Long wheelbase trucks

[Sledsel]

In what scenario would a long wheelbase truck be used or desired? Starting a new build and am extending the wheelbase and wish to incorporate an appropriate trailer. 

Thanks

[DRIPTROIT 71]

A lot of extended wheel base trucks are owner operators wanting a custom look. Except for pup trailers, I think that you could make most any other trailer work.  I personally would probably go with a box or a flat bed.

Years ago there was a man they called Joe Mustang who ran an old long wheel base H-model Mack and pulled a flat bed. I've never seen any pictures of it loaded this way, but I'm pretty sure that I read that he would let long loads overhang over the front of the trailer over the long truck chassis sometimes. It probably wouldn't work today, but I'm not sure what era of a truck you're building either.

Look up custom rigs online and see what trailers they're pulling and see what inspires you.

I hope this helps!

Brian

 

[purepmd]

Brian is exactly right. Factory built long wheelbase tractors are use specific, logging, steel hauling, anything where the load can hang over the truck frame, and not the back of the trailer.

The custom crowd, myself included, love long wheelbase frames, just looks so cool to me. An added benefit is that the front suspension has more time to recover from a compress/rebound event before the rear axles hit the same bump, or pothole, etc.., so the ride is actually, noticeably smoother. With an air ride front axle, even a cabover could almost be acceptable as far as ride is concerned.

Rough riding or not, still LOVE cabovers best. just my 2 cents worth.

Mark.

 

[Sledsel]

Thanks for the input. I was kinda leaning towards the new Mobius spread axle flatbed.

[iamsuperdan]

Has that new Moebius kit been released? Will have to go find one.

 

 

[plastic trucker]

C

Don't see any listed yet on any of the modeling sites I shop on.

[cowboy rich]

As has been said ride and look are 2 big ones but you also have the steel haulers that use the space to overhang the load and here in eastern Washington there are some that stretch them out and put a drom bed up there to carry more. 

There is a company in California that runs real long freightliner CO's with I think 60' trailers and have the trailer kingpin set way back so the extra length is over the frame. 

[leafsprings]

I agree with other comments, for the really long loads!

[Mike77]

[highway]

As has already been said, mostly today it is for ride and looks, just as with a few of my builds. I added a little extra when I stretched the frame to have some room between the trailer and the sleeper on my custom sleeper project, used a Papa Truck for a BJ and the Bear inspired custom, and a custom Pete 359 I took the spare framerails from the Can Do wrecker to stretch that frame out for a custom bullhauler. I'm one that just like the looks, gimmie 40 acres! ?

[Sledsel]

10 minutes ago, highway said:

As has already been said, mostly today it is for ride and looks, just as with a few of my builds. I added a little extra when I stretched the frame to have some room between the trailer and the sleeper on my custom sleeper project, used a Papa Truck for a BJ and the Bear inspired custom, and a custom Pete 359 I took the spare framerails from the Can Do wrecker to stretch that frame out for a custom bullhauler. I'm one that just like the looks, gimmie 40 acres! ?

That Ford is one looooooong truck!

 

[Mike77]

[highway]

22 hours ago, Sledsel said:

That Ford is one looooooong truck!

 

Yeah she is! When I originally began the project in 2010 for a community build on that "other" forum before some life issues and then just life and too much time in the real things had put it on hold for a while, it was going to pull the bullrack now going on the Pete and the frame for that Ford is as long as the trailer is! After the life issues smoothed out and I moved into my current place, the Moebius 53 had come out and I decided to switch the direction of it some, which made the total unit almost take up the entire 4 feet of length of the hutch on top of my build desk. Here's a better side view of it on the top of the hutch. 

The strange thing is, the plan I've always had floating around in my head for this, this is still short! ? A plan I had for about 20 years and even about 10 years before Moebius was even a company, let alone brought out the 53 footer, was to build a custom 180 sleeper truck pulling a set of 53 foot turnpike doubles! ? Whether or not I actually do that or not still, I don't know, because with not only with this but the BJ and the Bear inspired custom I have already violated one of my biggest building rules of NOT color matching trailers to tractors because I simply don't like them to be committed to one truck, especially if I would take them to any shows where I might place and they have rules about former winners not returning. If the trailers are matched to a truck, they have to be with that truck and wouldn't look right on something else, but a normal trailer could go back to the same show with another truck and same with the trucks with a different trailer. 

At least with the delays life threw my way, though now a severe shoulder injury caused by a stuck fifth wheel release on the real things have put much all my building and life itself on hold, it did allow thanks to the reissue of the Super Boss for me to put the engine I wanted under the hood, though it has been proving to be a tight fit with all the rest of the build near complete but at least there is just enough room for a V12 to fit under the hood! If I would have had this engine back when I started the build, this frame would have been even longer than it already is!