Hi fellow Cycloners. (Is that a word? Stategery?) Been a while since I last posted and browsed so I thought I would check in and show off my new dually conversion/toter bed. It turned out much better than I expected.
A little recap, we traded in our 3611 at the end of last year for the 4007. 3611 really had a bad design and if you put a case of beer in the fridge, you were overloaded…. My F350 (lots of powertrain and suspension mods) towed it just fine but I wanted a little wider stance and literally was not using the bed. Youngest kid goes off to college in a few weeks and my wife and I want to do some longer trips. Was originally going to get the dually fenders for my stock bed but decided to build the toter. Lighter, easier to hitch/unhitch, more visibility and a little more clearance when maneuvering.
California vehicle laws are pretty convoluted as they pertain to bed swaps and pulling RVs but as a 28 year recently retired Ca cop, I knew it would be some hassles to get it registered so I will be legal. I know many say throw a “Not For Hire” sticker on the side and call it good. In practice that will probably not be a problem in California unless one gets into a wreck or gets stopped for a moving or equipment violation. You may be in for a very expensive lesson.
One of my best friends is a manager at my local DMV and I have good contacts at CHP. Otherwise it would be a nightmare trying to determine what I need. I already have a Class A commercial license so I am good there. In CA a pickup is registered as a commercial vehicle but is exempt from most of the commercial regulations. Gets tricky when you pull the bed off. Whether you put another bed on or not, you are no longer a pickup and have to pay commercial weight fees (weight sticker on the side of the truck) and are no longer exempt from pulling into scales like pickup trucks. If you use it for commercial purposes, even once, you have to get a motor carrier permit and weight sticker and display them on the truck. Non commercial use pickup and vehicles 26000 lbs or less are exempt.
So to be legal (and protected) I have a couple things to do. I have to change the Body Type Model (BTM). Choices are motor truck (truck tractor), flatbed or “other” which I am going to choose. There is an ongoing push for changes of BTM classes for non commercial uses and farm trucks. If I call it a flatbed now I may be stuck as a flatbed. BTM change will be free but it’s going to cost me $435 a year for a 26k GCWR sticker. Better than a 1k to 2k fine. DMV wants their money. In reality, the scales do not want private party RVs driving through so while in California I will drive on by. Biggest thing is if I am legal in Ca I am good in all states.
We went on a short trip to test the truck out. Truck has a 7.3 Powerstroke so I also converted the EBPV into an exhaust brake. First what a difference in stability. Single wheel rearend did good but was a little boaty. Now I drop the trailer on the hitch, level it out with the airbags and it is solid as a rock. Exhaust brake really made a difference too. The trip we took involves a long grade where I am normally in 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] gear and feathering the brakes to keep me 45 or so to prevent a runaway. This trip, 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] gear, OD off, exhaust brake on, and it coasted down the grade at 55 unassisted.
Post is getting pretty long so I will post the pictures and call it good. Happy traveling.
A little recap, we traded in our 3611 at the end of last year for the 4007. 3611 really had a bad design and if you put a case of beer in the fridge, you were overloaded…. My F350 (lots of powertrain and suspension mods) towed it just fine but I wanted a little wider stance and literally was not using the bed. Youngest kid goes off to college in a few weeks and my wife and I want to do some longer trips. Was originally going to get the dually fenders for my stock bed but decided to build the toter. Lighter, easier to hitch/unhitch, more visibility and a little more clearance when maneuvering.
California vehicle laws are pretty convoluted as they pertain to bed swaps and pulling RVs but as a 28 year recently retired Ca cop, I knew it would be some hassles to get it registered so I will be legal. I know many say throw a “Not For Hire” sticker on the side and call it good. In practice that will probably not be a problem in California unless one gets into a wreck or gets stopped for a moving or equipment violation. You may be in for a very expensive lesson.
One of my best friends is a manager at my local DMV and I have good contacts at CHP. Otherwise it would be a nightmare trying to determine what I need. I already have a Class A commercial license so I am good there. In CA a pickup is registered as a commercial vehicle but is exempt from most of the commercial regulations. Gets tricky when you pull the bed off. Whether you put another bed on or not, you are no longer a pickup and have to pay commercial weight fees (weight sticker on the side of the truck) and are no longer exempt from pulling into scales like pickup trucks. If you use it for commercial purposes, even once, you have to get a motor carrier permit and weight sticker and display them on the truck. Non commercial use pickup and vehicles 26000 lbs or less are exempt.
So to be legal (and protected) I have a couple things to do. I have to change the Body Type Model (BTM). Choices are motor truck (truck tractor), flatbed or “other” which I am going to choose. There is an ongoing push for changes of BTM classes for non commercial uses and farm trucks. If I call it a flatbed now I may be stuck as a flatbed. BTM change will be free but it’s going to cost me $435 a year for a 26k GCWR sticker. Better than a 1k to 2k fine. DMV wants their money. In reality, the scales do not want private party RVs driving through so while in California I will drive on by. Biggest thing is if I am legal in Ca I am good in all states.
We went on a short trip to test the truck out. Truck has a 7.3 Powerstroke so I also converted the EBPV into an exhaust brake. First what a difference in stability. Single wheel rearend did good but was a little boaty. Now I drop the trailer on the hitch, level it out with the airbags and it is solid as a rock. Exhaust brake really made a difference too. The trip we took involves a long grade where I am normally in 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] gear and feathering the brakes to keep me 45 or so to prevent a runaway. This trip, 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] gear, OD off, exhaust brake on, and it coasted down the grade at 55 unassisted.
Post is getting pretty long so I will post the pictures and call it good. Happy traveling.
