To me the #3 advantage of the tilt cab is the turning radius. If I use just one word, it will be maneuverability. The turning radius comes down to two main things. One is the length of the wheelbase, and two is the maximum angle of the wheels on the front axle, which has something to do with the frame width, front axle design and so on.
The main point to keep it simple is the wheelbase. The shorter the wheelbase, the tighter the turning radius. It's logical and you already know that a little economy car will turn a tighter circle than a full size pickup. The big difference is the wheelbase.
So, let's do a few comparisons. Keep in mind, advantages #1 and #2, so we can keep it in perspective with successful sales of this product.
I'll use Ford as our example since I have the statistics at hand. The F250 pickup with standard 8' bed has a wheelbase of 137". Let's compare this to the Ford LCF tilt cab in the shortest wheelbase they make of 113" and this truck would have a 12' bed. That is 24" shorter wheel base (along with a tighter angle on the steering). Previously, I stated that advantage #1 is stocking longer CA units. This model with the 113" wheelbase is an 84" CA and we are not going to stock hardly any in that wheelbase, so the next one up is the 108" CA and the wheelbase on it is 137". Now the tilt cab and the pickup have the same approximate wheelbase, yet the pickup has an 8' bed and the LCF has a 14' bed. Big difference. In this case the LCF will have a slight advantage still due to the ability to turn sharper due to the front axle/frame/suspension design.
There is no doubt that this is a huge advantage.
In the previous example, we were comparing a pickup with the tilt cab. Now let's compare something that is more likely to make sense. Let's take the Ford F450 84" Chassis for example. This unit has a 165" wheelbase and would take a 12' bed. The LCF with the 84" CA has a wheelbase of 113" and would take a 12' bed. The difference in wheelbase is 52"! This is a HUGE difference in maneuverability! Yet, we're not to the really good part yet. Let's compare the same F450 84" CA with the 149" wheelbase LCF which will take a 16' bed. Now there is still a difference of 16" which would be a big deal in its own right, but the interesting thing here is the shorter turning radius AND having a 4' longer bed at the same time. This is such a big deal that I want to jump up and down about it. Just think of the maneuverability improvements as well as productivity improvements. It is just one of the easiest things to get excited about when talking with a prospect.
Now, here's the best way to sell this besides jumping up and down with excitement, which I like to do about this stuff. Get the prospect in the truck and do some tight circle turns and some tight maneuvering around a parking area and then turning around in a city street if you can. Do it in both trucks. If that along with your enthusiasm doesn't sell the prospect, the prospect isn't going to get sold.
Sell the value--what it does and how it performs relative to other vehicles. Understand the features of the truck so that you can understand how that may be important to the prospect. Having at one time driven a dump truck into construction sites, I can tell you that maneuverability is critical. The tilt cab very rarely sells itself. You have to have a good sales pitch that means something to the prospect. That will lead you to be successful at selling more tilt cab trucks. I can tell you this: If I owned a store with commercial trucks, I would absolutely, without a doubt have a tilt cab truck line. It's not even an option.
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