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Stretch Ute (Pickup)

 For those unwieldy loads
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All too often I see loads of lumber, pipe, ladders and other long loads hanging over the tailgate/s of utes (the Aussie abbreviation of utility vehicle, which is a pickup in the US).

The solution is an extendable chassis section. It may be wound out by hand or by electric winch on the more upmarket models. Simply two chassis members nested inside each other and built to withstand the strain of reasonably heavy loads.

Most long materials here come in 6m (20ft) lengths, so this would be designed to accomodate.

—UnaBubba, Nov 16 2003

Chevrolet Avalanche http://www.gmcanada.../aval_overview.html
Alternate solution is this truck that has a reconfigurable bed, but doesn't go to 6m. (1.6m or 5ft 3in in short config, 2.46m or 8ft 1in in the long config). [krelnik, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Stretch Pickup http://www.truckwor...00-sema/sema-30.jpg
The limo, not the adjustable type. Comes complete with aircraft-style boarding steps. [DrCurry, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

this is what I was talking about http://store.summit...=DEA-9900&x=24&y=11
click on the product serial no. to see a picture of it. [dickity, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

One of NY Times' crossword puzzle's favorite four-letter words http://www.mankato....thamerica/utes.html
[DrCurry, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

[link]






       theirs bed extenders that attach into your hitch on the market for abut 10 years already.
—dickity, Nov 16 2003
   

       Eliminating the driveshaft by making it a front wheel drive or rear engine vehicle would make things a little easier. Possibly an electric/hybrid vehicle with the motor(s) attached at the rear axles.   

       Or a Slinky driveshaft.
—half, Nov 16 2003
   

       Sad to say, I have indeed seen a stretch pickup knocking about NYC. Not what you envisage, of course, but proof positive that some people have more money than sense.
—DrCurry, Nov 16 2003
   

       I'm having trouble understanding how that link addresses this idea. Am I missing something?   

       I see this as something to move the rear axle back, to allow extension of the payload area. Not permanent, but configurable to needs.
—UnaBubba, Nov 16 2003
   

       Drop-leaf truck?
—phoenix, Nov 16 2003
   

       I see the product you mean, [dickity]. Not the same thing.   

       I have seen/used this sort of thing, but only extendable trailers for articulated vehicles. I'm surprised no-one has ever built an extendible tray vehicle. Yes, it would probably have to be front wheel drive, but that's an increasingly common drivetrain configuration, these days.   

       That seems a conspicuous waste of money, [DrCurry].
—UnaBubba, Nov 16 2003
   

       Good idea, most ute backends are basically trailers, so a hydraulic ram pushing/pulling the extra metre or so would be plausible. I'm not sure about the weight bearing aspects of an extended wheelbase, but great for long lengths of timber, pipe etc. I assume that this could be used to reduce the standard length of the ute as well, so good for parking etc.
—Micky Dread, Nov 17 2003
   

       I have seen this on comercial vehicles. THe technology exists but has not been applied in the way you propose here for private use. I think the cost would be prohibitive, but as mentioned by others, there are always people with more money than sense.
—ato_de, Nov 17 2003
   

       Seems that the biggest thing this would depend on is the amount of weight you were planning on supporting. If this was for the homeowner all the manufaturer would need to do is make the top rails of the bedliner fold (or pull) out with a second fold out cross piece on each side that mated in the middle.
For stopping by the lumberyard and grabbing those 8 or 10 2X4s this would work great. Don't know how you'd do it though if you were trying to get all the sheet rock for your 12 foot ceilings on the ground floor in one trip.
—soundman, Nov 17 2003
   

       Attach a looped wire to your front grill. Drive up behind conventional utes, and try to hook the overhanging scaffold pole. Collect 5 points. When you reach 1000 points, you are qualified to refuel long distance military jets or spacecraft mid-flight. Apply to NASA immediately.
—Fishrat, Nov 18 2003
   
      
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