Hello to everyone. I have been a fan of this website for many years and always appreciate everyone's help. I have several trucks and want to combine them to make one heavy duty truck. I have
1989 F-superduty 7.3 idi 2x4 11' enclosed utility
1988 F350 460 2x4 11' dumping steak body with rail style hydraulic lift gate
1988 F350 350 2x4 12' box truck

My main goal is to have one serious equipment truck equipped with
Dumping steak body
Hydraulic lift gate
Hydraulic knuckle boom mounted behind cab
And a snow plow (if the truck is able to handle it)

Right now the dumping steak body is mounted on the F350 460. I would like to use this truck, unless switching to the F-superduty is necessary (I could also switch the axles and suspension). I would like to use the 460 due to the fact of more power over the idi diesel (i'm not worried about mpg) and also this transmission has a pto driving the dump body.

Another option is to cut off the rear frame with axle from the F350 box truck, and weld on and extend this section onto the rear of the F350 steak body. Making the F350 steak body a tandem dually.

I'm about to weld on the lift gate soon and install the knuckle boom. And before I do, I want to know which combination will work best to support the equipment and some weight in the bed. Thanks for your input.

 

Go F-superduty if you want to have any weight caring capacity.

With the lift gate, stake body, knuckle boom and snow plow you will be over weight with a F350 chassis. And that is before you put anything in the truck

 

I don't know how worried you are about being legal, but GVWR wise it won't be hard to exceed it quickly even unloaded, especially if you add the extra axle. Two sets of duals and an axle is heavy and I don't believe you can register a vehicle over its factory GVWR no matter what modifications are done. If you do go with the dual axle option I want to see a build thread. I think it would look pretty sweet, but looks aren't what you are going for I assume. Also long term cost probably should be considered. There are going to be 4 more tires to buy.

If it were me, I would sell the three trucks and buy a medium duty truck. An old salt truck would have the the plow mount, the dump, and probably hydraulics ran to the salt spreader that could be used on a lift gate or boom.

 

The lift gate is 800lbs and the knuckle boom is 1100lbs. I don't need to have a plow on the vehicle, but I would like to if applicable. With the dumping body on it. The truck comes in at 7800 lbs.
my worry is the front axle being able to support the plow along with the knuckle boom weight being behind the cab.
The truck is registered at 13,000lbs right now.
I used to have an f800 medium duty, but recently purchased a ford L9000. I want the light duty truck to be outfitted with equipment as I haul lighter loads more often (under two tons). The L9000 is used mainly to pull heavy equipment (wheel loader or backhoe) and also as a dump truck.
I know the light duty isn't great on gas. But it's better than the L9000 and I also use this truck on the property.

So if I switched to the F-superduty frame. Would it be easier to switch the 7.3L with the 7.5L (because the 7.5L has a PTO on the tranny) or since the F350 7.5L already has the dump body installed, would it be easier to replace the F350 suspension/axles with the F-superduty axle/suspension. I would still be able to register the F350 with the F-superduty suspension at 17,000 lbs.

I don't ant to switch the engines. But if the F-superduty frame is much better, then I guess I will have to.

I really appreciate everyone's input. I am serious about this project and have all the equipment to install. I would like to know what your trucks have handled as well. Plan on starting this project in the spring. But I'm also considering sling the box truck within a week or two, that's why I was contemplating on the 6x6 option. But the second rear axle would be a tag axle and it woul be more like a 2x6. But I'm probably not going to do this now. Unless it benefits much for a 5th wheel hitch.

 

The F-350 cab & chassis frames and the F-Superduty frames are the same. The difference is in the suspension & axles. The F-SD has a driveline park brake on the back of a 4x4 trans. The rear discs have no provision for a park brake. The trans on the F-350 is a 2x4 trans, and won't mount the park brake. The F-SD front suspension is leaf spring, and the F-350 is coil, which makes it a pain to swap. If it were me, I'd use the F-SD. If I really wanted the 460, I'd swap them, but I like IDIs...

 

just sell one of the '88 trucks and buy a used turbo kit and fab in an intercooler for the idi diesel with the $. have your cake and eat it too.
the real tow/haul gearing,15k gvwr,better towing than a 460/4.10 f350 truck.a turbo and intercooled idi truck is even a slightly better heavy tower/hauler than an oem 94-97 psd truck due to the higher compression and snappy off the line wastegated turbos for off the line instant boost and quick high grunt.problem solved.

 

I agree, I like the idi more. But I found out the transmissions won't swap. The tranny from the 460 has a PTO wich powers the dump hoist. Is there an adapter plate that can be used so the pto tranny from the 7.5L will mount to the 7.3L

Also I can modify the parking break to work. And I mainly need the heavier suspension in the rear, I could do without the plow. Do you think the front end of the f350 will handle the weight. I have hauled 3 tons on this truck many times driving 50 miles at 50mph. But with the added equipment, I would still like to haul up to 2 tons. Or tow a 5th wheel. I will look into comparing the two trucks this week about swapping the front axles. Rear end is straight forward.

I would mainly like to keep the PTO setup with any other combination. Thanks for the input. Really appreciate this as I will keep this truck for the next 30 years, even just for the farm use.

 

you need the 15k rating.so you know the foundation is the f-super duty/f450.this decision was made when you planned to outfit the truck with all the heavy work tools.no way around this.not only do you want to be legal,but you want the gearing in the d80 to move it all along with the loads you'll be putting it on.i hear ya when you claim you don't care about fuel economy,but i bet things would change when you pull in 3-4 mpg when fully loaded with a 460/4.10 f350 setup in your config w/load.all wrong for your plans.think turbo/intercooled idi f450.

there are other ways to make the bed,dump besides a pto.
we have planned a lot of things the same.hydraulic lift arms/gates/winch/dumps. so probably sounds like the central hydraulic setup like Brad and Phy both convinced me to go with,should be your plans too.

 

I would like to keep the 7.3L diesel idi. I'm worried about reliability. Since I had it, it has problems starting. I have purchased a new injector pump, glow plugs, relay, and injector rebuild kit, and fuel filter. I haven't installed these items yet because I have never worked on a diesel. And I do not know how to time the injector pump. (The 7.5 always starts, but I always wanted a diesel)

So I should look into an electric over hydraulic setup, huh? What should I look into? A central unit for everything. or since the lift gate, knuckle boom, and plow already have an electric over hydraulic setup built into them. Should I just find an electric motor to power the hoist (dump) hydraulic system.

Thanks for advice

 

Shouldn't the F-SD transmission have a spot for a PTO to be added. I assumed since they were only available as cab and chassis vehicles they would all have that provision from the factory.

 

Like a blank plate on the tranny? And if so, could i remove the one from the F350 and install it onto the F-SD?

Does anyone know if this will work? If so, I would really like to add the PTO. Especially since it wouldn't be in use, if left on the F350 once the hoist and bed are removed. (Both vehicles have a manual transmission, but I heard they won't match up to the other engine?)

I had my micrometer on the frame and its the same, but the suspension and axles are much larger on the superduty. I really like the diesel, so if this is sufficient enough, I will keep the diesel in the superduty.

 

If the superduty has a manual trans it should be able to have it transferred over. I would crawl under and look and see how the pto is hooked up on the 350 and then see if you can find a pto provision on the Superduty. I don't know much about the ptos other than the manual should have the ability to have one. Here is a thread that may be helpful to you to some extent.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...nsmission.html

 

I've heard that the diesels require one bellhousing, the big blocks another, and the small blocks and inline sixes a third. So while you ought to be able to swap trans between a Superduty and an F-350, you can't between a diesel and a big block.

Although I think I've also heard that the diesel and big block patterns are pretty close, and that by drilling out a hole or two you can swap at least one direction. But I'm not at all sure about that.

 

working on the old diesel is pie.this will get your started:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ning-info.html

getting these truck to start quick,even in the dead of winter isn't hard.iv never had a gas engine start as easy as my idi in the f250 (the f450 is up to par now too,but fuel injectors i think is the cause for a 3 second crank before firing now.im gunna run it for a tank or two to see if she cleans up first though.)
just search the idi section for all the help to get 'em firing up quick.

yeah,so id just go with an electric over hydraulic setup for the dump too since you have all the others all setup like that already,and you wont be using a hydraulic winch.
Able Trailer/TheJerkyHut.com

Monarch 3551k here on my 250:



id like to see the knuckle boom if you've got a pic or two!

im setting mine up to load wood chunks (lift gate) logs (some type of boom/pulley system) and winch for self recovery (you know how these f450's are only 2wd's) twitching,and loading the loads via running the line in a lift/arm pulley setup then the dump bed into one whole central engine driven pump.

 

I'll get some pcs over the weekend. I removed the lift gate off the box truck today. Gonna remove stake body dump next week. I am going to remove all the equipment and sell the other trucks. Then see if I can get the diesel running again. She has been sitting for two years. I have a new injector pump to install on it as well. I'm not sure how to time it, maybe ill hire someone. And the pto will bolt up to the other trans.