car hauler - i want to build this truck

1993 3500HD ramp/flatbed hauler

already have the same truck, but gas engine and no bed... 1992 3500HD, and it has the same wheelbase as the one in the link. how hard is it to build a simple lighter version of this bed that is still strong enough to have trailer hitch built in? doesn't need to be full plated, but i'm thinking put a track up the middle with a trailer ball up front so my car trailer could ride off the ground when going to pick up 2 cars. the lighter the better while still being strong. do not need all the enclosed bottom and built in boxes, i'd just go tractor supply aluminum underbody boxes in front of the wheels.

anyone have plans? my gut tells me the perimeter should be along the lines of 2x4 tube but possibly bigger. i can get whatever i need a few miles up the street at the welding supply shop in 24 foot sticks, and have most any metal fab tools needed for the job. i have a 9 foot flatbed on my other truck(retired, being used for parts) that could be the basis of the flat section.

most importantly, i have some whelen strobes and LED 4" round tails that need a home.

it is the Chevrolet Blue I like - does the rear end swing wide when turning? I vaguely remember a car guy tell me something about buses turning wide so the end doesn't clip something when turning. I am not sure I am making sense with that.

coming from commercial driving.. they -all- swing wide.

But if you are doing light duty single car hauling, you can make it shorter

All I know is, that guy can sell a vehicle. I bet he got his price.

I'd think something along the lines of a set of 2x2 ladders to drive on, with 2x4 cross members every couple feet, and a pair of 2x4 sticks going from the end of the ramp to the end of the truck frame should be plenty overkill. Basically think how a heavy duty car trailer is built, and tie it into the truck frame.

I've thought about a ramp truck many times, and even found one with a 4-door cab, but I have no idea where I would store something that big... it isn't something you can really use for anything except for hauling cars since they're so ridiculously long, and I don't do that enough to justify it.

Know anyone who has a really big metal brake?

You can bend 1/4" aluminum sheet to make tracks to drive on. My trailer is two channels + some cross members. And your truck already has some frame to start with.

The bigger quesiton is how wide do you need it to be to carry your car? If the car fits between the rear wheels, the build is lower and easier to do. If not, then you need a raised platform like this truck.

Do those HD chassis have a bump for the rear suspension? That would constrain the lowest you could go.

All in all- it's just a different rear end design- flat bed, camper, whatever- just different variations. Not hard to come up with a design that you can deal with.

I used to know a guy that had a ramp back hauler but it was much shorter with a much steeper ramp than that. It worked just fine for everyday ordinary cars, but probably would have been useless for sports cars or race cars, Due to the steep approach angle even with ramps. It also had a pintle hook so the original owner must have used it for some kind of heavy duty towing. Because the bed didn't extend far past the rear axle, and the wheelbase wasn't very long, Rear end swing would have been very manageable. It was built on the late sixties or early seventies GMC heavy duty chassis.

If I were to build a car hauler.. I would tempted to use the frame from that FWD motorhome (the one used in Stripes) as you could get the car sitting -very- low onit

mad_machine wrote: If I were to build a car hauler.. I would tempted to use the frame from that FWD motorhome (the one used in Stripes) as you could get the car sitting -very- low onit

Or use the same drivetrain out of an Olds Toronado. Especially since the RV's you are referring to have a bit of a following and seem to command surprisingly premium prices.

As mentioned in the ad, Hodges is still around: http://www.hodgescustomhaulers.com/ Apparently, the frame/wheelbase of the truck is extended. Looking at the pics of the two they have in stock, the trucks are crazy-long.

There is a fellow that brings his car to our ice races on a flat bed and the frame hinges near the middle and the whole rear of the truck tilts.

It's on a nice older Ford chassis. Not sure of the year.

You want low? Meet the Car Camel. I saw it in (very heavy) action at Targa 2008. Poor thing was supporting something like 5 Minis and the A-H. http://www.netbug.net/blogmichael/?p=21

In reply to patgizz:

Its as simple as knowing your load limits and triangulation.....I'd also do a full deck. Ramp decks are the world's most useless things ever.

Agreed with the full deck instead of just ramps. Put some stake pockets in it and you can put some sides on it and turn it into an extra long pick-up bed. Get some more truck use out of it.

bearmtnmartin wrote: All I know is, that guy can sell a vehicle. I bet he got his price.

Yes, he can. His name is Chip and he's a hell of a salesman and a pretty interesting guy to spend time around.

Yeah...that is nice and all, but I want a COE version.

As to the PITA factor of DDing one, I have some ideas since back in the day my buddies car broke down, and due to the cost of racing he could not get it fixed, he ended up having to drive the ramp truck as his only vehicle. Takes getting used to, but can be done.

Keith Tanner wrote: You want low? Meet the Car Camel. I saw it in (very heavy) action at Targa 2008. Poor thing was supporting something like 5 Minis and the A-H. http://www.netbug.net/blogmichael/?p=21

I want that.

rcutclif wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote: You want low? Meet the Car Camel. I saw it in (very heavy) action at Targa 2008. Poor thing was supporting something like 5 Minis and the A-H. http://www.netbug.net/blogmichael/?p=21

I want that.

I either saw that rig or a version of it at Ancaster Swap meet a few years back. Actually would have been quite a few since it was at the old fairgrounds.

In reply to NOHOME:

Well I am pretty sure that is an Ontario plate, so that is quite possible.

The Carcamel's builder has/had a business in Richmond Hill, so it's quite probable the vehicle was in Ancaster for a swap meet.

Datsun310Guy wrote:

I remember seeing a similar rig at Lime Rock a few times in the 80s.

XLR99 wrote:

Datsun310Guy wrote:

I remember seeing a similar rig at Lime Rock a few times in the 80s.

And today the truck is worth more than the car.

In reply to Datsun310Guy:

I've seen a similar rig made from a standard 8' bed, full-size truck. A Beck vendor(owner?) at Carlisle had a truck with ramps bolted into the bed and the tailgate removed. They had a Beck 904 rolling chassis in the bed and a completed car on an open trailer behind it. For a spell, I pondered building a similar contraption for my Cummins since the load capacity of the truck was more than adequate to carry a Spitfire or classic Mini and the bed is just wide enough.

Things you think about when you don't have room to store a trailer...

BTW- anyone aware of a wide axle for the rear end?