Towing heavy on a 1/2 ton

[dnw64]

Of course, that doesn't take into account the wear/tear on the truck.. And that could be substantial.

And maybe I missed it, but what about the value of your time? Even if you don't want to put a dollar value on it, what else could you be doing? What is that worth to you? If nothing, ok then. But my time is worth quite a bit to me. You do realize that they stopped making it, right?

 

[Fallon]

And maybe I missed it, but what about the value of your time? Even if you don't want to put a dollar value on it, what else could you be doing? What is that worth to you? If nothing, ok then. But my time is worth quite a bit to me. You do realize that they stopped making it, right?

Nope they keep making it every millisecond of every day. I kind of doubt I'll be able to consume more than a finite amount though.

 

[prof fate]

We need sawdust for our horses. Sometimes we know someone that does it, but it's getting harder and harder to find someone.

Options - get it ourselves..so shovel it off the truck...can borrow a friends dump trailer, but it has no tall sides and sawdust is a bulky item, not heavy. We can do the trips..but our time is preciouse as we have so little of it. And to get enought we'd have to make 4 trips - 5 to 6 hours, plus unloading in the barn if we have to shovel becomes unpleasant, both in time and physically. I'd much rather do most anything else.

We can hire a guy - get 10 yards in the barn, $200. We'd like more sawdust than that to get thru the winter.
We can hire a guy with a triaxle dump - won't fit in the barn (OH BOY!! Tractor tiem!!) and get a LOT of sawdust - we want 12-13 yards, $100 for the sawdust and he wants $100 to deliver it.

We could rent a dump truck..$375 a day. Makes no sense.

Buying a dump trailer, building sides, etc makes no sense either.

When you factor in time, gas, etc - let someone else fetch it.

As for 300t of gravel - ifyou're buying that much many places will cut you a deal - free delivery or lower price per ton that offsets that delivery fee.

 

[TMGT]

I have a dump trailer and live <15mi from the quarry, I have my gravel delivered 20t at a time unless i only need 5t or less. It's just not worth my time and the wear and tear on the truck and trailer honestly.
I've never had a situation where I had too much gravel, so I just get 20t every time. Call up the quarry and tell them how much I need and they have my card on file, if I call in the morning its typically delivered later that day.

If I have to make more then 2 trips its typically not worth it to me to use my equipment.

 

[Jstpssng]

We need sawdust for our horses. Sometimes we know someone that does it, but it's getting harder and harder to find someone.

Options - get it ourselves..so shovel it off the truck...can borrow a friends dump trailer, but it has no tall sides and sawdust is a bulky item, not heavy. We can do the trips..but our time is preciouse as we have so little of it. And to get enought we'd have to make 4 trips - 5 to 6 hours, plus unloading in the barn if we have to shovel becomes unpleasant, both in time and physically. I'd much rather do most anything else.

We can hire a guy - get 10 yards in the barn, $200. We'd like more sawdust than that to get thru the winter.
We can hire a guy with a triaxle dump - won't fit in the barn (OH BOY!! Tractor tiem!!) and get a LOT of sawdust - we want 12-13 yards, $100 for the sawdust and he wants $100 to deliver it.

We could rent a dump truck..$375 a day. Makes no sense.

Buying a dump trailer, building sides, etc makes no sense either.

When you factor in time, gas, etc - let someone else fetch it.

As for 300t of gravel - ifyou're buying that much many places will cut you a deal - free delivery or lower price per ton that offsets that delivery fee.

Some friends were into barrel racing when their kids were growing up so they kept 5 horses, and occasionally a couple for friends. They had an older F700 with an enclosed body that they would use to haul hay every year; then they would bring it to a saw mill where the guys would blow shavings into it, then call when it was full. It worked great for both parties and reduced the amount of handling.

 

[dnw64]

I've never had a situation where I had too much gravel...

Words of wisdom, there.

 

[dnw64]

They had an older F700 with an enclosed body that they would use to haul hay every year; then they would bring it to a saw mill where the guys would blow shavings into it, then call when it was full.

If/when that works, I love it. But businesses run every day. Did they have a roster of other F700s to call on and be there when the full one pulled out?

We are a wood shop and produce a 53' trailer of kiln-dried wood dust/shavings/chips every 1-2 weeks. There is no way we would count on a random assortment of farmers who may or may not need "shavings" at any given time. We did that for many years, and it was a constant hassle. With our current arrangement, we call someone the day before we need the trailer changed out, they bring a new one, swap it out, AND pay us around $20/ton (I don't recall the exact current amount, but it's generally around $250 per load) for the pleasure. They take it back and turn it into $250/ton pellets. That's what I call win-win.

 

[Jstpssng]

You are looking at it from the other end of the spectrum. I was just commenting on what worked for them, and seemed to work for the mill, also.

 

[dnw64]

You are looking at it from the other end of the spectrum. I was just commenting on what worked for them, and seemed to work for the mill, also.

As I said

If/when that works, I love it.

 

[Cat_Driver]

I've driven heavy loads with lighter trucks and heavy loads with heavy trucks, and I can tell you this I will never ever tow a heavy load with a light vehicle. I needed to panic stop with the light vehicle and the trailer and load pushed me throgh a red light.
The next day I purchased a F450 and nothing pushed me around.
Tow heavy and you will either die or kill someone. Not worth it.