Cube Van

Big Iron · Sep 3, 2006

Would this work in the van division with a home made sleeper in the box? I realize it would be prohibited from hazmat but thats not necessarily a bad thing.

The price seems pretty good.
http://www.autotrader.com/dealers/d...etmitsubishi&dealer_id=70836&car_id=198576394

greg334 · Sep 3, 2006

As long as it is not over 10K GVW.

Big Iron · Sep 3, 2006

Now that I think about it, it would be a fuel hog. I'm sure it is over 10000GVW. I guess if your going to exceed 10,000 you might as well go up to 26,000.

terryandrene · Sep 3, 2006

That looks like a six wheeler to me. That's too much GVWR for a van and deck is too low for a C truck as it's not dock high.

Jack_Berry · Sep 3, 2006

looking at that reminds me of the 17' aerocell i looked at on vaca. listed gvw was 12k lbs. the gvrw was aro 17k. even on the bigger topkick chassis a 26k straight makes more sense to me at this time.

Jack Berry

MSinger · Sep 5, 2006

Yes, the GVWR is either 12,000 or 12,300# for this particular truck however you can find similar trucks with 10,000# GVWR. I believe you can tell the difference by looking at VIN. The 4th character in the VIN for a 10,000 GVWR is an "H" while the heavier ones use a "J" in the 4th character.
Here is a link of one that is currently on Ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120027276613

I hear these units get 10-12 mpg.

greg334 · Sep 5, 2006

actually the box maker can and most often sets the GVW in an incomplete vehicle.

I talked to the people at Morgan and asked if they put the box on my chassis, could I ask them to set a lower GVW? the answer was Yes.

MSinger · Sep 5, 2006

That is cool. I wish people would get their stories straight because I asked that very same question at US Truck Body and they told me it was illegal for them to alter the gvwr that the chassis manufacturer had declared for the vehicle. I may consider a Morgan box instead. I would definitely prefer a truck cab/chassis to a van cutaway. It's much easier to raise the boxes to dock height on the truck models.

greg334 · Sep 6, 2006

Well go to a truck dealer that have cutaways with boxed mounted on them and look at the sticker that determines the GVW. I bet it is not formthe factory. Many cutaways (like Ford) are incomplete vehicle and this is the way they are sold, incomplete. It is up to the upfitter to determine the GVW. Anyone Correct me if I am wrong please.

Big Iron · Sep 6, 2006

One downside to putting a sleeper in the box is you dont have an escape route if the cab caught fire. Even if you built in a back door on the sleeper, the back of the box will lock from the outside.
When I was driving a "big truck", my Volvo had no escape door so I used to keep a fire extinguisher in the bunk.

tazman · Sep 7, 2006

Hi,

You are partially right....

The manufacturer does issues a "door sticker" on an incomplete vehicle...he is required by law to do so showing the maximum GVWR rating that truck chassis will support....

For instance (E350 cutaway at 11,500 GVWR) .....it will also show the correct tire size for that chassis....

When the body company puts the box on they are required by law to add a "sticker" or "final stage certification label" to the unit ...when the upfit is complete.....
This allows a 2nd stage CO (certificate of origin) to be generated and then converted to a title when the vehicle is sold....
(by the way the body manufacturer must be certified to affix this label)

The process for the certification is not just a label ...the body company must check all the (FMVSS) Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard requirements.....This includes lights, mudflaps, tire selection, mirrors , etc.
The body company...( and not always the chassis manufacturer) is "on the hook" if this creates a problem (i.e. accident or something).....

As far as GVWR...the general rule is you can go downward from the truck chassis but not below the the actual "tare weight" of the truck and body...So you can ask them ( the body ) company to do this for you......However it's there call...since they are affixing that little sticker to the truck.....

As far as I know...local government can (and in Pa do) checks these "final stage" stickers...so if you downward spec your truck...don't be overloaded...as you could be fined for the
violation....

Just my 2 cents worth of knowledge....

P.S. - I like the new Duramax cutaways.....you can buy a SRW unit like and Aerocell...and stay under 10,000 GVWR

Frank in Pa.

"The Beast in the East"

MSinger · Sep 8, 2006

Thanks for the info Frank. As for the Duramax van cutaways you can even get a dual rear wheel model with a 10,000# gvwr that still keeps you under 10,001#. I like the dually model due to the extra width of the box interior. Approx 78" for SRW and 91" for DRW, which means two 45"w skids can be placed side by side in the DRW.

Big Iron · Sep 8, 2006

I kind of like the look of this SRW.
http://www.truckpaper.com/listings/...=895999&guid=0412134210B34038B082986947CEC46A
Seems like the DRW widebody might be on the heavy side.
Can you attach etrac or anything else to the sides of that aerocell?

greg334 · Sep 8, 2006

>Can you attach etrac or anything else to the sides of that
>aerocell?

Not really, the walls are fiberglass with no reinforcement.

I did see one that was setup like my van, plywood sides 20" high with e track mounted on them.

Also it would be great to have an Aerocell SRW for the longer wheelbase vans like the 155" gm platforms - they only make it for the 139" platform

superior64 · Sep 23, 2006

I use a 16ft ford 6.0 cutaway, with a liftgate I put a used RV haeter/AC and a bed in mine, and it works great. With the incentives you could get into one for around 30k. A much better deal than the Sprinter. I have incountered no problems Not being dock high. Just about every dock has a ramp, and I carry a pallet jack.

greg334 · Sep 25, 2006

Well I stand dumbfounded today.

I ran across a Landstar owner who had a Supreme Spartan 12 foot box on a ford 6.0 diesel chassis. He had it setup very nice and was very flexible to haul a lot of different frieght, and it had a sleeper. He had the weight figured out so to stay under 10K and haul 2800 lbs. He said it would get 14 MPG on average.

SO today as soon as I finish lunch, I am off to talk to my local Supreme dealer to see what weights and dims I can get to figure out how to fit it on my perfered chassis.

highway star · Sep 25, 2006

Greg, I am interested to hear what you find out. I can only haul 2500# in my standard E350 with the 7.3.

greg334 · Sep 25, 2006

Well here is what I found out, no wonder GM and Ford are losing market share, they don't have a clue about their products.

Ok done venting - sort of.

The box I am looking at is a Supreme Spartan 12 foot, 72 H x 79 W. It is a parcel delivery box.

The weight of the box, bare without accessories is 1586lbs. If I go to a 14 foot box, add 700 lb.

All the weights are for 1 ton cutaways.

The Ford Chassis, I never got a weight - the saleman wanted to sell me a van, not a cutaway after my 15 minute explination of what I was looking for. I would guess the 6.0 Diesel cutaway would come in around a little less than 5K, like 4800 lbs. Tomorrow if I get a chance, I am going to Ford to find out, screw the dealers here.

The GM chassis for the 139" WB is around 5000 lbs with the Duramax, Gasser weighs 4400 lbs. This info was taken from actual build sheets by the way. The 159" WB(or what ever it is) is an additional 400 lbs, give or take a few pounds.

Now this is from a dealer I have dealt with before and he is quite honest about things. He said he just finished specing a truck like what I described and it came out to weigh 7100lbs. He was a lot more accurate than the first dealer I talked to, that guy said that the chassis weight was around 5000 to 7000 lbs. OK what part of 'I have to account for every pound' didn't you understand?

So what I gather is with a 9600 lb GVW with a 139" WB minus the chassis weight of (let's say) 5300lbs and minus the box weight of 1700 lbs with some additions, I can say I would be able to haul 2600lbs with a GM chassis. The numbers work out for the Ford at 2800 lbs.

Mind you that this is with a Fiberglass Reinforced Plywood (FRP) sides and I think roof, which is heavy material to use. My thoughts are to look at a composite material to lighten up the box. The last time I checked on one material, the shear strength and compression strength is better with a composite cored material at a lighter (2/3 to 1/2 less weight) than with the fiberglass plywood core material used on the box. So I can see maybe replacing the side panels and top with this material to get it around 1000 lbs.

clcip · Sep 26, 2006

>Well here is what I found out, no wonder GM and Ford are
>losing market share, they don't have a clue about their
>products.
>
>Ok done venting - sort of.
>
>The box I am looking at is a Supreme Spartan 12 foot, 72 H x
>79 W. It is a parcel delivery box.
>
>The weight of the box, bare without accessories is 1586lbs.
>If I go to a 14 foot box, add 700 lb.
>
>All the weights are for 1 ton cutaways.
>
>The Ford Chassis, I never got a weight - the saleman wanted
>to sell me a van, not a cutaway after my 15 minute
>explination of what I was looking for. I would guess the 6.0
>Diesel cutaway would come in around a little less than 5K,
>like 4800 lbs. Tomorrow if I get a chance, I am going to
>Ford to find out, screw the dealers here.
>
>The GM chassis for the 139" WB is around 5000 lbs with the
>Duramax, Gasser weighs 4400 lbs. This info was taken from
>actual build sheets by the way. The 159" WB(or what ever it
>is) is an additional 400 lbs, give or take a few pounds.
>
>Now this is from a dealer I have dealt with before and he is
>quite honest about things. He said he just finished specing
>a truck like what I described and it came out to weigh
>7100lbs. He was a lot more accurate than the first dealer I
>talked to, that guy said that the chassis weight was around
>5000 to 7000 lbs. OK what part of 'I have to account for
>every pound' didn't you understand?
>
>So what I gather is with a 9600 lb GVW with a 139" WB minus
>the chassis weight of (let's say) 5300lbs and minus the box
>weight of 1700 lbs with some additions, I can say I would be
>able to haul 2600lbs with a GM chassis. The numbers work out
>for the Ford at 2800 lbs.
>
>Mind you that this is with a Fiberglass Reinforced Plywood
>(FRP) sides and I think roof, which is heavy material to
>use. My thoughts are to look at a composite material to
>lighten up the box. The last time I checked on one material,
>the shear strength and compression strength is better with a
>composite cored material at a lighter (2/3 to 1/2 less
>weight) than with the fiberglass plywood core material used
>on the box. So I can see maybe replacing the side panels and
>top with this material to get it around 1000 lbs.

Greg, by any chance do you have, or maybe have you posted in the past any photo's of your truck? I'm curious about you have your sleeper configured. Another question from a potential newbie doing my research, is your truck classified as a D unit or C?