Does anyone know if a F550 can be ordered from the factory with a bed installed as an option? If not, where should I look for an aftermarket provider? (I live in Los Angeles).

Thanks!

Peter

 

No... F-550's cannot be ordered from the Ford factory with a bed of any kind installed. F-550's are sold by Ford as chassis cabs that are incomplete vehicles, with the intention that they be completed by a vehicle upfitter who then attaches a completed vehicle federal certification sticker.

However, you can order an F-550 as a completed vehicle through whatever Ford dealer you order the chassis cab from. Just understand that the vehicle will not be completed by Ford... it will be completed by a "ship thru" body upfitter. The chassis cab will leave Ford's plant, and instead of being shipped to the ordering dealer right away, it will first be shipped to the upfitter (hence "ship thru").

The upfitter doesn't have to be in the Los Angeles area, although there is one Ford Ship Thru Authorized Pool upfitter in Paramount CA called Royal Truck Body. If you wanted a utility or service body, then Royal would be an option, but there is also Scelzi in Fresno CA, as well as Harbor in Central CA. All these options would be for a service body.

Now if you want a pick up bed, similar to the F-450 pickup that Ford does complete, then you might ask that your dealer ship your F-550 chassis cab through Manning. Manning has an installation facility right next to the Kentucky Truck Plant (KTP) where Ford manufactures the USA built Super Duties. Your chassis cab would be built at KTP, and then driven around the block to Manning, where a Ford pickup bed would be installed. They do it all the time, so they already have the jigs and attachment parts pre made for the conversion. Just know that the attachment parts are not Ford's, and even though the pick up bed is made by Ford, the way Manning attaches it is not engineered by Ford.

Generally, most chassis cabs are built in the USA, while many of the F-250-350 and perhaps 450 pickups are hechoed in Mexico. If the VIN begins with a "1", it is made in the USA (still with Mexican made parts though). If the VIN begins with a "3", the entire vehicle was made and assembled in Mexico. I have a 2000 F-550, and so for the last 12 years I've paid more attention than most to the chassis cabs, and I've never seen a "3" on the front of a VIN of an F-550. Only "1". For example, my VIN is 1FDAW57xxxxxxxxxx. Hence my user name is Y2K (for 2000) W57 (for crew cab 550 4x4). I digressed.

The reason why Ford can put a bed on the F-450 pick up as engineered by Ford at the factory... is because the FRAME to the F-450 pickup is NOT a chassis cab frame. The F-450 PICKUP uses the same frame as the F-350 pickup. This is true not only on the 2011-2012 series with the 17" wheels, but it is also true on the 2008-2010 series with the same 19.5" wheels, hubs and brakes as the F-550. While the running gear was the same as the chassis cab, the FRAME of the F-450 pickup was the same as the F-350.

That being said, unlike the F-450 pickup, F-450 chassis cab frame was the same as some (but not all) F-550 frames. So, on the one hand there are chassis cab frames, with much thicker steel, much higher section modulus, a higher resistance to bending moments, straighter rails aft of cab that are slightly longer and more narrowly spaced apart... and there are pickup frames, that are lighter, shorter, and more widely spaced apart.

The Ford body builder's short hand to denote the difference is "narrow frame" (for chassis cabs) and "wide frame" (for pickups.) Specifically, the narrow frame rails are spaced exactly 34 inches apart from each other, as measured from vertical web to web. This matches the NTEA truck industry standard for the interchangability of work bodies from chassis to chassis. The 34" standard has enabled flatbeds, dump bodies, service bodies, etc to be transfered from chassis to chassis regardless of brand, and to be built uniformly regardless of brand. Even the frames of class 8 Peterbuilts are 34" apart.

On the other hand, Ford pick up frames are approximately 37" apart from each other web to web. The frames are not straight either... they dip and bend to accommodate the axle, the midship fuel tank, the frame mounted spare tire, etc. While aftermarket bodies can and are adapted to pick up frames, it is far easier to do it on a straight rail chassis cab. However, since Ford designed their pick up bed to mount to a pick up frame, the inverse of the above becomes true, where it becomes more difficult to attach a pickup bed to a chassis cab frame.

Separate and apart from frame rail shape and spacing, there is also the issue of wheelbase, and specifically, "cab to axle" distance. (CA for short). The CA of a long bed pickup is 56". The only CA that comes near this on a chassis cab is 60". So if you just mounted a pickup onto a chassis cab with a 60" CA, and got the wheels centered up in the wheel wells, you would have about a 7" gap between the cab and the front wall of the pick up box.

Yes, you may have noticed that the difference in CA's between pickup and chassis cab is only 4" (60 - 56 = 4), but there is a 3" design clearance between body and cab, so that the two don't collide when the frame twists from the front axle being clocked at a different plane than the rear axle (such as when turning into an upward inclined driveway from a downward inclined severely crowned road). At any rate, for the F-550 to have a factory pickup box, something has to be done to close that 7" gap down to about 3". I believe that Manning manufactures a body contoured fiberglass spacer that matches the body lines of the Ford and looks seamless. Other upfitters use different techniques, including unbolting the Ford fiberglass hips, cutting the bed sheetmetal, and moving the hips backwards (not my preferred method).

Another issue is the fuel fill port. Unless you order your F-550 with the main fuel tank (40 gallon aft axle) deleted, the upfitter will have to come up with a way to put fuel in your tank. The fuel port in the factory bed lines up more or less with a midship fuel tank, as that is what pickups have. Relatively recently, you can order an F-550 with a 28 gallon midship tank only, but only tow truck companies do this, where they have JerrDan snatcher bodies that cut the rear frames off just after the spring hangers, and have equipment where the aft axle tank would be.

If you are creating a personal tow vehicle (for trailers, RV, horses, racing, etc) then I would think you would want both the 40 gallon and the 28 gallon tanks... and if only choosing one, then the larger of the two. That means you'll have an aft axle tank, and so you'll need another fuel door (but not another UREA door) to put fuel into that tank. Some body companies run a pipe from the factory filler back to the rear tank... but this doesn't work that well due to the collison with the rear spring shackle, that moves all the time. Also, the amount of slope of that pipe changes between empty and loaded. These problems are all solved by the upfitter... just know that they are not Ford engineered solutions for the pickup bed.

Service utility and flatbed bodies that are purpose built for the chassis cab are easier to mate up to fuel ports, because they were designed that way by the aftermarket company to begin with, so there is not the cobbling that comes with trying to put a pickup bed on a chassis cab.

There are quite a few more body options to consider completing your F-550 with... Utilitybodywerks, JJ Enterprises, Centurion, etc. In fact, there is a long running sticky thread in the Tow Haul forum of the diesel stop that has an ongoing list of body upfit companies. Smokey Wren has been pretty good about keeping that list updated.

I have a "Royal Sport Dually Utility Body" on my F-550. Google the terms in quotes (but leave out the quotes for more hits) in order to see pictures of what the bed looks like. It looks just like a Ford pick up bed, with the same body lines and creases etc. But it has side boxes built in too. It was made to mount on a chassis cab frame (narrow, long), not on a pick up frame. It was a very expensive bed ($9k) and is no longer made.

Good luck in your pursuit.

 

^ I think reps are in order... Yes. Reps were given.

 

Y2kW57 you seem to be an expert on cab and chasis. I have one and looking for another. I am looking at one with a mid ship tank only. That is useless for me. I do over highway running. Can I add the normal 40 gallon back to it easily, and if I want both how does that work as far as running two tanks? Is that an option on a new truck? Do you select it form inside like the old 150s and have two fillers or what?

 

I wouldn't say I'm an expert, but I'll try to answer your questions to the best of my ability, if for no other reason that after five years of your having been a silent member here on FTE, you directed your very first post to me. How can one not answer this honor? Welcome to FTE, long time member!

Working backwards through your list of several questions, taking the last one first, the answer is yes, there is a dash mounted selector switch, similar to the old 150s... and 250s and 350s too, as both my 1979 F-250 and '79 E-350 had a tank selector switch for their dual tanks. For the 1999 up Super Duty however, this option was not available until model year 2002, coinciding with a major mid-cycle electrical bus, module, and wiring change across the Super Duty and Excursion line.

Prior to model year 2002, the early 1999 through 2001 chassis cab models had a choice of 3 fuel tanks. Well, 5 tanks actually, if you count the gasoline and gaseous fuel versions, and since you didn't specify diesel, or even the model year you are looking at for that matter, I'm not sure what applies or would be helpful to you. So I'll try and list them all, with an emphasis on options for the earlier diesel, since that is what I am most personally familiar with.

The early 1999's came out with a slightly smaller aft axle tank, around 36 or 38 gallons. By 1999 proper, that got bumped up to a 40 gallon tank, and has remained the same capacity ever since. This tank is available in gas or diesel, but has a different part number, depending of whether gas or diesel.

The midship tank was originally 19 gallons for quite a few years. But in the first three model years, it was only available as an EITHER/OR limitation with diesel chassis cabs. Either you choose the 19 gallon midship, or you choose the 40 gallon aft axle. You couldn't have both at the same time until 2002.

The gasoline and gaseous fuel trucks were a little different, in that if you were dealing with a Bi Fuel rated V10 that was prepped for gaseous fuels, then you got the 19 gallon midship tank, and either a 20 or 26 gallon equivalent gaseous fuel cylinder set up aft of axle, side saddle, or both. But the utilization of all fuel tank positions was only available with gaseous fuels.

On the other hand, the diesel had yet a third fuel tank available, exclusive to diesels, that was a direct top fill rectangular cube (no fuel filler neck) side saddle tank that mounted curbside outboard of the passenger frame rail. This rare side saddle tank was discontinued after a couple of years.

A few years after Ford made the 40 gallon and the 19 gallon fuel tank available as a dual fuel tank option, Ford later increased the capacity of the 19 gallon midship tank up to between 26 to 28 gallons.

How does it work, running two tanks (the OEM way)? These dual fuel tanks have separate through the frame rail fill necks, on either side of the roadside driver's rear wheel. A dash mounted selector switch controls a frame rail mounted selector valve.

Option in a new truck? Yes again, but it depends, as there are some conditions: Must be a diesel. Must be a cab chassis. Must be an XL or XLT. Cannot be a Lariat (for 15 and 16, earlier '11 up years I don't remember, future '17 up years I don't know).

Can you add the 40 gallon aft axle tank back in? It really depends on the actual chassis. The smaller midship tanks without an aft axle tank were ordered that way for a reason, and quite often the reason is that the frame rails aft of the rear spring shackle hangars have been cut off, and the rearmost cross member moved forward directly behind the axle, instead of a fuel tank's distance further behind.

Ford pre pierces a cutting reference mark (two triangles with their apex in opposing directions one on top of the other) to facilitate this modification, which is often done by wrecker trucks, in order to fit their sneaky pete wheel lift hardware behind the axle, as well as to shorten the lever of rear axle to rear bumper difference to reduce the leverage that towed loads apply to the rear springs deflection, which unlloads the front axle and sends headlights skyward.

So you'll need to check if the aftmost cross member is in it's original position, or in the modified position further up front, even with the rear spring hangars, before considering whether or not you can add the aft axle tank. You'll still need fuel lines, fuel selector valve, switch, and the ability to reprogram the truck's computer modules to recognize and report what you've added.

 

Sorry I totally forgot to mention what I am looking at. I am trying to find a V10 gas on an F450 chassis to put a box on. I guess from what you are saying the only way to get the dual tanks is in a diesel so I am out of luck. I have a diesel also, with the aft 40 gallon. Its pathetic. I wish it had the dual tank set up because 250 miles a tank is miserable. But then again owning a 6.4 diesel in general is miserable.

 

You can just shorten the frame 4 inches. then make mounts and voila!

 

By "box" I interpreted the OP to mean a commercial Box Van, for cargo, with a roll up door, not a pickup box.

Is that your pickup? How did you deal with the fuel lines and drive line? The drive line is a two piece shaft balanced as a paired assembly. Which part of the pair did you cut, and how did you rebalance them both together?

The photo doesn't show any rear fuel tank by the hitch. What did you do for fuel supply system?

 

We have shortened the frame on several trucks before. The brake lines are shortened and reflared the electrical is zip tied into a circle and the fuel lines are cut shorter with new fittings. The fuel tank fillers are on the other side of the truck. You can have front and rear filler necks.

 

I wasn't asking about the fuel filler doors... I was asking about the fuel TANKS underneath the chassis.

Are you using only a midship tank (28) gallon? What I was not able to see from either photo is the standard 40 gallon aft axle tank. That is what I'm asking about. (Not filler doors.)

On an F-550, the distance between the rear axle centerline and the rear edge of the frame rails (where the rear bumper mounts) is longer than that of a pick up frame. So regardless of whether the frame is shortened in between the cab and the axle, there is still that awkward extra little bit of frame that extends past where it would otherwise end in a pick up frame at the tail gate area.

Some upfitters fix this by cutting larger wheel arches in the pick up bed skin, and covering the larger cut arches with fender flares, similar to what is on your white truck above, so the bed can be adjusted for visual alignment with the rear axle as well as rear bumper mounting.

Some cut off a little bit of the rear frame rails, and delete the rear aft axle tank. That's more or less what I'm asking you... is did you delete the rear aft axle tank?

 

You can order the chassis with in frame and rear tanks. I actually cut the end of the frame rails and slide the axle up 4 inches. Faster and cheaper. The rear bumper will have to be aftermarket though becasue the mounts will not match. And you will have to slide up the hitch mounting bolts 4 inches as well. Our trucks can run both tanks FYI...

 

I guess I'm not being clear. I know how the F550 can be ordered. I own one. I've ordered several. I briefly worked for a company who modified hundreds. I'm just asking if the white truck pictured above has the aft axle tank or not. You said that your "trucks can run both tanks FYI", but that still doesn't answer if THIS particular truck your are (selling? or showing as an example to sell?) has the 40 gallon tank installed or not. I hope the difference makes sense.