Talk to me about owning a Dump Truck

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

Another thing. I can get (basically) free gravel at a pit maybe four miles away, and still found it cheaper to pay for a tri-axle truck then run it myself.

Yep. Around here, delivery is only $65, so you could pay for a a lot of trips for the price of a dump truck.

You may want to reread the laws . I believe if the truck has a gvw on the truck over 26001 , you need a CDL , it doesnt matter what you register it at . Its based on the manufacturer plate .

Yeah, if you put down 25,000 for a 34,000 truck, I think the only change in your legal status is that now you are guilty of making a false affidavit.

 

[1stDeuce]

You can both think like that, but in simple terms, you're both wrong.

There is no problem registering for less than rated gvw. Registering for more than rated gvw is not so easy. If you register for 26k or under, no cdl needed, regardless of the factory tag. But then you have to stay under the registered weight.

 

[1stDeuce]

A dump trailer is out. Plowing 10 miles of road (not driveway) with a tractor also out.

Good points on hassle. I think its going to work out that it's only feasible if I can make the truck earn its keep...personal use just isn't enough.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Deuce is right about the cdl, let's not get into that mess of what if's again. I have been toying around with the idea of an older gas dump truck. We have a shale pit on a relatives property that is only a half mile away that would be awfully convenient for getting loads of fill. The 1 ton dumps just don't haul enough for the effort. I've actually been looking at 10 ton trucks just because they mostly have air brakes and diesel engines. The dumps with a smaller than 400ci engine just scream slow as a slug to me. I wasn't going to register or insure the truck unless I could get farm plates for it. There are alot of older municipal trucks for sale but the years of salt scare the heck out of me for all the little problems that could eat up alot of time

 

[rustydollar]

I bought an early 60's Chevy Viking gas dump bed grain truck for $1000, hauled about 4-5 loads of gravel (6-8 tons each load) from the quarry about 15 miles away and then sold it for a little more than I paid about 1 year later. I saved some money, but when I had all the gravel that I planned to buy, I was ready to get rid of it.

Pros
I saved some money (but the fuel, extra license and insurance costs really cut into what I saved).

Cons
Professional drivers can spread a nice even layer of gravel- I couldn't (the main reason was that I didn't have the right type of tailgate) so it took a fair amount of tractor time to spread each load.
Driving a BIG truck is a lot different from driving a regular truck. It can bee a little scary when you are fully loaded and cars are cutting into your lane (you know you can't stop on a dime like they can).
Brakes need to be working perfectly on a large truck, and unless you work the truck at least every 6 months, brake components can begin to seize up + big truck tires are not cheap.

My advice- Add up all the $ that you will spend on gravel over the next few years and then compare that to the cost of the truck, cost of yearly fuel, maintenance, license and insurance + think of the amount of time you will spend hauling/spreading gravel vs.doing other projects if you have someone else hauling and spreading. At the quarry I went to, it usually took at least 30 min to "order" the gravel get loaded and pay.

You mentioned plowing snow- a tractor will be far more maneuverable than a truck. Yes- a truck can plow a long road faster- but its not as easy to maneuver in and out of driveways as a tractor is.

I also have a 1969 1 ton international dump truck that I haul dirt with on the farm- that truck is a pleasure to drive (even when fully loaded) compared to the old grain truck.

With the grain truck how much shoveling did you have to do off loading dirt. Those grain hoists do not lift as high as those made for gravel box.

Grain is dry and flows freely while dirt tends to be on the sticky side. Even with some gravel trucks you'll find yourself under the hoes getting scrapped clean.

My Mack gravel truck depending on which gear the main transmission was in to operate the PTO could lift fast and furious, wet clay would slide out like **** from a goose.

 

[Sprinklerman]

You can both think like that, but in simple terms, you're both wrong.

There is no problem registering for less than rated gvw. Registering for more than rated gvw is not so easy. If you register for 26k or under, no cdl needed, regardless of the factory tag. But then you have to stay under the registered weight.

Registering less than the rated GVW , just means you cant carry the trucks rated weight , you havent paid the gov . But that doesnt change the fact that the truck is a 36,000 lb truck .

CDL Classifications | DMV.org

The key phrase is " rated weight "

here is some more interesting facts straight from the feds

Regulations Section | Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration


Before you spend the money and buy a truck with a GVW over 26,000 lbs , call your local DOT office and explain to them what you want to do . See what they say .

But its illogical that I could buy a tandem dump truck and tag it for 26,000 lbs and drive it with a regular license .

Some states even require a CDL to drive a motorhome or 5 th wheel camper , depending on the gvw . ( maryland is one of them ) .

I have a class B , and got busted once driving a tree bucket truck that required a CDL , I was pulling a 12K dump trailer that was empty . With a B license I am limited to a 10K trailer Now , I can pull the trailer behind my pickup fully loaded and be legal . The DOT cop was cool , I explained to him I thought it was the weight loaded . He gave me a warning . He explained to me they look at the gvw on the plates of the vehicles , not the registration , they only check the weights on the registration when they scale you .


A driver needs a CDL if the vehicle meets one of the following definitions of a CMV:


Class A truck
Any combination of vehicles with a GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) of 26,001 or more pounds (11,793 kg) provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds (4536 kg).


Class B truck
Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds (11,793 kg), or any such vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of 10,000 pounds (4536 kg) GVWR.


Class C truck
Any single vehicle, or combination of vehicles, that does not meet the definition of Class A or Class B, but is either designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver, or is placarded for hazardous materials.


Fines can run in the thousands

 

[KYErik]

With the grain truck how much shoveling did you have to do off loading dirt. Those grain hoists do not lift as high as those made for gravel box.

Grain is dry and flows freely while dirt tends to be on the sticky side. Even with some gravel trucks you'll find yourself under the hoes getting scrapped clean.

My Mack gravel truck depending on which gear the main transmission was in to operate the PTO could lift fast and furious, wet clay would slide out like **** from a goose.

Good points- I just hauled whole gravel in the grain truck bed (no fines) so it dumped OK- yes I'm sure I would have had lots of trouble with dumping dirt.

My 1 ton has trouble dumping dirt and the bed goes up a little steeper than 45 degrees. It is a flatbed that has 1 foot wooden sides attached by oak boards through the stake pockets and my dad installed two lift cylinders and a pump/valve to make it into a dump bed. It was designed for firewood- and it can dump that fairly well.

 

[1stDeuce]

Sprinkler man, thanks for the links. I'm away from my computer at the moment so difficult to browse, but I did some surfing yesterday. It appears that some eastern states choose to use the mfg's gvw rating, regardless of the registered weight. In wild wild west, most states go by the registered weight, even when determining CDL necessity. This is of course for straight trucks only.
In my case, I can avoid the need for a cdl by registering under 26k, but that evidently isn't the case in all states. If I get an overweight permit, then I also need a cdl. The cdl is no problem for me, I'm just trying to keep registration cost down...

 

[EddieWalker]

I can't comment on your legal questions in your state. I don't have a clue about them.

What I can share is some of my experiences with my Ford F-600 gasoline 5 yard dump truck. It's a single axle former city dump truck that I paid $3,000 for without plates or registration. It's strictly for moving dirt around on my land. With sideboards, I can add two more yards to it, but I tend to keep it to five yards per load.

The gasoline engine and manual transmission has plenty of power for what I'm doing. It's simple to work on and parts are fairly cheap. It sits for months, and even over a year between using it. When I do use it, it's pretty non stop all weekend and evenings to get enough dirt where I want it. Five yards is nothing, fifty yards starts to make a dent, 500 yards and you're getting somewhere.

My truck was designed and built to run on pavement. It's air filter was never meant for off road use, and eventually enough dust got through it to sand my cylinder walls. After rebuilding the engine, I added another air filter to pre clean the air coming into the factor air filter.

My dump bed lifts from a sissor type of mechanism powered by a one way hydraulic cylinder run off of a PTO that you have to put into gear, then rev the engine to get it to go up. This works fine until it breaks. Then it's a royal nightmare getting it all apart without any way to lift the dump bed to get to everything. I used my backhoe and bottle jacks to get the bed into the air enough for 4x4 posts to hold it up. Two on each side just in case one broke. It was one of the worse jobs ever getting it all apart. Fortunately my welding/machine show was able to straighten it all out and weld it back together for $500

If I was to buy again, I would get a dump truck with a single hydraulic cylinder that lifts the bed straight up. No scissor linkage!!!!

Look at the dumb bed. Is it perfectly smooth and flat? Or is it like my and bowed down between each rib so it will hold dirt that builds up after every load? After about ten loads, I have to get the shovel out and break all the dirt free. Then two years ago I bought a 4x9 sheet of heavy sheet metal and had them cut me another piece to make up the difference, and welded it over the existing bed. Just guessing, I think the inside of the bed is 5 1/2 feet wide. Now the dirt slides off real nice with just a small amount of build up at the corners that I pretty much live with when moving a lot of dirt around. I've tried different types of roll on paints with mixed results. Eventually they all wear off and your back to bare metal. Best thing to do is never more dirt with any moisture in it. If that's possible.

Lastly, if you are cleaning out mud, be sure to park it in such a way that you are not driving over mud or water that leaks out of the bed. Also be sure that if you slide backwards from lack of traction, that you wont end up in the pond.

 

[rustydollar]

Excellent time to change the oil.

My Mack gravel truck worked on a construction site for two years building an Arnold Palmer designed two 18 hole golf courses, a 37 million dollar project. I also had a D4D LPG Caterpillar on pyramid style tracks working this site.

Here are the end results Northview Golf & Country Club | Legendary Design

The Mack had an oil bath air filter, after two years of working in the dust my truck was the only one that did not require and engine overhaul. The truck lived to work another two years in Hedley BC moving several old tailings piles onto a large mat to to where the tailings would be cyanide leached to recover the gold.