towing with a global expedition vehicle

[Keyne]

One of the reasons we like building on 1-ton pickup truck platforms is they are designed to tow. We have a customer who also owns a Winnebago Revel, because the Revel can only tow 5000 pounds and when he wants to go out racing in the salt flats he needs to tow more.

We are a big fan of the new 7.3 gasser that Ford has introduced in 2020, but the big exception would be that if you plan to regularly tow with your F350 it might make sense to consider a diesel. You have to remember that the 7.3 is over 550 pounds lighter and $9000 cheaper - so you better be towing a lot to justify the extra cost and decreased load capacity!

I really like cabover trucks. Great visibility out the front and more cabin for a given length. I wish more cabover truck options were available in the US. A Mercedes 917/1017 would be perfect for my needs. What I really should do is accelerate my plans and buy Joe's truck, and go repeat the trip he just finished.

 

[waveslider]

Agree on the cab over benefits. It’s amazing how much box we were able to get for a truck that’s got a shorter wheelbase than my F250 and OAL only a foot or two longer.

Sucks that the market is cornered by a handful of brands in the US.

Turning radius is also a plus.

 

[pugslyyy]

Agree on the cab over benefits. It’s amazing how much box we were able to get for a truck that’s got a shorter wheelbase than my F250 and OAL only a foot or two longer.

Sucks that the market is cornered by a handful of brands in the US.

Turning radius is also a plus.

It actually doesn't really have much to do with brand availability. Unlike pretty much any other country in the world, the US places no limits on the length of truck tractor and semitrailer combinations - only the length of the trailer. Curb sniffers are easier to service, get better mileage, have better leg room, and are perceived as safer (ever hear the joke "What do you call someone in a cabover? .... First on the scene of the accident")

So what we are left with is that cabovers aren't popular with drivers, fleet owners, or mechanics. Without government regulation forcing the issue, they never came back from the 1973 oil crisis.

For those of us that find utility in US cabovers, our demand is so miniscule that the manufacturers have no idea we exist.

If you want to talk about why you can't bring a very nice vehicle into the US unless it is 25+ years old, that's a story for another time (but you can thank Mercedes for that, they don't want you buying one of their vehicles in Europe and bringing it to the USA)

 

[waveslider]

Agree to all that. However, if you are implying that the Big 3 don't have, and assert a level of market dominance/political sway and overall defensive posture on the types of trucks - and more specifically 4WD trucks - that make it to our shores easily then I would argue to the contrary.

 

[pugslyyy]

Agree to all that. However, if you are implying that the Big 3 don't have, and assert a level of market dominance/political sway and overall defensive posture on the types of trucks - and more specifically 4WD trucks - that make it to our shores easily then I would argue to the contrary.

The Big 3 make what customers want to buy, it's not like it is some cabal. Total cost (fleet acquisition, fleet maintenance, residual value, fuel economy, aerodynamics at the higher US highway speeds) makes standard cabs the right choice for the vast majority of their fleet tractor customers.

I would point out that Freightliner still builds the Argosy in the US but only for export since 2006. They could easily sell it into the US market if there was demand for it.

Don't forget that I'm the owner of a Fuso FG 4x4... it's not that I don't like cabovers or wish there were a broader offering.