"Super Pickup" Built From 2-Ton Van

"Super Pickup" Built From 2-Ton Van PICKUPS Miscellaneous 25-4-3 Robert Ellis, High Hill, Mo., needed a 1-ton pickup to pull his 28 1/2-ft. fifth wheel camper and 23 1/2-ft. trailer. He couldn't justify the cost of a new truck so he bought a used 1985 International Harvester S1900 2-ton moving van and converted it into a dually pickup equipped with a fifth wheel hitch on back. "I call it my æSuper Pickup'," says Ellis. "My total expense was about $10,000. A new 1-ton pickup sells for $35,000 to $40,000. And because it's an older truck I don't pay as much in taxes and insurance as I would for a new pickup." Ellis bought the truck used for $4,000. It came with a 200 hp diesel engine, dual wheels, and a 23 1/2-ft. long moving van body. He removed the body and cut the frame down to pickup length. He used diamond plate steel to build a 10-ft. bed and mounted an RV fifth wheel hitch in it. The bed is equipped with wooden side racks and a big toolbox on front. He mounted a 12-volt air compressor on the engine firewall and installed air bags under the chassis. He kept the original wheel rims but replaced the original 11.00 by 25 tires with smaller 23.5 by 22.5 ones. The smaller tires cause the truck to ride as low as possible to the ground, which makes it easier for the driver to get in and out of the cab. Because of the smaller tires, he had to speed up the rear end. He replaced the original 4:56 to 1 rear end with one that has a 3:70 to 1 ratio. A 125-gal. fuel tank and another smaller toolbox mount under the back part of the cab. He used the van body off the truck to make a car-hauling trailer. He built a new frame for the body and installed a set of new tandem axles under it, then added a fifth wheel hitch on front. "I get a lot of compliments on the truck," says Ellis, who made the conversion two years ago. "My wife and I use it to pull our fifth wheel camper to Texas during the winter. Anyone with some mechanical and welding ability could do it. These trucks are widely available and can be bought cheap. "I got the idea because the 3/4-ton pickup I was using to pull the camper had to work too hard. My æSuper Pickup' pulls a lot easier and isn't overloaded at all. It isn't as fuel efficient as a 1-ton pickup and it doesn't ride quite as good, but it'll last a lot longer because it's built much heavier. It's the same length as a standard cab 1-ton pickup, but it has a longer wheelbase since the rear axle is right at the back end of the bed. As a result, if we're in Texas for the winter we can park the camper and run around in the truck just like we would with a pickup. The truck cruises on the highway at 70 or 75 mph. It gets about 10 mph whether it's empty or pulling a trailer." Ellis carries the camper's generator inside the toolbox. The fuel tank and another toolbox mount under the bed. He says that he would've preferred to use a Ford Louisville 2-ton truck because is has a more comfortable cab than the one on the IH truck. "I didn't go with the Ford because it has an underpowered V-8 gas engine. The IH DT466 is a great engine, and I wanted to install it in the Ford. However, IH doesn't sell this engine separately so if you want it you have to buy their truck. One advantage of the IH cab over the Ford one is that the driver sits higher and has a better view of the road." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Robert Ellis, 3 Locust St., High Hill, Mo. 63350 (ph 636 585-2248).

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