What Carrier to get.

[wytruckwrench]

I am looking for our first light duty carrier. 
Looking to have one truck to do everything.  As a complement to our one heavy wrecker. 
We get a fair bit of snow and wind, would like a 4x4 550- 5500.  Is this enough truck to handle most everything light duty? 
Or do we need a bigger truck to better handle things?
The only reason to not go with a bigger truck is 4x4.  

What am I missing? 
Thank you. 
 

[jeff myer]

NRC

[Andy]

I have a steel chevron roll back F550 4wd 6.7 diesel. Its handles most light trucks ok ish. But being a steel deck diesel and 4x4 it’s heavy empty full of fuel chains myself it’s 15,500 empty I struggle with crew cab long wheel base one tons in length and weight and if the trucks got any extension on the front bumper it all gets tricky fast. If my deck was six inches longer  ( yep I put that in writing)  the actual loading would be better but the weight distribution still would be an issue. 
 

a one ton crew cab LWB that isnt winched literally as far forward as the headache rack is unstable and the load shift can leave you with poor steering and braking. I live in the mountains with steep grades and lots of hairpin corners it also seems like these tows are usually in the worst places possible as well. 
 

however short of a vehicle in this length weight configuration I really love this truck. I scrap about twenty cars a year maybe more I drag them on the deck with no wheels or missing suspension components without concerns which I would not do on an aluminum deck. 
 

in reality the perfect truck for me would be an aluminum 20 foot  deck without the wheel lift in a lariet package. The aluminum deck and lack of wheel lift should buy me the weight loss needed to have a one ton dually with camper on it and be safe enough to get it out if the mountain on gravel roads. I have  a dealer trying to put one together for me right now but it seems to be fictional for now. 
 

i will tell you I’ve hauled three one ton LWB crew cab diesel 4x4s in the worst possible weather this winter one was from the ski area as high up and crappy roads as we ever get ran with chains for 80 miles took them off and wished I’d left them on total sheet of ice after we got out of the falling snow. And when I wrapped up that tow I felt like Tarzan beating his chest. But my confidence level in what I can or can’t do with my truck is pretty good.

 

i have only used the wheel lift on one paying job and I stopped hauling two scrap cars at once after seeing another scrap guys rear car on fire I stopped and put it out even. Just no reason to take that risk. But loosing that weight off the very rear increases the payload a lot I also now have a wrecker so I have options if a wheel lift is preferred I also don’t do auction tows. Another tow guy I know told me he hates there aluminum deck roll backs prefers there steel decks but I can’t speak to that either way. I’ve hauled a couple sprinter vans but nothing extended and geared out I would like to load one and see how they play out but to date every call I’ve had on one I was to far out time wise to land the job. 
 

in short if the biggest thing you plan to tow is an unloaded LWB one ton get a steel deck with a 20 foot bed. If you may exceed that go with the aluminum. If you want to haul longer heavier loads Im thinking you’ll have to sacrifice the 4x4  myself I just use the 4x4 to much to even think about it. 
 

 

[yoBdaBenO]

Chevron, Jerr Dan.... Dad's got an old aluminum bed champion on barrels out back. He'll never let it go and he'll do anything with it.. He a Dual Tech once, tells everyone to stay away from those. Had they honored the warranty it might be a different story. He did get it fixed and sold it to a scrap yard in a day. As far as I know they are still using it around the yard many. Saw em last year out picking up lunch in it. We want to look into a Detroit Wrecker Bed sometime this year possibly. That's all I got for now.

[Chuckud]

I recently purchased a F550 diesel 4x4 Jerr Dan 20 foot XLP aluminum carrier...my thoughts are this;  Cars, Suvs & 1500 series pickups on the deck, it does VERY WELL!

2 vehicles are do able BUT

they should not be heavy.

We have used UD 1800 & 2000 21 FT carriers for 30 years (18k & 19.5k gvw) & they perform much better with 2 vehicles than the F550(19.5k gvw) does.

However, the F550 rides & handles well & has more than adequate power & braking.  The load angle is good & it is stable with a load on it.  The largest load thus far was a Ram 2500 mega cab diesel & it handled it better than I expected.  Just my 2 cents..

Also,  I didn't purchase this truck to haul 2 vehicles frequently....but we ALL know how it goes in this business....

 

Edited January 17, 2022 by Chuckud
Complete topic

[64fordholmes500]

Ford is doing the F600 4x4 with gvwr heavier than F550. If $ not an issue, I have seen a Freightliner 33,000 gvwr 4x4 as well. Only issue I saw was deck height.