The ultimate single cab truck was designed specifically for transporting construction materials.

      Jeff Griffin via Facebook Marketplace

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      Is a standard cab pickup too extravagant for your needs? Interested in a Superleggera approach to maximize space and payload for cargo? Then the DeKalb Lumberjack is just right for you.

      This 1960 model recently appeared for sale in Oklahoma on Facebook Marketplace, and surprisingly, it sold quickly. As you can see, it’s a highly specialized vehicle. Created for transporting lumber while occupying a smaller footprint than traditional flatbeds, it is essentially a larger, motorized version of the open-sided shopping carts you find at Ikea. The only area designated for a passenger is the small single-seat cab located at the extreme front-left corner to maximize cargo space. And if you’re hauling flat and stackable items, there's an abundance of room for that.

      Extra-long items can be placed parallel to the cab, while the rear area functions as a conventional flatbed. There’s also a long channel beneath it to allow for double-stacking of cargo, along with a sort of cabinet (nearly like an early version of the RamBox) situated between the wheels on the passenger side. This setup provides considerable cargo capacity in a vehicle likely easier to navigate in urban environments than modern trucks used for delivering building supplies. However, as you might expect, there are sacrifices regarding driver safety and comfort. That pod-like cab does not appear to be the most enjoyable place to spend a workday.

      This distinctive truck is produced by the DeKalb Commercial Body Corporation, named after its hometown of DeKalb, Illinois. As per the specialist site Coachbuilt, the company was established in 1904 as Sycamore Wagon Works, a manufacturer of horse-drawn wagons and buggies. It transitioned to accommodate the rise of combustion engines by becoming a body builder for commercial vehicles, fitting its own bodies onto other manufacturers’ chassis.

      In this instance, the underlying chassis comes from a 1960 Ford P-350. The “P” stands for “parcel delivery,” reflecting the type of body for which this chassis was originally intended. DeKalb also utilized Chevrolet and Dodge chassis for its Lumberjacks. There was a larger Lumber King variant as well, one of which, based on a Chevy P35 chassis, was sold for $19,500 on Bring a Trailer in 2022.

      The seller was asking $21,500 for a truck with a similar level of patina, but it’s unclear what the final selling price was. The listing indicated that this truck was originally ordered by a lumberyard in Jacksboro, Texas, and only moved to Oklahoma a couple of years prior. At some point, its original inline-six engine was swapped for a Chevy 305 V8. The total mileage wasn’t specified, but the seller stated they had driven it for 10,000 miles during their ownership. It sounds like they made good use of it!

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