A very nice built FWC on Ford super duty.

toyfunraider

Observer
I found a 8' fiberglass utility bed used so I looked into how much it might weigh. About 500lbs. Would be nice to know what that one weighs and cost ????
 

TD64

Adventurer
mcgovski said:
That set up might just work for my set up...where do you find utility beds? I was planing on a flatbed with boxes, but that looks a lot cleaner and good to go! I wonder if they come in longbed? I wonder how heavy they are?

I saw a similar service body on a new truck at Toyota of Escondido. Their sticker add on was ~ $6,500. They scored it from Abacor Inc. located in El Cajon, California.

I like this setup too!
 

Four Wheel Tom

New member
Hi Everybody...

Wow, a lot of conversation on this unit...

yes, it's a diesel with a specially built utility box made by Diamond in Stockton, CA. It's purely a pleasure truck - nothing work related - made for a fellow in NorCal who wanted, and had the abilities, to make a special build happen. Lots of goodies in the utility box compartments, intended for wayyyy off road use..

The unit from 3W is also very nice... I'm curious about the interior setup and roof design... any input from anyone?

thanks...

Tom
 

Kilroy

Adventurer
I got a quote of about $7000 for a service body for my 04 Tundra DC about 3 years ago. Manufacturer said it would weigh about 300 lb more than the standard bed. Would have had to drive from WI to CA to pick up. Can't remember what brand I was checking on at the time. :confused:
 

1976K5Chalet

Observer
:drool:

Toy or not....the upgrade could be a tax right off for some....such as myself.
My work truck is an 06 2500HD, CrewCab, Dmax-Allison combo. I work in the oil and gas field as an EM M/LWD field operator....and sometimes....there isn't enough room for everyone on site and having the utility of the cargo-work box topped with a FWC or the like would be a dream come true. Matter of fact i wish i would have seen this sooner as i am having some serious thoughts right now.
Took a well off in feb and headed to Mesa Az. to escape the snow...come to find out the motel-hotel rooms jump to 135 a day in the nice part of the year for az. Which isn't a big deal but i rather camp where i want so i think i need to look into this. Last upgrade was the Transferflow 45G replacement tank which has really saved the stress of the oilfield once your back in good luck gettin fuel unless you don't mind the red diesel from the rig....

DW
 

Stan@FourWheel

Explorer
yep, that is a diesel

the owner is a really nice guy

works out here in the Sacramento Valley, CA

he wanted to put together his dream truck, and he did it

has all the bells & whistles

(Solar, big battery, compressor refrigerator, on board air compressor, sand tracks, sink, stove, furnace, and other basic stuff)

he dropped some serious cash $$ into the truck too -- some visible, some not

it is a BEAST for sure

the bed was made by Diamond out of Stockton, CA (short bed model).

I will try and attached some more pictures of his truck when he picked the camper up (the portal database is locked right now and won't allow me to add the pictures for some reason)




.
 

Capt Eddie

Adventurer
I am doing the same thing to a Dodge 3500 diesel 4 x 4 crew cab. I am building a flat bed with two 96 inch aluminum topmount boxes , two 36 x 18 x 18 boxes in front of the tires and two 24 x 18 x 18 boxes behind the tires. On top I will mount a Lance 835 camper. All together it cost about $4000.00 This is cheaper than a steel work bed.
 

boblynch

Adventurer
Capt Eddie said:
I am doing the same thing to a Dodge 3500 diesel 4 x 4 crew cab. I am building a flat bed with two 96 inch aluminum topmount boxes , two 36 x 18 x 18 boxes in front of the tires and two 24 x 18 x 18 boxes behind the tires. On top I will mount a Lance 835 camper. All together it cost about $4000.00 This is cheaper than a steel work bed.

How far along are you on the build? Given the level of interest in flatbeds on this forum, I would suggest a build thread. I'm sure others would like to follow your progress. Post pics!
 

Kilroy

Adventurer
Stan,
Whats involved in putting a FWC, most likely a Grandby, on a service body? I'm guessing a special build. Is this something fairly straight forward to order? cost? How is the camper mounted?
Thanks
Stan@FourWheel said:
(Solar, big battery, compressor refrigerator, on board air compressor, sand tracks, sink, stove, furnace, and other basic stuff)
 

Stan@FourWheel

Explorer
Not many people do it because it is too expensive (putting the camper on a ultility bed).

That Utility bed was around $ 7000.00.

Then you have the cost of the truck and the camper too !

Yes, it is a great set up, but is it worth the extra $7000.00 ??

Some people say yes, most say no, not worth it.

The utility bed has to be custom sized in order for the camper to fit.

All of the FWC's I have seen on utility bed trucks were bolted on (no turn buckles), so they stayed on 99.9% of the time.

Hope this helps with your questions.

Happy Camping !


==============================================


Kilroy said:
Stan,
Whats involved in putting a FWC, most likely a Grandby, on a service body? I'm guessing a special build. Is this something fairly straight forward to order? cost? How is the camper mounted?
Thanks





.
 

kerry

Expedition Leader
Just put a Northstar (Texson) TS 1000 into the 13' Stahl service body on a Fuso FG. I had to cut out a small portion of the right rear of the service body to accommodate a 'jut' in the camper. Took me about a day to cut it out with a sawzall and reweld the body. Still can't upload pictures or I'd give you a look see.
 

Lynn

Expedition Leader
You know, as much as I like the look of that setup, I’m not sure I understand the reasoning.

1. Why put such a small camper on such a large truck? I mean, that cab will easily accommodate four large adults, but I can’t imagine the camper accommodating them. Even with two adults and two small kids, that camper would get awfully small awfully fast, wouldn’t it?

2. Or, looking at it from the other end of the spectrum, why do you need such a big truck to haul such a small camper? Maybe he has it set up for towing a big honkin’ boat or something, but somehow I doubt it. Or maybe the ‘weight of a utility bed’ questions above have something to do with it…

I can imagine work-related reasons why you might want a lot of seating capacity without the requirement for a large living capacity, (Like a business man that needed to haul clients or workers around during the day) but:

Four Wheel Tom said:
It's purely a pleasure truck - nothing work related

I can’t imagine why you would want a ‘purely pleasure’ vehicle to accommodate more people in the cab than in the living space.

Also,

Four Wheel Tom said:
intended for wayyyy off road use..

Given the size of the camper, it seems like a smaller truck would get it farther off road? I mean, we’ve seen innumerable short-wheelbased vehicles with as much or more living space.

Help me reason this out.
 

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