why are they called pilot house trucks?

Is it still "legal" to read Mark Twain.... I mean they are out to rewrite his masterpieces.

 

I went through two pages of posts, (a) I had never heard the term, pilot house (b) I have nothing better to do. I learned that pilot house refers to one of the Dodge trucks I do like.(short list)
Friend owned one in San Diego and it was truly a work horse, drug a lot of hot rods home and me once

 

Prettier than the "jailbar" Ferdtruck.

 

From my experence, they rode rough, steered hard, and quit whe the ignition got wet. I never heard of the "pilot house style". I always think of dad going to pick up Timmy and Lassie on TV.

 

Any truck built in the last ten years is uglier IMO.

 

x2 on the dodges running gear.. a bit rough to say the least.... which is funny because the dodge cars were one of the firsts to have ifs.. looks like they spent all the R+D money on the cars...

 

was just getting back from the site that low budget linked on - pretty good site had some great pics in the gallery,some info and links for more info and links to those HEMI commercials that were on TV just within the last couple of years

 

Aside from the input from the design critics I believe the question was where the Pilot house term came from. It was used by Dodge in the advertising of the B series trucks.

 

friend got this one for free.

 

You said a MOUTHFUL there!

 

found this one yesterday

 

Ten? Don't you mean fourty?

 

A face only a mother could love.

I will say with the proper altitude adjustment, they can look pretty good.



I like mine, but I'm weird....

 

Maybe it's just that mine's a half-ton, but it rides pretty smooth. Except for when it's idling...

I found that the 75000# clutch was a lot more detrimental to driving enjoyment than the steering, brakes, or ride.



-Bill

 

that's what I am talking about, two thumbs up

 

although your question has been answered, I thought I would throw this in. I got mine because it was ugly, but ugly can be changed. As was said previously, a little massaging and they come up looking purty (at least in my opinion). the turnsignals and the hubcaps have been removed.

 

of all the old trucks ive owned my favorite was a 1951 pilot house. and it also said job rated in the center part of the grill

 

True, but as far as body styles go, what I mentioned above applies.

 

They say that when it comes to beauty, it's what's on the inside that counts.


I think my pilothouse is going to be pretty when it's done.

 

another good one, two thumbs up

 

According to Don Bunn's Dodge Pickups History & Restoration Guide, the '39-47 Dodge trucks were the "Job-Rated" era, with "job-rated" being mentioned in '40 advertisements that pointed out how important it was to pick the right truck for the job. The "Pilot-House" era (aka B-Series) was from '48-'53; in '51, the grille, hood, doors & dash were re-styled, with "Job-Rated" in the new grille emblem. The standard Ram hood ornament that appeared in '48 was made optional in '51, presumably to reduce cost of these work trucks. By '54, the Ram hood ornament was replaced with a Ram medallion on 6 cylinder models and a V8 medallion on V8s. The '54-'56 "Functional Design" era (aka C-Series) were similar to the B-series, and the '57-'60 "Power-Giant" era (aka K-, L-, M- & P-Series, respectively) had all new sheet metal up front and optional wide beds. By the '61-'71 Sweptline Era, Dodge finally settled upon the D-Series name. The Ram hood ornament/medallion that had disappeared by '57 did not reappear until '80, albeit as a fender decal.