crewcab XLT. (V-10, 6-spd, 4.88axle) The only options were trailer tow package, running boards, and carpet delete. The rebate covered a little more than the sales tax.
At http://donandcharlotte.com go to page 2 of the albums to F450 Camper Hauler to see the truck.
Above post is correct. It isn't a simple matter to drop a bed on a cab and chassis. When you center the wheels and wheel well there is a 4" gap between the bed and the cab. Also, the frame is about 7" too long behind the wheels. You have to whack off behind the last cross-member. There is other stuff, too.
Rayside only had one F350 dually bed in their lot when I was there. So they used it for my truck. They had a big stack of F250 beds however and dually fenders could be used on them just as well but it would add to the cost. They get the beds from people who convert to utility bodies and flat beds.

[PaverMaster]

I just bought a F450 with a pickup bed last week. They are a little difficult to find on Ford lots, at least one with everything you want on it. Manning did the conversion on mine. They also added a gooseneck setup, rear receiving hitch and line X. I had them, the dealer, add the rear cargo/stoplight on the rear of the cab. On a cab chassis that light is not standard. This truck turns tighter than my buddies F350. I have not put it into its every day routine yet. I still need to add some gear to it. Once I start driving it on a regular basis I'll tell you all the pros and cons.

rex

[F350Heavy]

The turning radius was fixed in 2005. You can imagine driving mine in a Walmart parking lot with a 70' turning circle!!