Hot shot with a straight truck

Ok hear me out as this will sound kinda ridiculous but its a thought I had. So as far as I can tell, all you hot shot drivers get a 3500 or some sort of cab and chassis truck with at most a 40' flat bed and depending on the situation, you need to get a class A. Well I only have a B, and as much as I want to get an A, I kinda want to entertain this idea.

Is it even feasible to do hot shot loads with a straight truck flat bed. I was thinking something like a Peterbilt 220 (cab over truck based off the European DAF). Because its a cabover, the entire cab is only about 5' - 6' long. That leaves you about 34' - 35' of frame to put a flat bed on the back. Now the 220's are only single axle trucks rated at 26K gross and with axle ratings around 12,000lbs front and 17,000lbs rear. The truck I would guess would weigh around 17,500lbs, so that would only give you about 5.75 ton payload capacity. Thats pretty weak. But if theres one thing driving dump trucks have taught me is that more axles will always help. So what if I throw in a pair of 10,000lbs 5 lug drop axles. now that puts me at 31,500 lbs payload capacity or 15.75 tons max on a 40' truck. And if the axles are set up properly spread wise, bridge law shouldn't be a problem and you'd be legal in the 48.

Now thats all in theory. The cons I see right away is that you now have a shorter load height since you are now loading on the frame and not off a low trailer. How ever I see a loss in what, 2 ft? thats not terrible but it could make a difference. another con I see is the height for loading. Driving loads on to the back will be near impossible with out a dock or something like a dove tail with folding ramps. Still kind of limits some things I feel. last con I see with the truck its self is that it is a cab over and its is SMALL. The euro market gets a extended cab that allows for a bunk but I dont know if Pete offers that. So there is no sleeping in the truck unless I get a aftermarket sleeper. But I have a feeling that will be an issue with the forward lifting cab for service. Also that cuts out on deck space. maybe only by another 4' or 5', but thats still something. Also who knows what kind of fuel mileage you'd get with a cabover.

but some pros I see with this is that the truck is shorter than a typical truck and trailer. Also you have less wheels and tires on the ground when empty and even when loaded with light loads. You also get air brakes which I feel is a must have. Engine in these petes is the PACCAR PX7, which I believe is just Petes version of the 6.7 cummins. She makes 260hp and 680ft lbs max and can be mated to any Allison trans. That power is a bit lower than most diesel pickups these days but the benefit I see is that these engines are design to run hard all the time and with heavier loads and not have a risk of failure.

So tell me gang. Is this even a doable option? I have never driven hot shot so I don't really know what the typical load is like as well as their usual weights. But my idea of the truck is to have a lower maintenance on a smaller platform and haul the same as you guys with truck and trailer.



this is sorta my idea of what I envision.

 

cost is a good question. it will probably be a bit more than a brand new truck and trailer... maybe. I think it depends on whether you go new or used. The 15ton load limit is a stretch. I dont think it would be doing that that often. To save cost, you could dump one of the lift axles and run at about a 12 ton capacity. Even at 15 ton, the truck wont be fast with a 260 horse engine, but it could handle the wear and tear. Peterbilt does offer a PX9 engine which I think is good for like 350hp and 1100 ft lbs but I dont know if they offer it in the 220. MPG is a big question. I cant find any numbers even from regular box truck versions. And yeah sleeper options would probably be either very limited or impossible. All these questions were why I created this thread.

 

Well that is what I'm looking to do, but I was looking to get the longest possible flatbed set up. Hence the cab over.

 

It wouldn't be easy. Realistically I would try to find a way to modify a small sleeper onto the truck that either flips up with the cab or can separate it from the cab when you flip it up. Idk and thing is possible, just figuring out how.

And the whole point of this thread was to see if it's even possible. That's all