With all the talk these days about the Ford Super Duty trucks and the heavy-duty Silverado Chevrolet trucks, I began to reminisce about the heavy-duty trucks of the past. It was mid-way through the 1968 model year - March 11th to be exact - when Chevrolet first introduced the first Fleetside one-ton pickup, the Longhorn; an extra large pickup designed especially for camping.
The camping market was continuing to expand at a rapid rate. The trend for larger, roomier, heavier camper bodies was booming. The Longhorn truck took the Fleetside styling and added extra strength. Not only was it built to handle the largest 12-foot campers on the market, but its size and stamina made it a natural for ranch and construction hauling. Its 8-1/2 foot bed was available in one ton and 3/4 ton models. Not only did Chevrolet add length to the bed, but it also stretched out the wheelbase from 127-inches to 133-inches. As most Fleetside beds were moving to steel floors, the Longhorn was only available with a wood floor. They all had 3,000 pound coil front springs and leaf rear springs. The 3/4 ton had two-stage, 7-leaf, 2000 pound and the one ton had single stage, 8-leaf, 2400 pound capacity springs. The 3/4 ton had a GVW of 7500 pounds and the one ton had 7800 pounds
They were available with two 6-cylinder engines (however they are rare) and four V-8 engines. Of course, for heavier hauling, the most popular were the new 396 V-8 rated at 310 horsepower. Because the original data books for the 1968 model year were first put together in June of 1967, they did not have any information on the Longhorn truck, Model numbers CS21034 for the 6-cylinder 3/4 tons. CE21034 for V8 3/4 tons. CS3 1034 6-cylinder one tons. and CE31034 for V8 one tons. The September 1967 and the February data books also had no reference to the trucks. The Longhorn pickup was the longest wheelbase 3/4 ton pickup on the market. What a fitting name. All regular production options which were available for the 20 and 30 series (3/4 ton and one ton) regular truck models were available on the Longhorn models.
Special Camper options that were available on regular trucks like camper wiring harnesses, auxiliary battery, power steering, power brakes, air conditioning and west coast mirrors were popular options. The Longhorn: a long shot or truly a truck ahead of its time?
To put this in perspective, a longhorn truck with standard equipment in 1971 sold for just over $3100.