Best Chassis

[FFSKPII]

Which chassis has the best turning radious?
The ones that i am trying to compare are: FL M2, Navistar, HME SFO, HME 1871, Spartan Metro Star, Spartan Gladiator.

[tomwnh]

Depends on a lot of factors.

Wheelbase
Which front axle you are using
Which wheels you use on the axle
Tire size
Single or tandem rear axle

[MemphisE34a]

Which CHEAP chassis has the best turning radious?
The ones that i am trying to compare are: FL M2, Navistar, HME SFO, HME 1871, Spartan Metro Star, Spartan Gladiator.

There, I fixed it for you.

[Command6]

I agree with tomwnh, a lot of factors determine radius; particularly wheelbase and cramp angle.

There are also different methods of measuring turning radius. I recomend the wall-to-wall method as it measures the turning radius of the entire apparatus.

I believe of the two Spartan chassis you mentioned, the Metro Star is more narrow (96 inches wide) than the Gladiator.

C6

[jeremy1213]

hme 's sfo has i think the best turning radius. but i think sparatan also has one.

[52shelby]

We are looking for a smaller custom. What is Spartan's equivalent to the HME SFO?

Also, do they offer it in a 4x4?

[tomwnh]

Spartan offers three models of chassis, the Furion, Metro Star and Gladiator. There are too many options and various configurations to go into here but the short explanation is this.

Furion is the entry level model with a good deal of options but not as many as the other two models. Only available in one cab model, 94 inch wide 4 door with a 7" raised roof. At this time you are limited to a 360 HP engine. No 4X4 at this time either.

The Metro Star is a 94 inch wide cab and has a broad range of configurations and cab styles, 2 door to extra long 4 door cabs and many other options. Can get up to an ISM 425 HP engine in this chassis but with the new 2010 regs coming out this will be changing. 4X4 is available on this chassis

The Gladiator is the 96 inch wide cab and can be equipped with big HP. Cab options are same as the Metro Star, 2 door to extra long four doors and 4X4 available also.

The driving force on these are going to be budget and how you want the cab configured, number of seats, HP and what your major goals are for the apparatus.

The closest chassis Spartan makes to the SFO would be a Metro Star short 4 door.

Your best bet would to bring in some manufacturers that offer these chassis and let them tell you all the options available to you. You have to look at the overall picture of the apparatus you are building and not focus on just the chassis. The "best" chassis is the one that will meat your goals and should be decided using facts not opinions.

[islandfire03]

TOMWNH:
I though I saw somewhere in the literature that they would offer the Furion in a 2 door chassis. This would be ideal for a tanker setup with the right gvw.
We are in the process of building a spec to replace our 1985 GMC [isuzu] cabover tanker. the turning radius of that chassis is way better than all the rest of the tankers in this area,
We don't need it to haul bodies ,just water in a nimble package.

[tomwnh]

islandfire03, I was at a sales training meeting a couple of months ago and the Furion in a 2 door configuration was brought up. It is not available at this time but I got the impression that it was being looked at if not already under development. Someone that was at the meeting that runs a fleet of LCF trucks said they would be very interested in the Furion in a 2 door once they saw the specs on it. Was much heavier that what they were running now and thought it would be well worth the extra money to get a heavier spec.

Spartan does make the Metro Star in a two door but would be a little pricey. I have some photos of a couple Metro 2 doors if you would like to take a look. Shoot me your email address or a message thru here and I will forward them to you. My email address is northguy001@comcast.net

Another option might be what was the Freightliner Condor. IH just showed one at Waste Expo. The "new ALF" is building it but the chassis is now going to be marketed thru IH dealers. I delivered a couple of Condor chassis in down the in the Sanford Maine area a few years ago and it wasn't a bad chassis. One was a pumper and the other a singe axle pumper tanker.

[islandfire03]

Thanks Tom:
That was our thinking ,the gvw rating of the furion would make a nice tanker spec chassis.

[Command6]

Seems like I saw some photos of Metro-Dade ambulances on two door Furions?

C6

[tomwnh]

Just to make sure the info i am posting is 100% I just checked my Spartan quote system and the only cab available for the Furion is the Mid 4 door. Spartan just released an update a few days ago so had to make sure nothing was added that I might have missed in the release notes. Not saying a 2 door model isn't in the works but nothing yet.

Found these photos of some Miami Dade rigs.

[Mustang281]

Jesus, that Rescue looks almost as big as a small Engine.

[viperfire1]

U should see the ones on 4 door Freightliner and IH chassis with a bumper extension!

[txgp17]

If you're considering a commercial chassis with a 2-man cab, take a hard look at the Autocar ACX Xpeditor, and the Mack TerraPro Cabover.