22' box?

[guest]

I have located a couple of nice trucks but they would be too long with the 24' cargo box that I wanted to have. Can anyone tell me if it would be a terrible mistake to use a 22' box for a starter truck?

I've read the posts, seems that the longer the box, the better your chances of keeping loaded. Just wandering if I should pass on these trucks or not. Any comments?

Thx,

 

[Weave]

You will be just fine with the 22 footer. My starter FL70 had a 22' box. With the 24' box I have now, about the first foot and a half of it is bulkheaded off for storage of spare tires, pallet jack, straps and bars, etc. More important than length is width and height- make sure the boxes have at least a 92" high door opening so double-stacked pallets can fit inside, and a width of 96" inside to be able to fit the modern automotive style pallets. Anything with dimensions bigger than these is all the better. The 22' length won't hurt you.
-Weave-

 

[guest]

Thx for the info. I went to look at the 9400 IH's today and wasn't impressed. And, the 22' box i knew of is sold. There is still a really, really clean 9400 here in town, but it's got the N14 in it. I like the engine, but for a starter truck, I just trust the s60 more, can't help it. I guess I'm still looking, I'm going to Memphis soon to look at some 9200 IH fleet trucks with 12.7's in them. I would like to have either a 9200 IH or a century freightliner with 12.7, of course the century's are 120" cabs so back to the 22' box :+

I guess a little patience will be required, got any to spare?

I hope everyone is having a safe and profitable new year

 

[Weave]

You would be able to use a 24' box on a Century with the 70" integral sleeper, provided you switch to horizontal exhaust. My Columia w/70" sleeper and 24 footer has the same dimensions as the Century, they are virtually identical trucks underneath the cosmetics. Shouldn't be a problem with the Internationals either.
I was just talking to my cousin who has a Pete with the Cummins N14. Although it wasn't his first pick for an engine in a truck either, he got the truck at the right price, and low and behold said the N14 has been just fine so far. I think you'll get good and equal service with any of the big truck engines, I don't really know of any that stand out as being bad. The CAT C10,12,15, and 16 are suppose to be the "Cadillacs," but that is most likely a lot of myth. Talking to my mechanic, he does about an equal amount of repairs on all the engines regardless of make, and hasn't found any perticular one that has been "outstanding." I don't think I would have any reservations about buying that International with the N14 as long as it was checked over by a good diesel mechanic and given a clean bill of health and the price is right. If it's clean, chances are it was probably well cared for.
-Weave-

 

[guest]

Hey Weave, thx for the vote of confidence on the N14. I'm can't help not being interested in that truck. You've looked at enough trucks that you know what I'm talking about when you see one that stands out, not because of the pretty paint and chrome, but because of the excellent condition of the interior, and body. This truck seems to have been well cared for.

As for the body lengths, I have to disagree with you (at least till one of us can prove otherwise). I have looked at the specs of the IH9400 vs. IH9200 and the Frtl'r Columbia vs. Century. On the manufactures website the IH9200 and the Columbia show a cab length of 112" while the Ih9400 and the Century show a cab length of 120".

Do you know for sure that your truck is 112" or 120"? I did see an ad for a used Columbia stating that it was 120", so I may have missed something in the spec sheet or they may have made changes in '03 or '04.

Anyway, I haven't taken a tape measure to any of them "yet", but i certainly will. I'm thinking that the 120" cabs are not going to be able to handle a 24' box without fudging the 40' rule by maybe 4-6".
Please correct and enlighten me if I'm wrong, this info will play an important part in my decision of what truck to buy.

Think I'll run by and measure the 9400 today


Have a good one,

 

[Weave]

My Columbia is the long 120" model CL120. The 112 is a new short Columbia tractor designed for city/shorthaul service. http://www.freightlinertrucks.com/trucks/find-by-model/columbia-truck/
Most are the 120" configuration like the Century. Really the only thing different on the outside of a Century vs a Columia are the hoods.
My truck was listed at a length of 38' 8" on the sepcs from the dealer I bought it at. I did take a long fiberglass tape out today to measure it myself, and they were off by a foot, possibly a typo. But, the truck came in at 39' 8". There were some "bows" in my measuring tape as it went the distance of the truck, so it is in reality a bit shorter. In the year and a half I have been running it its length has never been questioned any authorities, and it is legal even if it ever is questioned. So, I can rest assure you that you can use a 24' box with the 120" cab and 70" sleeper. Just don't try to add a liftgate or anything that might stick out further on the back. The two extra feet vs a 22 footer does come in handy for storage.
I could squeeze 12 pallets on the 24 footer if I didn't have my pallet jack and bulkhead, etc, but I keep it on my dispatch sheet for 10 pallets on the floor.
A lot of guys, esp those with 22 footers add tool boxes to the frame for storage. I don't see how those could hold a tire or pallet jack, and personally feel they block off the frame around the back and keep it from getting properly washed.
So, if you can use a 24' box you are better off. You won't sacrifice the ability to get freight with a 22 footer though, just some storage space for larger items.
-Weave-

 

[guest]

Hey Weave, I just returned from measuring the IH 9400. It measured 15'5" to the rear of the cab. Just as you said, I should be able to allow 4-5" for air space and still have a 24' box. Thanks again for some very accurate info. Sorry for questioning it, but I've learned to be careful and trust nothing till I prove it to myself.

Now, I just have to convince myself of the N14 and that may not be so hard. I've heard a lot of good things about those motors too. As a matter of fact, I just sold a dump trailer to a guy from Chicago. He came down with Volvo tandem axle N14. He had just replaced the rearends and had the computer reprogramedto 4.11 ratio. He was amazed that it was showing 11 mpg deadhead. He didn't believe it and went as far as checking the fuel tank. It was nearly full. That was on a 500 mile run. So, as I told a friend that was with me. That tells me the N14 is "capable" of good mileage! I've heard stories of the N14's doing better on mileage than the detroits, although I doubted them. But maybe I need to re-think on this. There are other reasons why this 9400 would work well for me and the condition of the truck forces me to be interested in it.

One more question on the box length. The 24' length on the box, is that total or inside space? I can see where that could sneak up on and take a bite of my plan :+

I hope you catch this before leaving out again, I might try to make a deal on that truck this week.

Thx again for alot of good advice,

 

[Weave]

You just made me think of something I forgot, which is very important regarding making a 24' box work with a 120" BBC and 70 inch sleeper. My 24' Morgan GVSD box was either modified at the rear frame when my truck was built, or was special ordered from Morgan to be a little shorter. I have the inside floor length measurement at 23' 5", and there only about a 1/2 inch lip outside the door to the end of the truck. Morgan lists the 24' GVSD to be 24' 5 5/8" outside, so that 5 5/8 inches plus a little more was removed from mine. A apologize for not remembering this, and I can see it makes a big difference when the numbers are added up. Glad I caught you before I left.
But, not all box makers do things the same, and you might still be able to find a stock 24' box to work without changing it. If you know the exact outside length of your tractor and box before you do the build, I think that is the only way to be 100% safe you'll stay under 40'. The 120" bumper to back of cab spec many of the makers use is not always exactly that either- on my Columbia the 120" + 70" sleeper should equal 190", but it's more like 185", or right on there with the 15' 5" of the International you are looking at.
So I guess you have one of two options if you want to use that tractor with a stock used 24' box that actually come in around 24.5'.- either have the box shortened up a little (probably still cheaper and better than frame mounted tool boxes), or use a 22' box.
To keep things simple and cheap, you look to be safest with the 22 footer plan. The person who originally built my truck obviously didn't mind messing around a little to get the extra box length, I wouldn't do it myself.
Taking a wild guess, I would say the box I have was special ordered, as the fleet owner from NY who built these (there were two idential trucks built) special ordered the chassis from Freightliner with the long double frames- they are not stretched tractors. He spared no expense on the builds, I estimate these came in at around $90k+ each. They were leased to Panther II. Mine was repoed after 54k miles, the other one I saw about 6 months ago being towed to an auction yard near Harrisburg, PA, still dressed in its Panther uniform.

-Weave-

 

[guest]

I think that pretty well sums it up. I now know what I'm dealing with concerning the truck and box length. I can still trade for the truck if possible and either way, I won't get hurt. I won;t be in any big hurry to get the truck built so, I will have plenty of time to consider all options with the box length. I just wanted to be sure that I wasn't getting into something that wouldn't work out. Myself, I am fairly handy with the fabrication and modification side of things. I work as a toolmaker and have access to a good welding/fabrication shop of a close friend. He's always eager to tackle something new and he does it as a sideline from his regular job, so normally doesn't hurt me too much on the cost. We actually converted one truck from an integral sleeper to a day cab in order to make a dump truck out of it. It was the same kind of deal as the IH 9400 I'm looking at. The truck was clean and tight and I felt warranted the extra effort in order to have a good truck. Never regretted it for a minute "after" we got it converted :+ Talking about a leap of faith, neither of us had ever done such a thing before, but we had several people that couldn't tell it was a conversion until we pointed out places where it wasn't the same as a factory day cab. Anyway, long winded way of saying that I might not care to tackle the modification on the 24' box if necassary.

If that is what I do, I might ask for some pics of the rear of your box, could you help me with that? Just a few pics of the basic structural modifications that you think would be necassary to reduce the length. I will definitly take my tape measure with me when I look at a box anyway. I can probably tell by looking how much trouble it would be to modify. As stated earlier, this is something I can worry with after I know for sure what truck I'll be deaing with. The dealer may laugh at me with the offer I have in mind for trading on this 9400. Seems to happen that way alot

This has been a very, very helpful and informative thread for me, if I end up with a truck, I'll have a real good idea of where I stand as far as building it into an expediter. I can thank you for that Weave.

So....THANKS! ...ALOT! ,

 

[Weave]

No load today, so I measured and examined my box carefully.
It's length came in at 23' 9", quite a bit shorter than what Morgan www.morgancorp.com says the outside dimension of 24' 5 5/8" for the GVSD is. There are no obvious signs of it being modified though, and special order boxes of any length are available from Morgan, so I think that's what it is- a "23.5 footer" that was special ordered.
The builder of the truck must have originally planned on just using a 22' box when the chassis was built, as there are approx 2' sections of frame welded to the back of the factory frame to accommodate this box. I think he learned things as far as what was available as he went along, and changed some plans along the way.

Making a box shorter doesn't look to be too big of a job for anyone who can cut and weld. If you have the time and don't mind doing it, the effort would be worth it. The extra storage space is more useful than tool boxes, and there have been times the extra length has been needed, once recently with some stainless pipes that would not have made it into a 22' box.

Hope you can make the deal on that 9400 and get something put together before spring. I don't think I would have any reservations against the Cummins N14, esp knowing it's just going into an expedite truck. I also think the Internationals have a little better quality than Freightliner, I didn't really want another Freightliner when I bought the Columbia, but the truck was sweet as far as its specs go and the price was right, so sometimes you have to make some tradeoffs. Overall, so far, so good. Planning out and doing your tractor stretch will yield better results than buying an off-the-shelf class 7 expediter.
If you need any help or pictures (driveshafts are a nightmare with these trucks, mine uses 4) just let me know.

-Weave-

 

[guest]

Well, do you want the good first or the bad?..lol...I talked to the guy today with 9400. He wouldn't even look at my trade-in. A 2002 chev. 4x4. I know he trades 4 wheelers too, but I didn't buy any of my gravel trucks from this guy and he's had stick up his butt toward me ever since. It's a shame, he has a nice truck and I would have been willing to let him have my pickup at book value..his loss. I didn't tell him that I would do that with the pickup after he showed his snotty attitude.

I do know where an '00 century is and on paper, it's a nice truck and also several '00 IH 9200's. All of these trucks have the 12.7 in them too and for the same price or less than the 9400. I just have to drive a little farther to look. Hopefully...one of these other trucks will be as clean as the 9400 was. I agree with you that the IH's seem to be a little better truck, but if i could afford it, I would be trying to chase down that brother truck to yours that you mentioned earlier. You did get a sweet deal on a nice truck.

Back to the box thing, I was thinking last night...if I was only fudging the 40' rule by a 2 or 3 inches, I might just run it till someone gave me a reason to change it. Do you have any idea of what kind of fine or "other problems" they could give you for being over length by just a few inches?

Have a good one,

 

[guest]

Oh btw, I talked to a guy today from here in Arkansas that is an expediter. I think I saw a post of yours somewhere talking about someone who took a load to Alaska once. This guy did that same thing once too. He didn't say who he was leased to at the time. He's running under his own authority now. Anyway, he gave me a lot of good info. I'm probably going to go meet him in person soon, maybe this weekend. He lives just a few miles from my brother in central AR. I've been looking for a good, direct contact here close to home..maybe I've found it?
A co-worker is related to this guy and got me his cell phone #.

Thx for all the help, I'll keep you posted on how the truck shopping goes. I'm not in too much of a hurry. I would love to be out there, but I have to make sure I get it right the first time. Obvioulsy, I've pretty much talked myself out of doing what everyone has advised and that's to drive for someone else a while before i buy a truck. My thing is that quitting my current job is the gamble. Once I make that decision, then I might as well jump in with both feet. I don't know why, but I just like to learn things on my own and take the hard knocks along with it. I think that doing the truck this way, I can come ok on the truck no matter what. I'll be able to pay for a good part of it up front. My figures on the 9400, I was going to borrow 15K to get it one the road. I have plans to work out a partial rental on my house to my sister and brother-n-law. Keep a room for me when I'm home. That would eliminate nearly all of my expenses here. I could make it on just about nothing that way...lol

Ok...gotta quit writing, Thx for all the help Weave,