General F450 questions

[jkar8500]

Hi all my names John and I'm new to this forum. I am researching buying a vehicle to carry a truck camper and think an F450 dually would be ideal. I do not need any more space then a regular cab as it will just likely be myself and my son. I've been looking on Ebay for ideas and have a few questions. I see a lot of vehicles with flat beds on them, dump bodies or service bodies. I'd like to get some comments on possibly buying something like this, removing whatever it is off the frame and replacing it with a pick up bed. I'd like to put a Knap Pack box after the cab and the pick up bed behind that. I like the idea of extra storage the Knap Pack would provide. My questions are:

1) Is this a stupid idea?
2) If not is there a specific wheel base I should be looking for?
3) I've found very little info on the Knap Pack on the internet. Does anyone know the approximate costs? Is there another company making something similar?
4) Can a 1999 - 2003 F450 be fitted with an under body auxiliary gas tank such as made by Aerotanks? I've seen a tank they make that goes along the driver side frame rail. Would all that weight on one side of the truck affect the truck handling?
5) Last question (for now) is there a spare tire on an F450 and if so where is it stored?

I appreciate any and all comments

regards,

John K.

[2006PSDSD]

Why are you set on the 450? The 350 should do anythign you want it to, and some things will cost you less, such as registration fees, tires (450's have 19.5" wheels, making tire choices slim). What kind of camper are you looking at, weightwise?

I don't know much about the other questions you asked though, sorry. The spare tire should be in the back tucked up in the frame rails

[Arctic Fox]

John

I can't speak for the '99-'03 450's, but my '06 450 does not have a place to store a spare tire. The 40 gal OEM fuel tank is in the rear, right where the spare tire would be mounted on a 250/350, I also have the OEM 19 gal second tank option on my truck, it's mounted in between the frame rails in the normal 250/350 fuel tank position.
As you can see in my avatar I have a 8' pick-up bed on the truck, it's a 176" WB with a 16k GVWR. I looked at buying a 350 DRW.... but the weight of my camper would of put me over the rated capacity.
I use the truck to carry my slide in truck camper (5000lbs) and pull a cargo trailer at the same time, PM me your email address if you would like to see pics with the camper in the truck.

Daryl

[jkar8500]

The dry weight of the camper I'm looking at is 2841 lbs. Once it's stocked I would think it's going to be at least 4000 lbs. Eventually when I retire I want to RV full time and I don't ever want to have to worry that I'm overweight. F350 or F450 from what I've read on the truck camper websites the first thing they recommend is having 19.5's. If I got a F350 the cost to upgrade to 19.5's would be a lot. Thanks for your advice. John

[dannanw]

any cab-chassis dont have a place for a spare like normal trucks do, the wheel base on the 450 and 550 are diff than the 350, measure the cab to axel number that will tell you info on the bed. they all have diff beds cause a normal 350 bed is to short. any other info just PM me, just finnished mine about 6m ago.

[2006PSDSD]

I didn't know that about the spare tire . 450 and 550 are purpose built, for towing, so that would be good for you it sounds like. Ignore me, most do

[jkar8500]

Originally Posted by 2006PSDSD

I didn't know that about the spare tire . 450 and 550 are purpose built, for towing, so that would be good for you it sounds like. Ignore me, most do

Who knows, after I research this I may end up with an F350. Thats where I started looking. It might be overkill to get the F450 but I only want to do this once. BTW I wouldn't ignore anything anyone with more knowledge then me has to say. I like and agree with your comment on patriotism.

thanks again,

John

[2006PSDSD]

Originally Posted by jkar8500

Who knows, after I research this I may end up with an F350. Thats where I started looking. It might be overkill to get the F450 but I only want to do this once. BTW I wouldn't ignore anything anyone with more knowledge then me has to say. I like and agree with your comment on patriotism.

thanks again,

John

My 350 is going to haul anything I want it to, plus some . The payload for my truck is 4400 lbs, and I think the LB trucks are a bit higher. A set of air bags to level it and you're good to go. Then the 5ver is easy to do too. I could live comfortably out of a 25ft fifth wheel , but that all depends on how big you want. There are some huge/heavy campers out there