New Chip Truck: What to Buy

[Nickrosis]

So we're buying two chip trucks. Here are some of the options:

Used Penske Trucks
Pros: All automatics. As cheap as $5500 for gas engines. Cheap for diesels, too. Sold cab and chassis so we could move our chip boxes onto them. Heard great things about them from other tree companies.
Cons: Trucks have 100k miles on them. We would have to repaint them. Most of what we would want is in the $20,000 range.

New Ford F-650
Pros: New vehicle/warranty. Cost isn't much more than a used truck. Comes in the color we want anyways. 6 engines to choose from.
Cons: Our F-550 has 4,000 miles and 3 transmission repairs. About $15,000 more.

New Chevy 6500 Kodiak
Pros: New vehicle/warranty. Cost isn't much more than a used truck. Comes in the color we want anyways. Acclaimed Duramax diesel/Allison transmission combination.
Cons: Local dealers don't provide comprehensive service for commercial trucks.

New GMC 6500 Top Kick
Same as Chevy but costs more.

Go Big with a Sterling/International/etc.

And finally, do you think we should stop trying to stay under CDL? It's a goofy game in the end because a truck rated at 26,000 lbs. can't pull a trailer and stay under CDL. We'd need like a 16,000 GVWR in order to pull a 10,000 GVWR trailer.

 

[treeman82]

Over here, as soon as you go over a 550 you need a Class C. Class C is good from 18,000 - 26,000 lbs. Over 26,000 is Class B. Might as well go with a CDL truck if you are going to overload the 26,000 pounders anyways.

 

[Toddppm]

Not considering a cabover or 4500 or 5500 chevy?
Although I think the Chevy's may be in the same class as the F550 , too under built for the job.

 

[NeTree]

Originally posted by treeman82
Over here, as soon as you go over a 550 you need a Class C. Class C is good from 18,000 - 26,000 lbs. Over 26,000 is Class B. Might as well go with a CDL truck if you are going to overload the 26,000 pounders anyways.

Huh??

 

[treeman82]

F550 has a 17,500 lb GVW. That is pretty much as high as you can go with a regular liscense. Between the GVW's of 18,000 lbs and 26,000 lbs you need a class C commercial driver's liscense. Over 26,000 lbs you need a class B, however you can't pull a trailer with a GVW of over 10,000 lbs with a class B. For that size trailer, you need a class A.

Getting a 26,000 lb truck is going to give you a large body most likely. Odds are that you will go well overload on a truck that size when loaded with chips or wood. Cops around here LOVE to stop trucks and find problems with weights, or lights, or what have you. So, you might as well get a 33,000 lb GVW truck and stay within your legal weight limit.

 

[NeTree]

Are you sure that info is current? Not breaking your balls, but the whole CDL system is FEDERAL, not STATE standards.

Just curious why NY would be different... (besides the obvious )

 

[Stumper]

Nick, Your 'best' answer may lie in some on the Japanese industrial trucks.You can probably get The capacity you want under CDL weight even with a big trailer.
Truth is that chips aren't terribly heavy for their bulk ( chip size determines how tight they pack so chippers that make little chips put more tree on the truck). I like my International 1654 and it does make a good advertizing billboard but I could haul as many chips on an extended frame 1 ton(and get into tighter places). If I had the money to do whatever I wanted I thing I'd look at a forestry body on an F450. Get a wood hauling trailer that is rated for 9500lbs (I'd build precisely what I want (or have it Fabbed). Keep it all in size categories that the DOT doesn't even look at and put it to work.:angel:

 

[a_lopa]

hino,isuzu 500,000miles no worries,with good fuel economy,i wouldnt touch any of the above

 

[Pacific]

Alot of the tree guys here have 1 ton trucks for chip trucks the tree trim guys with the buckets and chip box then they have a 5 ton truck. If your going with a straight chip box you may want togo with a F-550 or one of those GMC Coe 2 ton trucks. You start getting into a 5 ton truck then you have troubles getting into residential areas.

A F-550 can easily handle a 8000lb payload I have put 10,000lbs on a F-550. I have a feeling 8000lbs worth of chips= quite a few yards you would have to chip alot of tree's in one day to get 8000lbs.

You make the bottom half of the dump box out of steel and the upper structure out of aluminum to save some weight.

 

[Nickrosis]

I don't like our F-550. It has 5000 miles on it, and the transmission is being replaced this week. They found all kinds of transmission parts when they looked at the filter. First year experiments....

The F-550 is just too light duty for my tastes. I'd rather get something bulkier for pulling around a big Morbark or a big New Holland loader. We're getting a quote from our International dealer on a new truck and used options.

 

[NeTree]

Just get a coupla L9000's with Cat motors and 13sp road-rangers and be done with it.

Real work trucks don't need a sissy-matic. Neither do real drivers.

 

[Nickrosis]

I'm turned off to Fords for the time being. They need a miracle truck to change my mind.

 

[NeTree]

Nick, what did you expect? You've got heavy trucks with autos trying to do what should be done with a stick. Why the automatics, anyways? Can't any of your employees drive a stick? Or is that really a lost art with kids these days?

Don't blame Ford. You underspec'd the trucks, plain and simple.

Go with heavier CDL trucks. Yes, you'll have alot more paperwork to do, but you're literate, so that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[NeTree]

By the way, I noticed you didn't have International as an option.

 

[treeman82]

When I was at Hartney Greymont a couple of years ago, they only had manuals in their trucks. Also, all of their trucks except for 1 or 2 were over CDL, so therefore all drivers there have a CDL and as such they all know how to drive sticks. I believe that they have 1 or 2 F550's, but I forget what they are used for. They used to use all Ford's and 1 Mack for the heavy work. They have a couple of UD's for PHC work. Now for some reason they are starting to switch over to International.

 

[kevintree]

auto/stick

The yonger guys coming into the field either have no license or

no idea how to drive a stick. SO the next truck will have a heavy duty auto tran.

Just my thoughts

Kevin

 

[rahtreelimbs]

Originally posted by netree
Can't any of your employees drive a stick? Or is that really a lost art with kids these days?

You got that right!!!

 

[Nickrosis]

Originally posted by netree
Nick, what did you expect? You've got heavy trucks with autos trying to do what should be done with a stick. Why the automatics, anyways? Can't any of your employees drive a stick? Or is that really a lost art with kids these days?

Don't blame Ford. You underspec'd the trucks, plain and simple.

Go with heavier CDL trucks. Yes, you'll have alot more paperwork to do, but you're literate, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Another rant....

The F-550 weighs 16,500 plus some water: 550 gal in 4 tanks...never fully loaded. Usually carried about 300 gallons: 2400 lbs. That's within specs. A tranny at 4,000 miles? Outta the question.

Automatics are the way to go. You may like stick, and that's fine. But what does it have over automatics? The autos don't have clutches to wear out, and the Allison's last and last.

Anyways, we have a 2004 International 4300 466 parked out front that we're deliberating over. It's GVWR is 25,999....still CDL because of air brakes. It's got the goodies like AC and a CD player plus an on-site repair warranty. Lots to think about.

 

[Nickrosis]

Originally posted by netree
By the way, I noticed you didn't have International as an option.

It's been there the whole time.

 

[NeTree]

Nick, if it's under 26K, air brakes are irrelevent.