Silverado 3500 Pickup frame vs. Chassis Cap frame

[Oshkosh-P]

Hello,

so since the HD lines are pretty much the biggest and most sturdy trucks i can drive around here, i would love some more detailed input.

The silverado would be a good option, since it good the potentially smoother independant front suspension (probably not as tough as the Dana Super 60 under a Ford HD but well)

So for the frames i heard really good things for the Silverado HD pickups and found impressive dimensions (215x88x4.5mm with the best steel out of all of them with 60k PSI) .

Now the chassis cap would be easier to upfit, but also less stiff of course, since as far as i know they become an open c profile from the end of the first door onwards. However i heard rumours of this frme that is so masiv, that this would not matter, with a profile of 290x64x12mm ??? Sounds hard to believe (PSI only 36k) and also lets me wonder how they combined the much much smaller boxed front end with the giant commercial truck sized rear end. Maybe someone knows more.

Kind egards

Marcus

 

[Ozarker]

Hello,

so since the HD lines are pretty much the biggest and most sturdy trucks i can drive around here, i would love some more detailed input.

The silverado would be a good option, since it good the potentially smoother independant front suspension (probably not as tough as the Dana Super 60 under a Ford HD but well)

So for the frames i heard really good things for the Silverado HD pickups and found impressive dimensions (215x88x4.5mm with the best steel out of all of them with 60k PSI) .

Now the chassis cap would be easier to upfit, but also less stiff of course, since as far as i know they become an open c profile from the end of the first door onwards. However i heard rumours of this frme that is so masiv, that this would not matter, with a profile of 290x64x12mm ??? Sounds hard to believe (PSI only 36k) and also lets me wonder how they combined the much much smaller boxed front end with the giant commercial truck sized rear end. Maybe someone knows more.

Kind egards

Marcus

Welcome to EP.
Sorry, but I can't make heads or tails out of what you posted, I assume HD = Heavy Duty, could you define which truck, makes and models you're interested in?
Are you speaking of the steel as the frame material used? I really doubt there is much of or any significant difference between the different truck makers.
You got me "chassis cap" ? Is this where the ends of a frame are capped off?

 

[Oshkosh-P]

Yes ist about the Chevrolet Silverdo 3500 in the pickup and the Chassis Caps version (in the title)

 

[BikePilot]

The op is, I think, asking about the relative durability of a GM 3500 pickup vs Cab and Chassis. I don't have specific info on this, but generally the cab and chassis frames are stronger and heavier. In any case the frames on all the HD trucks are more than sufficient provided they aren't loaded massively beyond capacity.

In terms of ride quality, the GM trucks are likely the best in stock form on-road. The Ram and Ford ride pretty well also, and amazingly well if you put on Thuren or Carli suspension.

 

[wirenut]

My 2022 GMC cab (not cap) & chassis has a fully loaded service body on it. It weighs about 12,000 with nothing in the bed. I take it off road to off grid job sites. My last truck, a 2005 Chevy crew cab, would drag in the middle crossing a few water breaks. The new truck doesn't even though it has a longer wheelbase so it must be higher.
I've had no problems from either truck. I used the old truck to carry an 11' truck camper and the frame did fine loaded to 1,700 pounds over the GVWR.

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

You may have to find a commercial dealer, to order a chassis cab. And that would be my personal recommendation, as those guys are used to ordering like that, as well as working with up fitters. The codes are slightly different when ordering a chassis cab versus one with a bed. Order the Aux switches. I have been happy with my Chevy’s.

As a lot of normal dealer’s won’t do it. Or you can order a truck with a bed delete. But will cost a little more, then getting rid of the bed is not as easy as one would think. Unless you are willing to sell it for super cheap.

 

[Ozarker]

They are both engineered to do what the factory spec says they can do.... Read the spec and decide. If the spec/uses are identical there is no question.

In the beginning cab/chassis were parallel frames with a narrow track. The parallel frames were easier to upfit than the dually chassis based on the pickup with tapered, not parallel frame rails but the dually gave a wider track and wider load bed between the wheel wells..... In the off roading game I'm not sure the wide track dually is any advantage over a narrower track cab and chassis.

On stiffnes/flexability look at leverage. The dually with a wider frame will twist easier than the narrow frame cab and chassis which leaves more articulation in the suspension.

PS everything flexes..... always has.... flex is part of the design process

Thank you for describing flex issues of different frames, that explains this: