I am looking to buy a F450 Service truck. I am going to use it as my daily driver for work. I will be working on all of my farm equipment with it. I will move all of my tools from my shop box into the truck so that I have the tools where I am at. I am going to put a compressor and a welder generator on it. I need a setup for fuel and DEF in the truck. Would y'all go with a taller curb side front box for torches and extra storage? It will be a regular cab truck. I want an 11' body but not sure if ill get an 84" cab to axle truck or a 108" cab to axle so that I could put welder and air compressor between the cab and the body. I am trying to figure out how I'm going to organize it, pictures, advice, etc. Thanks, Tyler
Buy a 550. You'll need it and probably wish you had a 650. Do a search in the shop talk forum. There's other threads about this
550 or 650 for sure. i went from a f350 to a 550 and really wish it was a 650.
A F450 is small for all the weight you want to put on it!! don't take my word for it just start adding up what u want to put on it fuel/DEF, hyd oil, motor oil, tools, welder, air comp, you are overweight & haven't even got any parts on board yet!! most 450/550 used trucks have been overloaded by the guys driving them they are just wore out... do yourself a favor starting out & buy a bigger truck than you think you will ever need, trust me it will save you money in the long run!! I wish I had bought the KW I have now instead of the thinking I was saving on getting a lighter duty trucks over the last 20 years. this is just my experience & thoughts on the matter, im really glad I have the bigger/heavier truck now
The 450s rearends dont seam to hold up. I have scraped several this summer all with rear end problems but they were older maybe they are useing a better rearend now. I agree with FSERVICE on geting a biger truck. The 450 is realy a Heavy duty pickup. A truck will out last the 450 and be alot easyer to work on.
Yes, some of our F450's only have a Dana 80 rear end and we have burned up a couple along with the weak 4r100 trannys. The 2004 and up have a Dana 110 and Torqshift trans which are much better. I agree that a 450 is too light to use as a real service truck. Especially if you are carrying lube oil along with your welder, compressor,fuel cell, and tools. You will be grossly overweight in a hurry.
Here is a link to the search results for "service truck", 13 pages worth of them. Here's to good internet and nobody around to interrupt the reading:
I agree with the larger truck giving better service, but a rear loaded 4 wheel drive f450 will take you in and out of a lot of places the 650s and 750s don't have chance unless cabled to a skidder or such.
Yep ditch the idea of running a 450. You'll be overweight with just your tools and junk in it and with the higher speed rear end of the 450(vs at least a 550) it will barely move itself, if at all once you hit some softer ground. Trust me I'm aware of the issues. Upper management in their infinite wisdom(on paper) say running f450s and throwing more leafs under the back is just as good as running a 550 or 650 at the hellhole dealership I'm at now. Go with a 4x4 class 5 or whatever flavor class 6 truck. I doubt the fuel usage will be that much different either way.
I want to stay in a 450 or 550 because I can get into the fields better and still have 4 wheel drive. With everything I have now that I want on it it will have about 1500 pounds of payload left on a 450. That's considering having one 2000 Pound skid if misc stuff. Where would y'all mount the compressor and generator? Should I get a standard height bed or get some of the compartments raised? What about for tool storage, buy the box that knapheide sells or just a reg tool box? What about for bolts/pins/clips?
A regular toolbox shoved in one of the compartments will get you by but bouncing around, starting and stopping will beat it apart within 1yr, 2 if you're lucky, try to get the drawer setups made for the box. If you're not going to have a crane I'd say put the compressor and welder on top on opposite sides and save bed space. I'd say go for at least one raised compartment to you can get a full size oxy/acetylene setup in there in case you need to use a torch or especially rosebud a lot in one day. The tiny bottles made for 40" boxes don't last long.
I have a couple of Durham MFG Drawer cabinets for my hardware and fittings. Also use Durham compartment boxes for elect. terminals, air brake fittings, and other small stuff. Very handy and durable. I've had one of these in my last 2 service trucks and really like them. Adjustable dividers, heavy slides, drawers never pop open. http://www.imt.com/en-US/accessories-drawer-sets.html If you are carrying a torch set unless you put it in the back you'll want at least 1 tall compartment so you can run full size bottles. We had a truck with low pro boxes and had to run a small oxy bottle, we were always changing it out.
OK it sounds like you are not going to listen to us on the size truck!!! so your stuck on going with the 450/550. pay attention here, & REREAD THIS TO MAKE SURE YOU GOT THIS PART!! "____the truck will never be big enough___" go with the tall boxes on both sides cause its more cubic feet of storage.. yes go with the drawer units they are great. (if you notice on most of the used trucks the drawer units are missing theres a reason) as far as the air comp, how big a compressor is it? split it apart mount tank under the deck or on the side box. if its a wheelbarrow type you will be fine on the sidepac!! something to think bout here is the box strong enough to hold up to the weight & viberation that will crack the box/body? same for the welder/generator. iv saw the after effects of this after less than a year of use, doors wont shut or open!! I have the durham drawers for the clips,wire terminals,& misc small parts, & have the bolt bins that came from IMT out of my 2nd truck bed in this truck.. if you get the tall box & need more room you can always mount the torch set up in the bed & install the drawer units in that box for the bolts/fasteners. iv been where you are at trying to justify in my warped head that a smaller truck is better than a bigger truck. yes sometimes its harder to get into a tight parking lot but at least when I get there I can usually fix the problem while im there!!! as far as 4x4 if it takes that to get in there you will never come out & you just got stuck deeper!
How about looking at an all wheel drive fire truck. Lots of space and go anywhere power. Sell pretty reasonable too.
If you don't need a crane I would put a flatbed on a dodge 5500 crew cab, f550 is a toilet newer than 2003. Put fuel cell on flat bed and buy a gooseneck trailer for tools. Reason being you make hay when the sun shines, you fix things when it rains, or emergency, it will give you a dry work area. And as a farmer you will have 1 truck to haul and tow. The 550 brakes aren't that great, I have what you are building and weigh 19k without a fuel cell.
I think it'll work fine for you. Sounds like you're working on tractors now and then, not like you're bouncing in and out of a rock quarry every day. I've had topkicks, internationals, and a couple t300's. I've got an 08 f450 now and I'll never go back to a big truck. I've got mine setup with a trailer to keep weight off the pickup. But even with a trailer I can get into tons more places than I would ever even consider with those bigger trucks. I still have one with a big crane on it but that's the only time it leaves the shed. My stress level went way down the day I sold my last t300.
A friend of mine had a trailer outfitted with a heater, nice lights and painted the inside white. It looked like an clean room for an engine builder, you needed a f450 to haul it. Other things are a pain with a service truck, opening up a toolbox drawer and rain getting in your toolbox. A major mechanical failure while you have work to do for customers, and rust, buy a 20k crane body and 10 years later it looks like Swiss cheese. There is a guy on here from Manitoba who has a crane mounted on a flatbed and tows a trailer and swears by it.
Yep. My pickup goes down all I do is unhook and hook to something else. Trailers are the answer in my case.
Not to hijack anyone's forum but I have a lot of interest in a trailer for service work. Does anyone have any pictures of there trailers. I also like the idea if a break down there is no down time hook to another truck and go
I'll start a separate thread or send some pics of mine in a msg.
I have the f550 with the extended cab and 11ft crane body. I love it
As long as it's not a 6.0 or 6.4
I have an 04 f550 4x4 6.0 an 06 f350 4x2 6.0 another 06 f350 4x4 6.0 and a 2014 f550 4x4 6.7 in my fleet and would not take for any of them. All in How you treat them and if you know what to look for.
Mine's a 6.4 and I love it. Great truck.
your a sucker for punishment!!!!! I know of 4 different 05 & 06 f250 & F350s that have had the head gaskets replace, the FICAs replaced, they are money pits!!! its gave Ford a bad name.. I guess there are a few good 6.0s out there but none of them are around southern Indiana!!!
Most of the 6.0s were junk from the factory but a set of head studs and an egr delete made them very good, dependable engines. Same goes for the 6.4, get all the extra BS torn off and you've got a good product. Lol
I didn't have much faith in the 6.4 when I got it but with the dpf gone and egr delete and a Mini max tuner it pulls my trailer easily and I'm starting to like it. The auto trans works good too now that I changed the shift points with the mini max. Now that fall is here and cold weather is coming the heated trailer is making me smile too.
Man that setup is almost identical to mine except the crane and mine's a crew cab. Looks like the same trailer too. Lol. What model crane is that?
Here are my 450s and I love em
Looks a little tung heavy
My other one
I'm glad you love them but I would hate to go back to a truck that size after working out of my f-650
X2 :exactly
F-650 rides like a lumber wagon, overload a 550 and it doesn't ride to bad:thumbsup
I just wish the beds would not rust out so quick. First thing I did when new was spray a dozen cans of Lps 3 into all the nooks and crannys.
It's an atlas 3006 crane. 8000 lb lift 28 ft reach. I really like the knuckle boom crane over the single boom I used to use on the dealer service truck. The knuckle lets you you reach up and over things a lot better The crane was originally on a 4900 international 2 wheel drive but I didn't like the big truck . I was getting stuck on job sites and the ride sucked. It's surprising what the 550 will go thru even with the trailer behind. I go to places where they have trouble getting in with a 3/4 ton 4x4. With the weight of the crane on it it pushes thru a lot of snow too. I special ordered the trailer with 6 inch higher roof ,doors on both sides and a generator door. I also got the wheels moved 6 inches ahead so I could carry the generator/welder and air compressor up front.
Mobiltech what do you use to heat your trailer? That is a real nice set up
I have 3 ways to heat it. I first used propane but that only works until the tanks empty. I now have an electric heater that I run off a honda inverter. This works great because I also have 110 power that way to run lights and charge my laptop. The honda is very quiet and burns very little fuel so it's easy to keep it going. I have a miller bobcat 250 welder gen also mounted in the trailer exhausted outside. If I run it for 15 minutes with the cooling air recirculating inside it heats the trailer up over 20c easy even at -40 outside. The trailer is wired mostly for 110 and I have a 750 watt inverter on 2 deep cycle batteries to run lights and laptop when I have no 110 input . If I get to a job site with power I plug in one cord and the batteries charge automatically as they do when any of my gens are running.
I would love to see some inside pictures of the trailer and how you set it up. Very intrigued. Don't be afraid to post to many.
Ok. It's not fancy but it works. You can get purpose built shelving too. I'm thinking of adding some of those on the next build. The trailers are fairly cheap to buy. 7x18 H&H with 7000 lb axles special ordered for doors and higher roof is about $10,000. I run them about 5 years and order new. The old ones sell quick if you want to get rid of them. This trailer is 2.5 years old. Oops the pictures are on there side with the last one upside down.
I have gone from 3/4 ton 4x4 to f350 2x6 to GMC diesel 6500 to FL 60 current truck.we drive all over the state of Fl. and at the end of each long drive we spend some time off road. I have never been stuck (but my son has). I also have the problem of my truck never being big enough current weight is 22000 Many in my shoes use box trailers and we do too a little bit but on a farm or mining operation the shop might not be so far away and just the basic is all that is needed. I would think a 350 450 550 4x4 with 12' flat bed,side tool boxes, some tools not all of your shop, small trailblazer with air compressors built in, some fuel tanks and set of torches with large bottles (farmers number one tool). I would build this welders stile with the welder and torches behind cab then headache rack then fuel tanks and toolboxes. A very small crane on the back will help you live longer but mine had a winch and gin poles that got used a lot. Also I put dear slayers on all my trucks every one has paid for them selfs many times over. In conclusion I would like to stress that if you NEED your truck to do it all like I do then go big but if you have a shop to help with the work then keep it light and simple. Or do what the rest of us have done and let it evolve.
T. J. Lambrecht?
Yea it defenitaly looks like an old TJ truck.
Mobiletech and 02dmax, I just purchased a new Kenworth but knew a set up like yours (enclosed and low) was what I really wanted. Just wanted wanted to say good for you for thinking "inside?" The box? More pictures of your setup are always welcome!......TIO
That's a gorgeous truck IO. If I lived in southern TX or FL and never saw mud I'd absolutely have one like that.
South Texas won't keep you out of the mud. Doesn't rain often but when it does it gets nasty. Covers the truck and turns to cement after it dries
Ya I kinda worded that wrong. I'm aware there's mud in TX and FL. Lol
if you look close he is in the PacWest!! what kinda weather do you think they get there? sunny & 75??? LOL goes to show you that there is a need for the bigger truck that the little trucks just cant fill!!! that why I like my Kenworth & wouldn't go back to a smaller truck. the only thought I have had was maybe as I get older & slow down some, It might be nice to have heat to work in the wintertime
TIO doesn't count, he's on the dry side of Wa. :tong My Sterling is nice and high geared so I get a nice run at all the mud holes. Just incentive to get the machine fixed so you can drag yourself back out.
Fservice if you want some heat, send me your address and I'll send you some. All you want. The catch is that you have to send me some rain in return!
Mud is one thing but we spend six months working in this stuff.
we have plenty of rain right now!!! its been raining here for 4 days straight... over 4 inches!! at least its not snow yet
Least you guys aren't restricted to vans!
We can run just about anything we want here as long as the wheels turn it's good to go. If you get into the bigger trucks you need a safety inspection once a year.
Deeretracks, I'm sure you recognize this method.
LOL, strangely enough I have never been drug up by a skidder but I did drag my own 330 Pete almost a mile in the snow with a 2554 shovel. Been drug by dozers quite a few times.
Long And SHort,,, buy what you can afford..
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