Probably not so much so in Europe, but it’s the first flatbed Sprinter I’ve seen. And a very flat bed it is.
Curbside Outtake: The Rather Unusual Mercedes Sprinter Flatbed – Flat As A Board
– Posted on November 5, 2020
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Curbside Classics Archives
I was reading recently on a van forum that some states wouldn’t allow new chassis-cab units to be registered without some sort of body. Perhaps this flatbed was assembled in the parking lot at the lumberyard or home store to sidestep such a regulation. But it looks pretty useful. I wonder if we’ll start seeing further “Europeanization” of some tradesmen’s trucks, beyond just box vans, as the Transit CC becomes popular.
Cab and Chassis vehicles are technically sold as “incomplete vehicle” by the OE mfg. The company that installs the body then adds another sticker to the door jab listing them as the final mfg and the legal weight ratings as completed. So yeah I can seem them not allowing an incomplete vehicle to be registered but I don’t know if a home built flatbed would be acceptable w/o that paper work and sticker from the final mfg.
I see them being driven fairly often with bare frames and temporary tags/plates. I suspect they are being transported to body upfitters, though.
They all have this neat little rig, made from 4×4 lumber with mud flaps and trailer lights screwed to it, ratchet strapped across the back of the frame.
This reminds me of a most “incomplete vehicle” I ever saw. A school bus cowl, hood and chassis being driven on SB hwy 41 south of Appleton WI, the driver in full black motorcycle leathers and a full race helmet! I wished I could have gotten a picture but I was driving northbound. The incomplete bus appeared brand new and on the way to get a body installed. From where and to where I have no clue.
Bare-bones to a fault: where are the tie-downs?
Maybe recessed in the deck?
I’m thinking it’s the ground floor of a custom “house” on wheels. I’m having a hard time seeing this as a load hauler.
I agree, it appears to be decked with plywood over a 2×4 frame which wouldn’t stand up to serious commercial use but makes a good floor for a tiny house on wheels.
Agreed with the gentlemen above that this isn’t a real cargo bed.
Professionally made and modern factory or aftermarket flatbeds come with removable dropsides and ditto stacks. Tie-downs are both on the inner side of the bed (alongside the dropsides, when up) and on the outer side, underneath the lower end of the bed. A flatbed without any of them is useless.
I’ve also seen slidable tie-downs, running through a rail on the outside of the dropsides.
Ditto stacks? Haven’t heard that term before.
Since this is in the US you rarely find drop sides on flat beds. Pockets for stake sides are common but not universal.
For tying down the cargo probably the most common option is a rail intended to be used with hook style ratchet straps.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Max-Load-2-in-x-27-ft-x-10-000-lbs-Flat-Hook-Ratchet-Tie-Downs-4-Pack-37224/301122540
Ditto as in removable and replace stacks by stakes…oops.
The stakes that hold the dropsides and can be pulled out of their pockets. On light trucks, halfway the bed and at the rear corners.
If you remove the dropsides and stakes altogether (a quick and easy job on a light truck), you end up with a flatbed like in your picture.
The guys installing the fence at my house today have one of these with low removable panels. Seems fairly useful for the job. A friend has a 3500 ram with the flatbed Scout shows above. The truck often haul a gooseneck trailer and large implements for skid steers and excavators so it makes sense for easy access versus a bed, but it’s kind of funny watching him strap his chainsaws to it when he’s traveling light with no sides.
I like that!
We do the same with the F-350 farm truck, except the bed is steel and the sides are just 2x4s painted black.
I didn’t realize you could get dump beds with a gooseneck hitch.
This is an older model year, maybe 2012ish? It has the front clip prior to my 2016 motorhome, which is on a 2015 Sprinter chassis. I suspect it started life as some sort of box truck……I see Sprinters a lot around my area for Lay’s potato chips, breads, Little Debbie, etc.
That one comes at 40K (!), which is about $6000 more than the normal Cargo Sprinter.
What’s that good for???
https://www.freightlinersprinterusa.com/freightliner/commercial-vans/cab-chassis
Perhaps to make something like this?
That Sprinter Chassis/Cab is a 3500 Chassis at minimum, the base Cargo is a 1500 from what I can tell.
It’s obviously for a very finely-skilled driver who delivers marbles.
I agree with Paul. This flatbed is not for hauling loads, but the platform for something else to be built on it.