Dump Truck or Trailer?

[crashz]

I've lost the battle with rust on my dump truck.

I love the little truck, but I've been working on it for a solid 5 years and have used it a handful of times. It has had major issues, mostly frame related, and all of my attempts at saving it have failed. I've done everything but sand blast and paint, and that should have been done first. Its not fixable now and I don't have the time to due a frame transplant.

I have some dump truck work this summer that I have been putting off for a few years and cannot put off any longer. It involves bringing (stone, loam and brush) materials to and from my house, hauling fire wood to my parents house and hauling junk from our property in NY. I need more capacity than my pick-up and need it soon so that we can put our house on the market.

So...

Do I look for another truck? I've narrowed my wants to a late 90's 2wd 3500HD or F450 series truck (15Klb GVWR) that has not been a plow and sander truck.
Or...
Get a dump trailer?

I would like to buy another truck. SWMBO - does not agree. The pricing for the initial purchase will be about the same but the operating costs vastly favor the dump trailer. The upside of the truck is that it could be used by other people (my father and uncle maybe) and with that I might be able to squeeze out some help with these tasks. My pickup would also not be exposed to accidental damage vs a few dents in a dump truck that add character. But I have wasted an incredible amount of money on the truck I have, without any work done.

Thoughts?

PS - the 87 will not go to waste though. I will use it (it has pristine sheet metal) to restore my 83.

 

[allen in texas]

I thought about a dump truck a lot of times. I went with a trailer. I haul my tractor in my trailer and I don't have to pull a trailer with a dump truck, load unload tractor, unhook trailer, load dump truck do job hook back up to trailer, load tractor.

The trailer just works better for me.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Dump trailer if traveling any distance. Local stuff get a old dump truck. Me and my neighbor have a 78 F700 and a 79 C60. Paid $1800 and $1500 respectively but I wouldn't go more than 15 miles from home in either.

Chris

 

[terryknight]

i would think it comes down to how easy is it for you to tag and insure a trailer vs. a truck. i would vote truck. you can't haul a load and a trailer with a dump trailer. i've always had access to dump trucks and find them more useful.

 

[Rustyiron]

I'm with Terry. I found that dump trailers are best suited for trash and mulch (light weight & bulky). For any real dirt/stone transport, you need a DT. And then, depending on your area, (and your class DL) you have the DOT boys looking for revenue!! Dragging a trailer around is a pita compared to a single unit DT. Trailers rust out as well and unless you get lucky, are hard to find used and very pricy new making a used DT only a bit more money.

 

[crashz]

Thanks guys. Regular tasks such as hauling stone, loam and fire wood will be required at least once per month, summers will be every weekend.

Either will need to be road worthy enough to regularly travel 150 miles each way from our land in NY to my house near Boston. That's where the current truck falls short. It will probably pass inspection and run just fine. But the rear spring hanger areas are very weak. And a failure there on the road would be bad.

 

[schmism]

I miss my 85 C30 dump. wasnt much of a road truck, but it hualed 2 ton of rock just fine and i loved pulling the lever on the PTO dump and just watching the material fall out.

If i had to do again.... I would seriously consider an late 90's early 00 F450 or F550 with dump bed. bonus if it had the NV4500 stick in it and PTO dump. perfect world would be a 4x4 and equipped with a plow

 

[94BULLITT]

It depends what you are doing. With a trailer you can probably get a permanent tag, with truck you will have to pay for registration every year. A trailer has 4 tires, a truck will have 6. You don't need insurance on a trailer. I think you will have a hard time find a good truck for a good trailer will cost.

 

[George2615]

I had a dump truck a couple years ago.
In my area a dump truck required commercial registration / plates (not a big deal, even my 1/2T has comm plates).
I had to buy a commercial insurance policy. I couldn't add it to my regular car and truck policy.
Upkeep on truck cost more than trailer. More fuel required than a pick up, oil, filters, breakdown repairs etc.
Truck was rated for 16K GVWR.

Trailer is rated for 14K GVWR. Plates are cheaper. No separate insurance policy. Can tow with a pick up.

For the minimal amount of times a year I need to haul product (stone, dirt, gravel, mulch etc.) the trailer was a better option for me.

 

[JJZ 109]

With a properly sized trailer, could you haul your Bobcat & kill two birds with one stone? Like haul machine to site, drop it and then go for material?
As mentioned, a truck is one more thing to register, insure, inspect and maintain. Depending on where you are you might also consider a Maine plate to lower yearly registration costs. Sure, there are maintenance items on a trailer, but no engine or driveline to have issues with.