Do you like big trucks? Will Pat L. found this 1993 GMC Top Kick C6500 Conversion just southwest of Chicago Illinois. The truck is listed for sale here on Craigslist. The asking price seems to be a very reasonable $19,500. The seller states that they have spent over $45,000 on the build. The listing has only been up for 2 days.
There are no interior pictures in the ad but the truck is equipped with an Alpine stereo system with Bluetooth and hands free phone ability. The truck is said to be like new with most of the mechanical parts restored or replaced. 454SS decals adorn the exterior of the truck along with dual red Corvette stripes on the front fenders. The truck has been stored indoors and is said to be a multiple show winner.
The truck is built on an 8 foot Chevrolet Silverado dually chassis from Florida. The seller states that it has no rust or rot. The truck is powered by a 6.0 liter fuel injected V8 that is said to run on regular 87 octane fuel. The truck gets a respectable 10 mpg pulling a 20,000 lb load. The engine is backed by a 5 speed Eaton manual transmission and Eaton rear end with 4.63:1 rear gears. The truck rides on powder coated wheels and new 40″ tall tires.
This is a big truck and is said to have 64,000 miles on the odometer. The GMC TopKick is the equivalent of the Chevrolet Kodiak which is a medium duty truck produced by GM from 1980 to 2009. Three generations were produced and this cab represents the second generation of the TopKick line and represents the largest vehicles produced by GM. The conversion looks good. It might be massive and fill up the whole lane going down the highway but at least you have good visibility. What would you use such a truck for and where would you park it?
Your mileage may vary:-)
Good looking truck. It’s a shame it’s not a crew cab. It’s going to be a hard sell due to the gas issues. Good luck..🐻🇺🇸
Why haven’t dual front wheels become popular? Seems like the next step in the evolution of the ginormoustruck.
… what I like to call a ‘Bro-Dozer’!
No fear of tailgaters or losers playing brake check games when you are driving this big boy!
Great rig if you want to win the “Mine is bigger than yours” contest.
I’d think it would get old having to climb up into that cab,& just how
would you get stuff into & out of that bed ?
It cracks me up when I see these trucks raised up,& then have
to have a dropped trailer hitch.
Having wrestled with today’s big-on-the-outside-small-on-capacity trucks (like the aluminum F150) I can actually see using this, for an RV tow rig. No more worries about whether I’m close to the limit, or over it.
The 2018 Tundra I had was getting me 13 miles a gallon – a heavy-half-tonner; so this isn’t out of the league. Parking would be an issue, granted.
If it had a diesel (without DEF) installed, I’d probably be making phone calls now.
I meant to add, long ago I worked with a Chevy C60…same class, different era. Squarebody era. Getting in and out was no real hassle, although you did need to make liberal use of grab handles.
Hi agt, that, in true American fashion, is exactly what it is. I see agree on a great many things. When I was still trucking, a truck like this was used FOR trucking, In the grand scheme of things, like Hummers and monster trucks, this topped them, but not quite a UHaul truck. Someone got the great idea to put a pickup box on a straight truck, solely for the fact, it was just bigger. It doesn’t have to make any sense, and if someone wants to ride around in a straight truck,( and not get paid) by all means, have at it.
My 1994 International 4700 Lo Pro Delivered 14 mpg with a 360 cid 6 cylinder
with 194 HP and 410 pd/ft torque pulling 44,000 pounds.
It was also a turbo diesel.
OK, help me out. How is that a Class 6 with a Silverado chassis and a 6 litre engine? Also, regarding said 6 litre engine , where doe he get off with the “454” decal?
All i see is wrong size wheel opening for the rear !
Love these builds, awesome for taking your cigarette boat and other toy out in style. Would be pulling down the Big Bucks with Crew cab and 12valve 5.9 or other suitable turbo diesel.
My 2018 2500HD with a 4.10 gear only gets 10-12 mpg i’d be willing to bet this thing really gets about 6mpg if your lucky.
Totally agree. Maybe 10mpg downhill
You’re absolutely correct! I was going to say 5mph. Had a few with torque monster diesels and only got 7-8 pulling 18k pound trailer
Killer truck, bummer only 4 photos.
Hum. I like when I see see these things, but I tell myself why? It’s good hauling heavy weight beyond a one ton dually, would be the only reason to really use this
Just recently sold my 2004 4500 TopKick with Duramax coupled to an Alisson auto. I put the Blue Dog fuel system and Banks computerized upgrade. It had an aluminum flat bed with every towing option possible. It also had a 75-gallon auto transfer behind the cab. It was four doors with custom full length running boards. Leather interior with air-ride seats and front and rear air cond. and heating. I need to stop here as I’m tearing up. ) ; One more thing. It got 13mpg pulling a fully loaded 40-foot fifth wheel with six slides. Once the fifth wheel went, the wife somehow convinced me to sell the truck. (I’m an idiot with a happy wife).
You mean, no 3116 Cat engine powering this? I think it finally came down to where nothing else was powering these things. First glimpse at what a modern Diesel engine could really cost you. That and the Detroit Diesel Fuel Pincher.
I really don’t get these at all, and to prove it, can someone explain the front mud flaps to me?
Now if you had a huge slide in camper with slides? This would be a very stable platform to start with.
If you did that,could you imagine the ladder
you’d need?
I don’t think this is on a late model Silverado chassis — only the bed came courtesy the pickup.
This is a 366 tall deck BBC, which should be TBI fuel system. As Geo said, lots of these had scatterpillars; I don’t recall if the 427 tall deck was still around or if the 366 was the only gas engine. Pretty much stopped seeing these in the shop 10-15 years ago. Compared to to the subsequent generation (which had 6HK1TC Isuzu power in the 6500 series), they were, ahem, uninspiring.
geomechs
I have the 8.2L Detroit in my Foretravel.
It’d be great for this application with the proper transmission and diff.
Pushes my 36′ coach at a conservatively driven 65, returning 10mpg.
There are detractors regarding the Fuel Pincher diesel, but it works great for me!
Those Pinchers weren’t all bad. Had some camshaft troubles with some where the key would shear, turning the engine into a mosquito killer. We maintained a small fleet of them for a guy and with the exception of a turbo having young ones they held up quite well.