I was looking at my truck today and it struck me that there was just a bunch of wasted space in the design of a truck, I got industrious and made a picture of what I want.
I want this..
To go to this..
Whats gonna be the easiest way to make something like that? Take an Astro van and cut it down? Forget about it and just buy a Jeep FC170? Whats a boy to do?
I just happened to see a Ford Econoline van/pickup about 20 minutes ago, similar to this one.
I've seen a number of them before, I assume there were companies building the conversions professionally.
Buy one of these only a Chevy not a ford, then drop it off at Quigly 
The thing with those are they are still as long as the truck. I'm looking to reduce the overall length of the truck by bringing the cab forward and up. I don't need a fullsize rear door, a suicide rear door would be fine and the extended cab bench has plenty of room on it for a couple regular sized people.
Easiest way is to buy one already done by someone who already has had and lived the vision. Been done many times. I like this one. If you buy a classic version like the picture, I bet you could sell it for what you paid in five years time. That makes it very cheap to own.
Have you driven a van lately? Especially a Ford or Chevy with more "cab-overness"? There are some disadvantages... tight leg room being the main one - particularly for the passenger. The ride is worse as well when you're right over the front wheels.
I'm starting to see more "Super C" RV's (Class C built with a pick-up cab instead of a cut van) and I'd bet some of it is for the leg room issue. Having spent a number of years driving a van, I can understand why (improved ride and more/better engine options as well).
But anyway... the best way to build what you want is to buy an old van, figure out how a pick-up bed of your length of choice would sit over the rear wheels, then cut the middle out of the van to make the difference and weld the front and rear back together. If 4WD is desired, add a short wheelbase pick-up truck chassis to the mix.
Like this?
http://www.cabbacks.com/
Or the Isuzu option.
The image you made out of the pickup? I can't see what improved over what you have now.
Maybe it's right there but all I can see is a different shape to the passenger area but nothing I could say got "better" except it looks cool!
Is it just shorter/more maneuverable?
The only thing chopped out of the picture above is the engine compartment. It's kind of necessary. Spend some time in a van to find out if you can stand sitting beside the engine.
Maybe buy a minivan, chop off the back, add truck bed. Dealing with a unibody would suck.
You need one of these.
t25torx wrote: I was looking at my truck today and it struck me that there was just a bunch of wasted space in the design of a truck, I got industrious and made a picture of what I want. I want this..
Buy a box van, remove the box, install a bed.
ebonyandivory wrote: The image you made out of the pickup? I can't see what improved over what you have now.
Well, it is a lot shorter in wheelbase, which is exactly what you don't want in a truck, assuming that you tow with it.
But it's not my Vision and I don't know the priorities...
I agree, vans freakin' suck to drive, you sit so high up and upright and there's no legroom aside from a little channel. And then those Isuzu forward-cab things are even worse to me, but people sure do seem to love 'em.
The others have basically hit it,but here's what I'd do. Get M half of a van (so, a box truck cab) and plop it on the frame, so the motor is oriented in the doghouse. Cut the front end off the bed, and either add a new piece with the end on it that's the right length, or stick a new bed section in and weld it up. With the length of your truck as is, you're going to end up with like a 13 foot bed, according to my pre caffeine math. Option number two would be to sell your truck, and find the shortest combo chevy offered, which I think is the standard cab flareside. Drop said box truck cab on it, and find a used 8 foot bed. Rinse and repeat with other manufao as needed. Dodge makes the snubniest nose vans, or they did....but I don't ever recall seeing a dodge box truck, nor would dodge be my choice for this project.
Knurled wrote: I agree, vans freakin' suck to drive, you sit so high up and upright and there's no legroom aside from a little channel. And then those Isuzu forward-cab things are even worse to me, but people sure do seem to love 'em.
Definitely spend some time in one if you haven't already. I drive a E150 between 2 and 8 hours a day. I like the upright seating and don't care about the narrow foot well. Some people can't stand it and actually feel claustrophobic without the room to spread out.
I alsmost said that Ford vans are the least crappy, and not very coincidentally they also have the smallest doghouse, just a flat little thing. Because they have the most rearward driving position...
Toyman01 wrote:Knurled wrote: I agree, vans freakin' suck to drive, you sit so high up and upright and there's no legroom aside from a little channel. And then those Isuzu forward-cab things are even worse to me, but people sure do seem to love 'em.Definitely spend some time in one if you haven't already. I drive a E150 between 2 and 8 hours a day. I like the upright seating and don't care about the narrow foot well. Some people can't stand it and actually feel claustrophobic without the room to spread out.
Granted, I'm only 5'6" so my requirements for leg-room are a bit less than some of you 
, but I actually find my '98 Chevy Express 3500 to be a very comfortable vehicle to drive. It's way more comfortable than any of the Ford 1-ton vans I've driven though, so that is also a consideration. While both the passenger & driver footwells are more narrow than a pickup, they're actually pretty deep - I have to slide the seat a notch or 2 further forward than I normally would in order to reach the pedals, and when my wife rides passenger for any distance I need to put something in the passenger footwell or else her feet won't reach the floor.
Of course, having owned several pickups, I don't really find a benefit to them over a van unless you need to haul mulch, tow a 5-th wheel, or load tall objects. I love the added security of having no windows for curious eyes to be peering into, and the whole pedovan stigma just means that people usually want to stay far away. The only real downside is since the van only gets occasional use, it tends to end up as a "storage-shed on wheels" sometimes. 
I'm on my second E-150 and I find them ok to drive. The passenger seat is not a place I like to sit though. It's way better to sit in the back somewhere than the passenger seat because of the narrow footwell. These vans are everywhere. Buy a used cargo version and start cutting away until you have a place to plop your truck bed on the frame.
yep, buy an express cutaway or box van cab, bonus points for finding a cab from a c4500 dump truck or flatbed as these are van instead of truck based. mount on 4x4 truck chassis with the standard 1500-3500 van nose, correct bed length.
I don't think it would be at all easy to use a pickup frame. Pickups mount the steering box more or less horizontal, vans mount it more or less vertical, so the idler arms and steering linkage swing in completely different arcs. So to mate a van cab to a pickup frame, you'd have to make a new steering box mount (which fails a lot even in OE-engineered vans) and engineer a whole new steering linkage that swings in the correct arc and doesn't do scary things to toe when the suspension moves.
Not insurmountable, of course, and easiest is probably starting with a late model Chevy chassis that is rack and pinion so "all you have to do" is figure out how to rotate the rack. (Diff may be in the way of one of the mounts, maybe) But it's easier yet to just use a van chassis.
the Isuzu box truck with bed is the best way to go. They can be had relatively cheap (usually cheaper than a pickup) and because they are way overbuild for what you are going to use it for.. will run forever with proper maintenance.
They can be had with 3 across seating and even double cabs. Most anymore are autos, but the 5 and 6 speed manuals are out there. When I get a bigger boat, I want one for towing it around.
Dodge Megacab. The rear seats in mine recline.....
Also, make sure you don't just need this.
Buy this used:
Throw away the box, and shorter the rear frame if you feel the need to, and add a truck bed.
Done.
What you are describing is called a "Cutaway Van".
It's a van cab and chassis. Used to build motor homes, box trucks, utility trucks etc.
However, shorter is going to be a problem. Generally, Cutaways incorporate the space saved into increased cargo capacity. So, an 8' bed become a 10' cargo area, etc.
It would be pretty squirrelly if you cut it to have an 8' bed on a Cutaway.
If you are serious, I've got a cutaway with a utility body on it that is ripe for a project. But it has a 14' bed behind the single cab.
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