Freightliner Pickup

Freightliner Pickup PICKUPS Modifications 28-4-27 Wannabe trucker, Alvin Kern spent his working life as a business executive. Once he retired, he decided to scratch his trucker itch by building a "Freightliner pickup". "It cost about the same as a loaded 3/4 ton," says Kern about the truck, which has a Freightliner cab instead of a standard pickup cab. It's powered by a 6.4-liter turbo I-6 Mercedes MBE 906 engine. At 13,000 lbs., and pumping out 230 hp and 660 ft. of torque at 1200 rpm's, he wasn't going to be blown off the road by just anybody. "I hit 80 mph at only 1,900 rpms," says Kern. He decked out the cab with air ride seats, air brakes, satellite radio and more. A bunk behind the front seats is perfect for overnight excursions, and his 150-gal. fuel tank means he doesn't have to stop very often to refuel. Just to make sure he wouldn't be overlooked in heavy traffic, he added a set of 120 decibel horns on top. To finish his oversized pickup, Kern mounted a 2001 Dodge Dualie bed in back. This later caused problems because when he mounted the pickup bed on the frame of the Freightliner he didn't realize how much the truck frame flexed. After the third set of repairs, Kern replaced the pickup bed with a "western hauler" bed with a 30,000-lb. gooseneck ball built by Jarret Manufacturing of Garnet, Kan. The new bed has stayed in place, and its 2,600-lb. weight has improved the Freightliner's ride. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Alvin Kern, 25915 Ridgeview Rd., Paola, Kan. 66071-9489 (ph 913 783-4868)

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