How many miles are you comfortable with?

[clemsonfor]

I've considered that option.

If I go that route, here are a few things I'd need answered.

1.) My Kubota L35 doesn't have the highest reach, I think it's around 8' at the pins. It seems like most dump trucks beds are to tall. I can always take the board extensions off, but what kind of a height does that get me down to? Not being able to dump into the center of a bed seems like it'd really cut down on the useful load one could carry.

2.) License? If it has air brakes, then I thought I'd have to get a CDL. I know you can do the farm tags route, but I have some properties more than 150 miles away that I like to be able to drive to.

3.) Plates and insurance? Do you have to plate a vehicle for it Gross? What kind of insurance does one have to carry on something of that size?

Thanks to everyone who has posted comments so far.

Farm tags , you register them by weight, 5,000, 20000, etc. Your farm properties are not all in one location that should not be a problem.

 

[Duffster]

What does it mean in an ad for a truck when they say, "Under CDL"?

How do you get a truck 'out' from "Under CDL"?

It just means that the GVWR is 26,000 lbs. or less. Some are truly heavier trucks that had been derated and some are lighter trucks.

 

[Soundguy]

by 94 I'd expect it to atleast be the turbo 7.3 vs the na 7.3

still.. 380K wow..

soudnguy

There's a good chance that truck is not a Powerstroke and is the old non-turbo IDI 7.3l diesel which is what I had in my 94 F-350 dump. The Powerstroke came out in late 94 as a 94.5 model year but very few 94's actually got it and all 95+ trucks had it. The non-turbo diesel is a dog and pretty useless with 2-3 tons in the bed but very reliable. The GVWR of my truck was 11,000 lbs and I couldn't find the GCWR but found online in a few places that the tow capacity was about 9,000lbs. Hardly much considering today's trucks.

If I were looking for an older dump truck again, I would only look for a Dodge Ram with the Cummins diesel. You get a solid truck with a diesel engine that has no problem going 300k-400k miles untouched and a more comfortable cab.

My dump truck had a sander in the bed 90% of the time and you could tell because the dump bed and truck frame rotted away so bad it could hardly hold itself together. Check the frame and bed very well, new paint is a bad sign.

 

[Dmace]

by 94 I'd expect it to atleast be the turbo 7.3 vs the na 7.3

Your confusing me now. Like I said, the turbo Powerstroke diesel did not come out until mid-94 as a 94.5 model year. There are not that many 94's out there with the turbo engine.

The ONLY thing that those two engines have in common is the displacement.
Here's some more info: Ford Power Stroke engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


My old truck, 1994 non-turbo IDI 7.3l diesel.

 

[Soundguy]

there's a 7.3na, a 7.3 turbo, and a 7.3 PSD

at work we have a 94 f250 with a turbo 7.3 that is not the psd. the 7.3 turbo looks nothing like my 7.3 psd... at least what I can see from the hood.. etc..

soundguy

 

[Dmace]

there's a 7.3na, a 7.3 turbo, and a 7.3 PSD

at work we have a 94 f250 with a turbo 7.3 that is not the psd. the 7.3 turbo looks nothing like my 7.3 psd... at least what I can see from the hood.. etc..

soundguy

Oh yeah, I forgot about that motor. It was a mid-span motor to increase power until the Powerstroke came out. It was still IDI (in-direct injection) but had slightly stronger internals and a stronger fuel pump and injectors but was only in production for half a model year. Even more rare than the 94.5 Powerstroke.

 

[Soundguy]

yep.. pretty much what I had heard about it too.

soundguy

 

[JESSE1]

I had a '94 F-350 dually with the 7.3 Turbo. Came from the factory with an ATS turbo installed. Very good engine, the turbo really woke up the 7.3. They used that engine for the '94 model year even after the Powerstroke came out. The Powerstroke was only offered with a manual trans in the beginning and they used the 7.3 Turbo with the automatic trans. By '95 the Powerstroke was the only engine offered.

 

[lostcause]

one thing that i didn't see you mention was what you expect to put on for annual mileage, and possibly how long you think you might keep this vehicle in service for?

i'll certainly agree that pretty much every diesel out there in a light truck will outperform a gas engine, but there's a cost premium involved. if you're going to be up for hire on a daily basis, then it may well be worth the cost, but if you're only going to put maybe a few thousand miles a year on, maybe you'd be able to manage with a gas engine just as well. my experience with a diesel is that maintenance and parts are always going to cost you more, and some diesels more than others. i'd weigh the cost of some of the major service problems just so i wasn't in for a shock in case it needed it in a few months.

a few years ago i bought a used 2001 gm 3500. it was a decent price at the time - in fact, it was as cheap or cheaper than any of the same vintage gas trucks i'd found locally. i had a friend pull the warranty service records, and i found what i was looking for - warranty injector replacement. i figured i might make some miles before anything failed on me, but i was wrong. 6 months later i ended up doing an injector job. i searched for the best price i could find - $169 each (high was $350 each for gm rebuilds) but in the end just the injectors cost me nearly as much for parts alone as i would have paid to buy a complete rebuilt gas engine and for the labor to have it installed. then i still had the injector installation labor ahead of me.

if you're set on a diesel, or if you're going to work it enough to justify it, then go for it, but for light use, you can probably get by with a gas engine. as far as how many miles you should look for on a gas, i'd go with strictly condition of the vehicle, and if the vehicle is solid then try to whittle the price down enough to where you could handle a major (engine/transmission) repair, and not be in over your head.

 

[Duffster]

one thing that i didn't see you mention was what you expect to put on for annual mileage, and possibly how long you think you might keep this vehicle in service for?

i'll certainly agree that pretty much every diesel out there in a light truck will outperform a gas engine, but there's a cost premium involved. if you're going to be up for hire on a daily basis, then it may well be worth the cost, but if you're only going to put maybe a few thousand miles a year on, maybe you'd be able to manage with a gas engine just as well. my experience with a diesel is that maintenance and parts are always going to cost you more, and some diesels more than others. i'd weigh the cost of some of the major service problems just so i wasn't in for a shock in case it needed it in a few months.

a few years ago i bought a used 2001 gm 3500. it was a decent price at the time - in fact, it was as cheap or cheaper than any of the same vintage gas trucks i'd found locally. i had a friend pull the warranty service records, and i found what i was looking for - warranty injector replacement. i figured i might make some miles before anything failed on me, but i was wrong. 6 months later i ended up doing an injector job. i searched for the best price i could find - $169 each (high was $350 each for gm rebuilds) but in the end just the injectors cost me nearly as much for parts alone as i would have paid to buy a complete rebuilt gas engine and for the labor to have it installed. then i still had the injector installation labor ahead of me.

if you're set on a diesel, or if you're going to work it enough to justify it, then go for it, but for light use, you can probably get by with a gas engine. as far as how many miles you should look for on a gas, i'd go with strictly condition of the vehicle, and if the vehicle is solid then try to whittle the price down enough to where you could handle a major (engine/transmission) repair, and not be in over your head.

Where do you get a rebuilt gasser installed for $1350?