dump truck question

[stihlfan]

Would you get a single axle 33t o 37k GVW truck or a tandem axle 52 to 54k GVW truck.Pupose of the truck is to haul brush and mulch no rip rap of steel.My local Mack dealer has some CH tractors in stock with 40 and 44k rear axles and 14 to 16K front axles 400 hp engines with 1550LB-FT torque and 10sps.Their asking 35K with 15 Yrd dump bodies.I think it's a good deal but I also feel it's overkill for a brush truck.I'd like to know your opinions.BTW CDL isn't a problem.I used to drive long haul.

 

[TipTop]

i think you will make it to your next job in reacord time

 

[Whiteindustries]

How about cost to put on the road?

i think you will make it to your next job in reacord time

How much more to register and insure the ten wheeler versus the six wheeler? Having owned several of both up here in Massachusetts that maybe a factor,it sure is up here.

 

[kf_tree]

I don't think I've ever seen a tree company using as large a truck as you are describing.

then you should come up to the north east, since the dumps are getting farther and farther the trucks are getting bigger and bigger.

 

[keith c raymond]

The big boys in the tree biz around my way are using Internatiomals with a long chassis and large box that dumps for chip haul.They are getting 185 - 205 a cord delivered also.

 

[Pacific]

Myself I don't like converted truck tractors into dumps as they really were not designed for dumps. The suspensions are not heavy enough usually the frame isn't heavy enough. The trucks usually have wrong gearing for any kind of offroad work a 10spd really isn't that great. The only tractor you really can convert to a dump is a lowbed tractor something that is good for 140,000lb gross weight.

If your looking for a truck to haul brush etc I would try find a used rolloff truck with a couple 40 yard bins.

Dealers try to put dump boxes on tractors to try get rid of the trucks as the market is flooded with used truck tractors.

For hauling what you want to haul like brush a truck with a 40 yard bin will be better then you can have a 20 yard bin for mulch and the slightly heavier materials.

You can find a good used rolloff truck easily for 35 grand I imagine those Macks have tons of miles on them. A used converted tractor with a new box and hoist your looking at 15-20 grand for the box and hydraulics so essentially the truck is only worth 15 grand as a tractor.

Keep looking your local Mack dealer has the KY jelly out looking for people to rip off.

 

[Whiteindustries]

Roll-Off great idea.

Myself I don't like converted truck tractors into dumps as they really were not designed for dumps. The suspensions are not heavy enough usually the frame isn't heavy enough. The trucks usually have wrong gearing for any kind of offroad work a 10spd really isn't that great. The only tractor you really can convert to a dump is a lowbed tractor something that is good for 140,000lb gross weight.

If your looking for a truck to haul brush etc I would try find a used rolloff truck with a couple 40 yard bins.

Dealers try to put dump boxes on tractors to try get rid of the trucks as the market is flooded with used truck tractors.

For hauling what you want to haul like brush a truck with a 40 yard bin will be better then you can have a 20 yard bin for mulch and the slightly heavier materials.

You can find a good used roll-off truck easily for 35 grand I imagine those Macks have tons of miles on them. A used converted tractor with a new box and hoist your looking at 15-20 grand for the box and hydraulics so essentially the truck is only worth 15 grand as a tractor.

Keep looking your local Mack dealer has the KY jelly out looking for people to rip off.

I have to agree if I was building another truck a roll-off would be my first consideration.You could hoist a body up for each use,have a chip body,an equipment body,log body etc...
I also agree most road tractors are just wrong for a vocational application.The gear ratio's are to high,The frames are to thin,the suspension is to light and usually air bags and the front and rears are to light gvw.
I have run many dump setups and here is what I found to hold up;Either a double frame or heavy single3/8's or thicker,18,000lb or heavier front ends and 44 or I ran 46,000lb rears on springs.Gear ratios the road tractors mostly run 3:55's to 4:10's which is fine if you want you help running down the road at 80mph with not much low end putting huge stress on the drive-line,I had 4:62's and 5:38's The 4:62's worked out well,plenty of power to climb out of any hole with 24ton on the back and 65mph highway speed.For transmissions I ran Roadranger 8 and 9 speed double lows LL,they held up to abuse well and where easy to learn/teach.
I owned and ran construction trucks for thirteen years, hope this helps in your search.

 

[LightningLoader]

dump truck

We build grapple trucks and all I can say is that for a 24 cubic yard dump body the minimum required GVWR is 33,000 (12K front and 21K rear), although most customers like to get a little higher than that. You're only talking about a 15 cubic yard body though, so don't know if you even need that much?

As for the rolloff idea, that might be worth while, then you can use your truck for all sorts of things. You can use just plain boxes, or a flat bed or even a rolloff knuckleboom grapple (so that you can load brush).

In case you've never seen a rolloff grapple here's a link to a picture
http://www.petersenind.com/ro.html

These rolloff grapples really appeal to guys that are into seasonal storm chasing. They roll on the grapple and body for the summer months, and then if they're slow at home during the winter, then they can deliver rolloff containers with the same truck, or do tree work. If you want to do a rolloff, get a heavier and more powerful truck.