issue, bed or tray

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crushers

crushers

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Derwent Alberta
as some of you know, i have a ultra low km exfire truck 75 series.
a couple years ago i put a home made aluminum tray on it.
i do use it for hauling and that tray is SOOOOO nice to work with, so practical and as i read elsewhere, ugly.

then i came across some factory 79 beds and bought a couple with the intention of removing the tray and installing the bed for the factory look. they are not practical but they do look damn nice.

then i came across a LHD 2012 79 series cab and box, so now i have 3 beds and a hard top cab all in really really nice shape.

i had the intention of getting a 77, bobbing it behind the rear doors, install the back off the 79 cab, stretching the frame and installing a box. then making another box into a 79 trailer to match the truck ... cool idea ...

but

then i went and got a load of wood again and the flat floor made for really nice stacking, the drop down sides made for easy removal and clean up, when a block fell from the top of the pile onto the floor i shrugged. if that had been a factory box i would have winced.

so now, what do i do? keep it the way it is? install the cab and box and sell the 75 cab? just install the box?
or

:hhmm:

what would you do?

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What are your intentions with the truck?

Tray is ugly but practical. Less to hurt if you wheel it and you not care pivoting off it in the trees.

Boxes are just nice to look at, I would wince a bit scratching and hurting one personally.

Depends if you want a show truck or a user.

A dual cab ute from a 77 would be cool. I would love one but its never going to happen. I'll buy a cummins down the road to replace it and in the end haul more with no effort.

Ditch the factory box idea for the trailer. It would be cool but are you ok with loading it to the hilt with logs, rocks or shingles? My dad did make a trailer out of a land rover box and it turned out well though but I can't imagine investing huge money into one and I mean more than you paid for the box itself.
 
what would I do huh.

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I would sell my soul for one of those trucks personally. I would personally take the kiwi one just for preference. Wouldn't mind either but I think the tray is better suited to loading an ATV in the back or still jamming stuff in it as you can get it right flat. If I could have get one for my 77 I would.

I am a sucker for the dual cabs personally.
I would leave your 75 the way it is because in the end when you sell it your not going to make any more money (in my opinion) for putting a box on it. Yes its got its cool factor but in the end your using it as a little run around work truck. Its a cool shop truck. I am not a fan of single cab trucks because the lack of security and space. If I take my dog and girlfriend out to the lake and it starts pissing rain do you think my girlfriend is going to want a wet dog and the two of us in the 75. I highly doubt it. That is a big factory why I sold mine in the end. Other than the fact buying a house was a smarter idea than investing another 10k + for a single cab truck and I would be into a vehicle for close to 20k if not more. Not to mention I don't have the time, space or money in the end to throw at two cruisers. Plus the market for those is gone I am sorry to say. Its hard enough getting someone to buy a used cruiser at 20k, its a select few.

I think you should make your dream truck, something that you are going to hang onto for awhile. I love 77s, 79s and troopies personally. I wish the 77 was big like the troopy or a hj61 but everybody has compromises. I would want a big tray or box for the ATV and all your s***.

Dual cab ute a 77/78 with a 1hd-ft with the biggest possible factory tray or box.:meh: in the end i don't think you could go wrong if you really want it.
Just don't botch the rear of the cab. The kiwi ones look the best. Then when your bored of it i'll trade you for my 77 if its snazzy.

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This is my advice ( sage advice if I say so myself ) ...
If you are going to work the truck on a regular basis ( haul firewood ) I would stick with the tray. If you are only going to drive the truck to Cruiser events where you are prone to sit back and admire it ( picture yourself with a beer in your hand ) than go with the factory box.
The thought of scratching my factory box, inside or outside almost brings me to tears. :D
 
Im sure there is someone out there with the skills to make a tray that looks a bit like the factory tub.
In any case ,the cab chassis models here are 99% trays and they just look normal to me.
My question would be "Do I go steel or alloy?"
 
Is that red truck running on stock suspension or was it beefed up to accommodate the fire truck body?
 
If you are to sell the fire truck to someone besides to someone in Australia I'm sure the tub will be a much better seller.

Cut the tub and build it to suit a 75 chassis and put it in the shed, when you want a change ,selling or going to some wheelin event it's a easy 8 bolt change.

Trays are super practical and cheap to fix if you even want or need to fix it , I had a mate in a troopy hit the back of my tray one night out wheelin and I though it was funny. If that was a tail gate with a big Toyota badge across the back it would be off to the panel beaters for repair and $$

But tubs look better


Also build a dual cab from a Prado with a short oem tub to have 4x coils and full size back doors non of this half effort Toyota nonsense then ship it over to me :D
 
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I have a tray on my Ute and find it so much more versatile than a tub, drop down sides make for easy loading and unloading. The contructiin is much more robust with many more options for tie downs etc etc. Tub looks good though......
 
Clint79 said:
If you are to sell the fire truck to someone besides to someone in Australia I'm sure the tub will be a much better seller.

Cut the tub and build it to suit a 75 chassis and put it in the shed, when you want a change ,selling or going to some wheelin event it's a easy 8 bolt change.

Trays are super practical and cheap to fix if you even want or need to fix it , I had a mate in a troopy hit the back of my tray one night out wheelin and I though it was funny. If that was a tail gate with a big Toyota badge across the back it would be off to the panel beaters for repair and $$

But tubs look better

Also build a dual cab from a Prado with a short oem tub to have 4x coils and full size back doors non of this half effort Toyota nonsense then ship it over to me :D
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I'll send you my 77 he will sell me the dual cab ute....
 
Clint79 said:
I will gladly take your 77 , specially knowing it has a gturbo :D
Those things are fxxxing rediculous
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I think your buddies is slightly more hopped up than mine. Not down playing mine, I love the thing!
Just wait until a few other mods are done, it should truly go very well with what I have planned.
 
Why not keep both?

When i installed an onboard air setup with bags, tank etc i removed the tray to make it easier.

While the tray was off i changed the wiring so that it all went to one plug (8 pin i think) to avoid re-soldering wires.

I only had to make up a basic collapsable double A frame with beam across to support tray, lifted with a chain block and then drive out from under.

The tray ended up on some bunnings (your version of harbour freight) cheap castors to move around when in the way.

Glad i did the one plug modification as the tray had to be removed later on when i fit a long range fuel tank and move some of the plumbing around, made the job way easier being able to work from above.

I was suprised how quickly and easily these trays can be removed and installed.
 
the suspension that came with the fire truck was STIFF.
i left 4 leafs and added airbags to the rear. the pic has no air in the bags.
when you add the air then the truck sits (more or less) level with a good heavy load in the bed.
the front leafs are still stock.

i really like the tray but my helper convinced me to buy a couple factory boxes.
i could add axles under the tray and make a kick ass trailer. put the box on the truck.

i am not a big fan of trailers though.
1978HJ45 said:
Is that red truck running on stock suspension or was it beefed up to accommodate the fire truck body?
Click to expand...
 
#17
crushers
10k Club
...... " The suspension that came with the fire truck was STIFF. " .......

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Are you trying to say that every time I leave the pavement and end up chipping a tooth it's because my suspension is stiff? :D
The HJ75 could benefit was those "bouncy seats" that are offered on other 70 Series.
 
well, the conversion with airbags made the ride SOOOO much nicer ...
now, i do have a couple sets of those "bouncy seats" here if you have a use for them.
 
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