i wonder what GM would charge if you wanted to buy a bed for the truck with tail lights and bumper, probably $4000 or more and for deleting it they will take off $575 ! One should price a new bed and all the parts to make it whole and delete that amount from msrp ! $335 for a spare tire one could buy off craigs list for $25-$50. No Thanks GM. Your better off buying the whole truck and then re-install the bed when you sell it, that will keep the resale higher, having a new bed with no dents or scratches !

Not a bad idea at all. Not sure how many outfitters have stuff for these smaller truck on the states but why not have this option. In Mexico on vacation we saw a lot of smaller Toyota trucks like the Tacoma with giant box's on the back instead of a bed.

Cmon, if you have a spot to store the bed you could be better off trying to either store or sell the bed. Body builders sell Superduty beds for 3k. People and insurance companies buy them up.

I would buy it with the bed then sell the bed to a junk yard or whomever for way more money.

well its an improvement since its only half of the Square wheel wells now

One thing I just thought of is if bodybuilders give a discount for the conversion if there is a bed they can sell. It may cost more to have the bed deleted.

All I have to say is good. Anything by any company that creates more customer options without overly complicating things, or driving prices up is good.

Cmon is right about the differences in price and LMAO is right about storing a bed...

I really do wish manufacturers would offer from the factory a flat bed option with the options for dump, stake sides, low sides, high sides, drop sides, no sides, boxes, in steel or aluminum... Or just flat bed compatible with such aftermarket products. A bed one could load/haul something more than 48" wide flat on and load/unload from the side and NEVER care about scratching would be AWESOME (IMHO). Something like the home depot rent a trucks have. Sure it would never outsell traditional beds because they aren't as pretty but I could easily see 10ish% opting for something far more useful/utilitarian.

Now that they are offering this across the lines, they can use these stripped down trucks to set their EPA MPG estimates.

GM should have a cab delete option as well...

I like the option, but agree with others on the $$$
Try replacing a bed and bumper in the aftermarket ... genuine GM. $500 doesn't even cover the tailgate ... maybe the bumper and tire carrier if you install them yourself. As a business owner, not worth the hassle for the $$$. Now, price it $5-7K less than the standard truck, I would definitely look into it since I have to buy a bed anyways.
Maybe the large fleets, like municipalities, will get more than $500. I'll never know as a small business man :(

I used to work for a truck shop that installed flatbeds and dumps and we would give you ZERO for your brand new bed we took off. If you wanted your old bed you could take it but i would bet less that 10 percent took them. we would then sell them to people that needed a bed. i think they were only like 700-800 to buy from us at the time now i think you can get a whole bed for 1500 from them. Most of these companies dont have the time to deal with the bs of keeping and storing the bed, or trying to sell them. ebay sells take off beds for under 1000 also. time is money

Box selection very common in Australia
http://www.ford.com.au/commercial/ranger/compare-models?intcmp=vhp-module-model&itemid=1249157460821#step=1

Nissan Navara. Chassis Cab can be any bed you choose, in this case a Utility bed
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk200/RobertRyan4/image_zps09ll91ik.jpeg

So you're telling me that GM will render my truck useless by taking off the box and rear bumper, and scavenge the spare tire and mount---for ONLY $575 OFF MSRP?? And, give me the option to BUY THE STOLEN SPARE BACK FOR $335??

THAT SOUNDS LIKE A DEAL TO ME!!!

All the people complaining about this are the people that would never need a truck like this. A big company ordering many trucks would love it, a small company may want to try and save a few bucks but the time wasted would negate any savings in my book.

GM along with Izuzu already have factory fitted flat beds available, along with the many manufacturers of flat beds.

It's about time as well that you guys can buy a cab chassis in your smaller pickups.

A 6x6 flat bed on a Colorado will offer far more flexibility than even a half ton with a pickup tub.

This is good for the commercial buyers.

Nice idea for our retirement project: a stake-side bed with one side that folds down for truck-market / farmer's market sales, with the shelving built right in. If we have to back into a stall and use a table, we'd just open the tailgate to unload.

I agree that it's not a bad idea, until you realize they're effectively stealing the box which is at least one reason why the truck even exists. Even a bloomin' flat bed with stake pockets costs more than the $500 they're taking off the price of the mid-sized model. I agree that they should take off the retail price of that bed and not their cost of that bed before paint and assembly.

@Roadwhale

Subtract retail?

They should subtract as little as they possibly can and still offer their customers a competitive truck at a price that buyers will pay.

Really? Subtract retail?

I guess that is one way for a manufacture to lighten your truck to improve the cargo and tow rating..... There bed delete will be part of there max tow package maybe????

This is GM's stopgap to keep up with Ford's innovation in lightweighting. Just one problem - no bed!

I wonder what the added leaf springs and stabilizer cost, anyone know? Either way it sounds like either an iffy deal at best but likely a total ripoff.

You know what's interesting? I looked at bedless HD's on dealer lots, two different brands. Both told me they would sell the truck that way but you HAD to buy either an aftermarket bed they or a third party would install beforehand, or install a factory bed. Either way they said for legal reasons they couldn't let a customer buy or lease a bedless truck "for liability reasons."

BD,
It the same in Australia, the only way to drive a cab chassis is when the dealer has his plates on the vehicle when moving it between his lot and the business where the tray is fitted.

RoadWhale,
I do believe no one is getting ripped off. I'd bet the price off of the pickup with the bed removed is how much the bed actually costs GM.

A tray in Australia can be had for around $1 500 AUD ($1 100) in some cases.

Many of the "factory fitted" beds are made overseas, probably China or Thailand.

The specialist beds are made in Australia.

Maybe this could be an export market for Australia since we have specialist beds to suit individual trades, etc.

"well its an improvement since its only half of the Square wheel wells now" by nitro Not true, when these trucks are up-fitted with custom boxes they also have square wheel wells, So the only trucks on the road that are going to have matching front and rear wells will be the GM trucks. Look at all the Fords, round wheel wells up front square in the rear.

Seems to be a bunch of complaining about it being a bad idea... My guess is those are the people who shouldn't elect to have the bed deleted... I appreciate being given the option though. Moreover, the big companies that plan on using them as delivery trucks and installing small utility beds on them will appreciate this. I agree this option doesn't make monetary sense for your general consumer, but saves the fleet buyers who normally would have ordered them with beds and scraped them to put the utility bed on.

LOL the bed delete drops the price $575 but adding the spare tire rack back on costs $335??? Having removed beds from pickups, the spare tire stays in place. SO this is actually a bed and spare tire delete option where after doing the math, GM is saying their bed cost $240.

what next is GM going to offer wood working classes. I can see it now, theres going to be a lot hillbillies driving with homemade wooden boxes.

Yeah kind of a rip off if you ask me. I think I'd just buy the truck with the bed, tire, and bumper and sell the bed, and bumper on ebay, and make a few bucks. At least you got a choice though.

I want a cabless truck..

Front clip,NO cab and a box...

That's a real truck not these sissy plush trucks and crew cabs..Since 1934 they made fancy trucks full of chrome and deluxe interiors and fancy wood floor boxes..

A real mans truck ! No CAB !

That's a real mans truck, just a steering wheel,pedals,no dash no seats no a/c no heat,no cab..just a front clip and box..

Cab deleate option for us real men...who don't like fancy trucks,since 1934 they had fancy trucks ...

I don't want buckets/console/a/c/ like my dads 1965 Dodge CSS truck,or a two tone a/c loaded 1971 Ford my uncle had or a leather seat,power everything deluxe two tone paint chrome 1968 GMC my Mom drove or a huge CrewCab 4x4 72 Dodge I bought as my 1st truck loaded a/c,tilt,cruise,two tone paint,chrome,woodgrain int,leather seats,adventurer package plush interior and chrome all over...

A real mans truck was last made in 1908 ! I want a cables truck !!!

@ trucker ,

NO !!! Hillbillies wont buy a boxless truck..Hipsters will..this is the idela truck for a Hipster !! They are FAKE at everything they do,so a truck without a box is the most useless/fake thing lol..

I doubt that many US buyers will opt for the Box Delete. However, GM should concentrate on offering their lesser trim variants and Ext Cab versions of the Colorado/Canyons with the Duramax Diesel.

Ed,
My nieces boyfriend/partner works for the County in Sth Jersey.

They are replacing their Dakotas with diesel box delete Colorados.

He told me this at Christmas.

He is the deputy manager of the County's water and sewrage. So, they new about this well before this press release.

This vehicle will first attract many business and commercial operators. Once the flexibility the cab chassis offers, you will see it become attractive to personal users. A flat bed will suit many people.

It was actually announced last year that the Colorado would get a c/c option. The old Colorado had it, too, but you could get it w/ a reg cab on the lab frame. Not many sold.
The savings w/ the box delete is small, but better than the no savings bumper delete options I've seen lately. The bigger springs sound good.

Save 300-500 lbs going without a bed and add it back to the hitch weight on your gooseneck. Just the thing for that 1500 rated to tow 10,000 lbs but lacking the payload for the 20+% hitch weight. Viola, an extra 1,200 -2000 pounds of towing capacity.

@ Big Al, I understand your point and believe the Box Delete will be welcomed by businesses and up fitters. But, would you not agree that GM would sell more Diesel Colorado's and Canyons if they offered the TDI Engine in all trim levels and Ext Cab's to the general public??

I would seriously consider buying a Crew Cab Short Bed 4x4 Colorado with the TDI engine, but since GM is playing the silly conservative approach to its non fleet buyers, I've decided to wait and see if Nissan will launch the NP300 with the YS23DDTT Diesel in the US and if Ford will put a Diesel in the 2018 US Ranger??

I agree that GM is losing out by not offering the diesel across all of the vehicles, and with a 6spd manual.

As for the Nissan Frontier with a diesel. I do hope you guys get the ISF Cummins in your next Frontier. It looks like a really nice little diesel.

Cummins, Nissan and the EPA has gone to great lengths with emissions reduction. I do believe the technology from the 2.8 ISF emissions equipment is used in the XD Titan with the ISV Cummins.

But, when will the next Frontier arrive? By the time the US receives the next Frontier it will be severals old, the same as the Colorado or even older if Ford adopt the Ranger for the US market.

I agree that GM is losing out by not offering the diesel across all of the vehicles, and with a 6spd manual.

@BigAl The majority of the dealers simply do not want it. If they wanted it, it would be already happening.

Ed and Al- eventually GM will offer the diesel on all ranges. Currently they sell every truck they can build w/o incentives, so they have no motivation to build anything but the trucks with the highest margins. IOW, as long as GM can sell loaded crew cab trucks for sticker price, they will. 3 body styles, 7 powertrains and about a half dozen trims makes for a dizzying array.

Ok, some of you seem to think my comment above was a bad one; it appears Big Al is the only one who even partially agrees with what I said, though I don't think he realized it. My point is that GM is keeping the PROFIT of that bed, even though you're not receiving it. You're paying for a truck WITH a bed, and not receiving the bed. Taking off their cost means nothing when replacing that bed after an accident or something would have cost you $2500 or more.

Others are right here too; state, if not Federal, laws require a bumper at a minimum to be street legal. A cab chassis is a hazard to the vehicles around it first because it is inherently unstable and secondly because any car hitting it from behind has no cushioning from the exposed frame, increasing the risk of injury to both drivers (no 'crumple zone' in back means the cab-chassis driver receives the full shock of the impact.)

The only advantage here is to the companies who build custom beds from the outset. This includes service trucks such as those used by cable, telephone and power companies as well as other utility services. RV manufacturers and bus builders could also use these to some extent for the smaller Class B or Class C rigs. These companies buy their platforms as chassis-cab from the outset so this becomes a slight advantage for them if they want to build a smaller, lighter model.

As a retail concept, not so much. I highly doubt you will see any of these on a dealership lot unless that lot has some sort of alliance with a local custom bed builder/installer. I know my local RAM dealer does, but then, their commercial truck sales tend to be pretty good. My local GM dealership almost never has any cab-chassis models in stock, despite being a much larger operation at 3x the size. My local Ford dealership? It's been a while since I actually went onto the lot, but for months a single cab-chassis sat there, the same one. They even had it on their elevated rack out front for a while with a sale sign on it in an attempt to move it.

Don't be dumb. Buy the pickup as normal, switch out and store the pickup bed for when you sell the truck years later. Or sell the pick bed for $2,500.

Otherwise you have to go through an upfitter and can't drive it off the lot.

I see business people do it all the time. They buy the new F-350 or 3500 dually pickup as normal, avoiding the cab/chassis option, put on a new, or usually a used flatbed or utility bed they already own and sell the new pickup bed.

Government branches are starting to switch out their own beds, shown by the rows of stored pickup beds.

Also you have truck that's not designed to be bed-less. Too much jounce can lead to a loss of control.

BAFO demands an *aluminum* tray for his pickup.

RoadWhale,
I do believe you might be correct that GM is keeping the profit from the deleted bed.

Sooner or later, like here in Australia when other manufacturers come on board with the cab chassis the prices will drop, the same will gradually occur with your diesel pickups. As they become more common place the price of a diesel will become more competitive.

There are some on this site who say "buy with the normal pickup bed and store it". What tossers!

Why would you invest money then store it! This is why companies use JIT logistics. The stored bed will need room for storage, plus the money you invested in the bed is losing interest as you could of better invested the money.

In Australia I have seen trailers use a pickup tub. These match the vehicle towing it. But, why?

If you need a cab chassis, then buy a cab chassis.

@BAFO - The US isn't following Australia's lead.

That would be like the tail wagging the dog.

@ Big AL, I attended the SEMA show back in November and questioned the Cummins folks at the show who were displaying a 2.8 ISF motor mounted in the front section of an older Jeep Wrangler. Apparently, Nissan have not given Cummins any indication on whether they want to move forward with the 2.8 ISF in the Frontier.

I therefore am speculating that Nissan may be weighing up the option to put the YS23DDTT into the next gen US Frontier, as the Euro 6 Regulations are not far behind the US EPA/CARB requirements.

Also, I reached out to GM when they announced details of the Colorado/Canyon with the Diesel and was told in a lengthy conversation that they were unsure as to how many Diesels they would sell. Since GM is building the lower trim and Ext Cab's for the fleet people, what difference does it make if the vehicle goes to a Dealer or a Fleet buyer, they are still building the vehicle anyway, which negates Mr Knowitall's comment.

@Ed- go ahead and try to order one of those diesel fleet combos. Let us know what they give you for a build date.

Ed,
I have read that in Australia Nissan would like a larger more powerful (read torqy) diesel for the Navara.

The YS23DDTT appears to be the engine for Nissan Australia, but they did ask for a different diesel as well from the beginning.

I was hoping we would get the 2.8 ISF in our Navara. Cummins already support the 2.8 ISF in the Foton Tunland pickup we have.

The 2.8 ISF does have an issue with a leaking oil line at the rear of the engine. I'm not sure if it's a rear main or a line.

I was talking to a landscaper doing some work on my neighbours who has a Foton cab over with what looked like a 12' foot tray on the back it is powered by the 2.8 ISF and he is having oil leaks. He stated that Cummins was making it difficult to have the engine repaired.

Maybe Cummins should look at how it or it's dealers are handling customers.

Other than that he said the truck ran well and can sit at 110kph on the highway with a 2 tonne load towing his small tandem trailer that is another 2 tonnes with no problems.

You can't compare a pos FOTON with A C&C Colorado or Canyon.

juanfo, or more correctly the PUTC troulle.
Was the comparison make between pickups or powerplants?

Hmmm..................

I'll start calling you lantern. Not quite bright enough to be called a light.