Anyone had their frame shortened?
What is the average cost?
Any alignment nightmares or related problems afterwards?
My sleeper has metal cab extensions, then rubber ones on that. The trailer sits 41" behind that. Would it be worth it to have the frame shortened? How much shorter?
*edited* it sits 41" behind, not 21" *

And, fuel economy aside, my truck is almost too heavy for my company. How much weight would I lose? ie, what does frame weigh per inch?

 

Shortening is around $1500, that doesn't include the shorter driveshaft, what is your wheelbase? You may be too short to shorten it.

As far as weight, if you shorten it 3 feet you will save maybe 300 pounds, MAYBE.

Unless it is so long that you can't manuver it anywhere, you would be wasting time and money.

 

Thanks Maniac:

I pull vans and reefers, and seeing them sit so far behind me compared to most other trucks makes me think it must be killing my fuel economy. My truck sleeper goes right to the top -13'6".

If I could lose 300lbs, theres about 40 more gallons fuel I can cross scales with.

Makes for a tough decision, thanks again.

 

I doubt that 20 inches is going to make that much difference to the wind effects to change your fuel economy that much. As to the weight, if you have twin-stacks, get rid of one and you'll lose about the same amount of weight. I've seen that done many times. And, if the stacks are on the side, behind the doors, move the one behind the sleeper to get rid of the wind effects on the muffler guard.

What the longer wheelbase will do is restrict you from using some roads, especially in VT.

 

Moving a set of air ride tandems forward is a lot of work and it ain't gonna be cheap. Everything has to be aligned perfectly at all 4 wheel positions or your truck will "dog track" or experience excessive tire wear, the middle crossmember that the torque rods connect to has to be relocated to the proper spot, the transverse torque rods have to be relocated.

Lots of holes to drill which requires the use of a magnetic frame drill.

Then there's the cost of modifying the driveshaft, and modifying all the air lines and reconnecting them

The easy part is cutting off the excess frame at the rear after moving the tandems forward.

.

 

Thanks everyone:

Kranky listed the concerns I had, if everything isn't drilled in exactly the right place, I could have alignment nightmares. Windwalker nailed the number, I was thinking of shortening by about 20". If its not going to make much fuel economy difference, there's no point in doing it then.

As for weight, it only has a single behind the cab exhaust, but thanks for the suggestion. I took off the side fairings that cover the fuel tanks, took out the top bed and one set of cabinets, I'm tempted to pull the passenger seat. Can't lighten it much more. Its about 20,000 lbs with 1/2 fuel, but my company would prefer much lighter.

I bought it new off the lot, so it leaves me wondering why they would order a 13'6" high truck with a frame long enough for a headache rack. My mistake for buying it. And the salesman knew I needed a light truck, I had already signed my life away and then almost died when I first scaled it. (that was 18 months ago).

Shortening the frame was just an idea I've had in the back of my mind, I guess it'll just stay there.

Thanks again, Barry F. (barf)