hi all...cannot remember if I posted this question before or not...have at least thought of it for a while. My 2000 f 350 crew cab was ordered new as a cab-chassis. I know other than the wheelbase being very long (unsure of the overall, but from the back of cab to center of rear axle is like 60 " which is 4" longer than an 8' bed I believe), the frame rails are perfectly flat behind the cab to the end to facilitate mounting of any commercial bed. Anyways, the truck is way longer than I need and I do not seem to be having any luck selling it, so I am seriously thinking of shortening the wheelbase to that of a crew cab shortbed, and chopping down my 9' aluminum rack body to whatever length looks good to me after. Can anyone think of any real snags?...I figure other than cutting down the driveshaft, the hardest thing would probably be the E-brake cable, which I assume I could probably order for the shorter wheelbase. Obviously, the brake lines, wiring, and fuel lines will also need to be shortened, which should not be too hard as the chassis will be wide open. Just looking for some input....maybe some pros and cons if any of you can think of some obvious ones that I am overlooking.I am also hopeful that if I shorten it...maybe by some stroke of luck I can drop a regular ford shortbox on the chopped down cab-chassis frame and it sits without being too high....I figure that is the only thing that would not work, as I can always raise it up somehow if my frame causes it to sit too low...oh well...hope to get some input. thanks in advance as always, scott

 

Wow! I admire your ambition, but I think going to all that work would not be worth the cost. Seems like it would be smarter to sell the truck as is, as I am sure that lots of people would be happy to put a custom stainless/ diamond plate flat bed setup on there for an excellent 5th wheel rig. Heck, I wish I could make my CC SB a long bed, but I would never consider lengthening my chasis. Oh well, just my .02!

 

I have the same problem with my 05 f350 chassis cab , I think the best way is cut the frame , Have u found any solution?

 

For anyone contemplating cutting their frame, a very good contact would be Gene Feldhans, AKA "weweld" in the Powerstroke world. Send him an email before you get out the torch. He's a professional welder, and (among other things) he shortened his 450's frame. It seems there are some real tricks involved in doing it right.

Google "weweld" and his email address comes up quickly. I think it's the second hit.

You could also send him a PM here, but FTE isn't where he hangs his hat.

Pop

 

thanks a lot!!

 

The easiest way to shorten the wheelbase is to move the spring hangers forward but may have to move the rear cross members also

 

no because the curved shape of the frame .