Truckin' Around With Mike MorrisThe Biggest Toy Trucks

International Truck and Engine Corp., best known as a "big rig" manufacturer, rocked the pickup world in 2004 by splicing an open box onto one of its smaller utility truck cabs to create a humongous "hybrid" called the CXT, then the world's largest production pickup. It looked like a Tonka on steroids, but truckers liked it (hey, it's big and it can haul just about anything), so the company has now rolled out two new pickup models, the MXT (in 4x4 or upscale Limited trim) and RXT (in "sport" and fifth-wheel versions aimed at the horse and boat trailer–towing crowd).

International RXT

If you've got the bling and outsize trucks are your thing, the production MXT seats five and offers typical interior amenities, but any similarity to conventional pickups stops there. Built on a commercial truck platform, with its massive cab this vehicle tends to stand out in the parking lot ("redefining image pickup trucks," is how the manufacturer describes it). All that image doesn't come cheap–the suggested retail on these chrome mastodons starts at $89,500.

Powered by a 6.0-liter diesel V8 that puts out 300 hp and 530 pound-feet of torque, the MXT has a towing capacity just shy of 8 tons with a 4,000-pound load-bed. The RXT is tow-rated to more than 11 tons, and the fifth-wheel model is expected to haul close to 15 tons.

For the hardcore survivalist crowd (or builders who work in very bad neighborhoods), International also offers the MXT-MV, an all-wheel-drive military version with armored body and fuel tank, LED lighting, and other extreme features, including the ability to drive through water up to 40 inches deep.

Upfit Class Rams Return

Dodge, which had been absent from the crossover commercial truck market since 2001, introduced an upfit-ready Ram 3500 Heavy Duty chassis cab late in 2006, then followed with all-new 4500 and 5500 utility cab-and-frame models early this year.

Offered in single or dual rear-wheel models, these are the first Rams built exclusively as chassis cabs. The vehicles are designed with industry-standard 34-inch frame rail spacing and a proprietary architecture that tucks chassis components below the top of the frame surface. According to Dodge, this allows buyers to avoid the expensive re-engineering often required for body installations.

Two cab-to-axle frame lengths (60 and 84 inches) are available. Power is provided by a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 with 330 hp and 375 pound-feet of torque or by an all-new 6.7-liter Cummins V8 turbo diesel with 305 hp and 610 pound-feet of torque.

TailGate Talk

International is in the news for other reasons these days. The company, a unit of Navistar Corp., has been embroiled in a nasty contract dispute with Ford Motor Co. In March, International threatened to halt shipments of its new 6.4-liter Powerstroke V8 diesel engines, which go into Ford's F-Series Super Duty pickups.

By April 18, according to Ford, "Production has resumed and our plant is receiving engines. We're continuing to negotiate with Navistar to work through this." But the question remains: Can buyers depend on getting the vehicles, and engines, they want? "If someone places an order, they will get it," Ford states. "We also have an inventory of engines–enough to supply any orders we get. We're making progress." Stay tuned for further updates.