Good day to the community.
I am a habitual Ford enthusiast, with a recently-found soil addiction. Necessitating the desire to find or create a way to haul a medium size tractor and some accessories around locally, which then has brought me to this recent find: 1981 Ford F700, with Pierce "Van" body attached. This was the support vehicle for a Fire Dept. in NJ. It is an initial goal to remove the rear compartments and flatbed it. I was lucky enough after purchase to drive it 2.75 hours from NJ to PA, but didn't quite make it to it's new home. Oh so close...blocks away. Troubleshooting is in progress. Standard 370cid 4 bbl holley 600CFM I think. Single speed Eaton axle, 5 spd. trans. I can't wait to see the weight relief from removing that rear body. The previous owner claimed 6K mileage...pretty sure its more like 106K, I'm still hooked currently. (no pun intended). Seems to have been previously sprayed in that municipal day-glow green color, prior to red, so I think she's been around a while.

Fun thoughts for the future, and in complete ignorance:
1. Remove van body and rehome.
2. convert from split rims to something more ...modern?
3. Create and install flatbed.
4. Remove rats nest of multiple wirings.
5. New tires and shocks.
6. Tidy it up.

Regardless, just wanted to introduce myself.
Thank you,

Landon

 

Nice truck but not what I’d use
What size tractor do you consider medium size
Loading a tractor on a trucks high bed takes long ramps or dock at each location, a dove tail bed eliminates the dangers associated with long ramps but it creates a lot of overhang on the back of the truck. Also keep in mind that with a trucks high bed height the tractors overall height can not exceed 8 1/2 ft in order to stay under the maximum 13 ft 6 in height limit.
My 50-75 hp tractors with cabs or ROPS average around 9 ft in height
Average truck bed height is 60”, a deck over trailer you can pull with a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup have deck heights from 36-42”, if the tractor will fit between the fenders of a low deck trailer that would be even better

 

Oh Sir thank you but I apparently mis communicated: I merely want to Tow with this truck, tow my trailer with tractor loaded on (it, the trailer). I felt that a flatbed on this trucks chassis would be the perfect height to bring my attachments along, and easily attach and detach them as the tractor has the universal quick attach. Apologies.
This truck needs a lot, and has a cool factor despite being a thorn at the moment. Also I forgot to mention the biggest reason of all for buying it was to give my F150 (8600) a break in its aging years.
The tractor is a Kubota L4701.

Landon

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Yes towing with it would be much better
Shouldn’t have any problems towing that tractor, I was thinking more in the line of a M6800 or slightly bigger
The lack of a two spd axle limits its ability to get a heavy load moving on soft ground but other wise shouldn’t be a issue

 

27,500 gvw ,do you have a CDL ?or is it for farm use ?

 

I do not have a CDL.

Honestly I was wondering how to handle that becase the title in hand states 16,000 GVW.

Landon

 

Regardless of what the title says DOT inspector is going to look at the door tag

 

Doesn't the license plate determine what it's legally allowed to gross? Depends on your state (also) what requires a CDL, if you are not engaged in Interstate Commerce. Some people have gotten RV tags.

Does this truck have air brakes? I think that puts you in CDL territory. I've never seen a car/pickup license with am air brake endorsement...

Anyway the issue is a real can of worms!

 

There is a air brake endorsement for CDL license but air brakes on a truck rated for less than 26k lbs does not mean a CDL is required because it has air brakes
One doesn’t see many trucks with gvw rating under 26k lbs with air brakes, but their out there.
If I was a law maker any truck larger than a F-550 would have air brakes, so much simpler and safer than hydraulic brakes

 

don't mention to your local DVM your plans for this truck .tell them it is a retire rescue truck ,play dumb ,and maybe they will go by what the title says .I got my ex-fire truck licensed as non-commercial with a 15k weight max

 

OK let's talk about the GVWR and CDL issue, as it's not going to be something you can hide or fake out the DMV people about.

--This is a 1981 truck with a 17 digit VIN. In that VIN the fourth character shows the vehicle class & brake type. In this case "P" = Class 7--26,001-33,000 lbs GVWR, air brakes. CORRECTION: Hydraulic brakes

I did some brief research before and again today--it may be possible to re-rate the truck, but you'll have to discuss that with your state motor vehicle people.

--Air brakes: The CDL does not have an endorsement for air brakes. Rather, when you test for the CDL, you must test with an air brake truck. If you test with juice brakes, your license will be restricted those types of trucks. Same with manual trans--test wth automatic and you are restricted to automatics.
There seems to be a blind spot in some states about trucks 26,000 and under with air brakes. No mention is made about air brake endorsement or restriction as far as I can tell. NOTE TRUCK DOES NOT HAVE AIR BRAKES.

I would urge you to clear all this up via your DMV. If you get cited for driving a CDL vehicle without a CDL, it can cause you to be disqualified for a CDL for some time.

Such a citation would come with a large can of worms.




--Ag exemptions: You are talking about towing a tractor. It looks like you should be able to have a total trailer weight of under 10,000 lbs. But it might not matter if you own the properties that you tow to and from. If you are doing ag work for yourself, you will probably qualify for the ag exemption.
If you are doing work for someone else, you are commercial and get that CDL manual and insurance etc.

 

Good Morning.
Grateful for the conversation. This vehicle does not have air brakes. I am hoping to not have to get a cdl to operate this truck but I haven't ruled it out as I've always been interested. If and when I decide to register it, It probably won't have that massive van-body on it's chassis. I believe that is part of the issue given the information I received.
Further, I do own the property that I refer to needing the tractor for, FWIW. Now if we want to get down into the weeds with it, does making a park fit into agriculture?
Landon

 

I guess endorsement was the wrong word but when taking the written test there was an additional test one had to take if they planned to drive a truck with air brakes
If you didn’t take the air brake written test you couldn’t take the driving part in a truck equipped with air brakes and were thus restricted to juice brakes

When taking the basic CDL written test we also tested for doubles/triples, tanker, hazmat endorsements as well as the air brake test so I just thought of it as part of the endorsements
Passenger bus endorsement was the only test I didn’t take, you had to have a letter from a bus company, school, church or other organization stating you would occasionally drive a bus for them before you could take that test
This was in the 90’s when CDL’s first came out so not sure if things have changed since then
I grandfathered the driving part as I had been been driving big rigs for 15 years prior to CDL’s

 

OK sorry, I misread the MPC and the code P does NOT indicate air brakes. In fact, the OP posts a picture of a hydraulic brake master cylinder. I either need more sleep or a vacation.

Back to the elephant--

CDL is driven by GVWR. 26,001 and up = CDL. There are exemptions for ag, which I mentioned before. Depending on what the OP is doing, that might be the ticket. The bodywork has no impact on CDL, other than if it's a bus.
CDL is also driven by hazmat and passenger bus, as mentioned by @Destroked 450

So it won't be possible to fool anyone at DMV but it may be possible to make this work without a threat to the OP's license.

27,500 lbs GVWR or not, this truck will drive the same way as a 26,000 lb rated F700. So it's no crime against humanity for OP to try to get it rerated etc.

 

How about a hippo? Story time: When I was working in PA some 25 years ago, my clinic suddenly had an influx of employees who needed DOT physicals yesterday... they were driving large straight trucks from one part of the plant to the other, across a state road. An enterprising state trooper informed the manager that any operating on a public road with a GVWR over 17,500 required a CDL in PA. (He was right, too. Not sure if that's still true).

The FMCSA rules should only apply to interstate commerce. The intrastate rules as in my example, or for private use, may be significantly different. Either way, I'd hate to be debating the issue at a weigh station... Consult your DMV and the state police, and get it in writing!