dump truck/tow veichal

[AlanB]

I have been at this rodeo a while, and still do not have a good answer.

For us, the biggie has been insurance. Best quote I have gotten yet is from my new / current agent and he said he can get me a single axle dump insured around $100 a month. Even that will add up, plus a couple hundred a year for tags and the extra equipment tax. So far, I keep going back to making multiple loads with the dump trailer.

A cab forward City type truck with a dump bed is my current thought.

All this is too the side of the CDL issue, and all that goes with that. I have had more then one person suggest just not worrying about it, plead ignorance and pay the ticket if I get stopped. My luck would be I would drive off the lot and DOT man would be standing there.

That said, I want my CDL, but there is an additional rash of crud that goes with it, and again, additional expenses that must be paid, not to mention, if you have any traffic problems, it will add to the severity of them.

Sorry I don't have an answer, but it is a question I look at constantly and will be interested to hear how it works out for you.

I am thinking along the lines of a bigger dump trailer (gooseneck)

 

[schmism]

the CDL doesn't bother me. If anything its just one more thing i can add to my reparatur (i think thats spelled close?)

the thing that worried me when i first saw it was insurance, and hidden mechanical issues (or not so hidden for that matter)

brakes and tires etc.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Like most of the others have said INSURANCE. Unless you have a great insurance agent. There was a truck about like that for sale here that would have been great for me to shoot chips into for my part time tree business. I called the Insurance guy and even with my good rates it was $2000 a year because they called it a commercial truck. I didn't want that much more expense so I passed on it and shovel the chips out of my 1 ton chevy. Which will tow about anything I want to pull.
Jim

 

[AlanB]

the CDL doesn't bother me. If anything its just one more thing i can add to my reparatur (i think thats spelled close?)

the thing that worried me when i first saw it was insurance, and hidden mechanical issues (or not so hidden for that matter)

brakes and tires etc.

One thing I tried, but would not fly with us having the landscape business was to Farm tag and Farm insure.

That got shot down on several fronts.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

what defines a farm truck? I have heard so many different ideas on this it drives me nuts. I suppose i could look it up but 56k here might kill me

 

[RobS]

what defines a farm truck? I have heard so many different ideas on this it drives me nuts. I suppose i could look it up but 56k here might kill me

I don't think there is a black and white definition but it seems commonly understood that when a truck is retired from everyday service it becomes a good farm truck.

So Schmism, did you pick up this truck?

 

[Rara Avis]

what defines a farm truck? I have heard so many different ideas on this it drives me nuts. I suppose i could look it up but 56k here might kill me

You have to have a farm...

 

[EddieWalker]

what defines a farm truck? I have heard so many different ideas on this it drives me nuts. I suppose i could look it up but 56k here might kill me

My definition of a "farm truck" is one that still works, but there is no way it will be legal to drive on the roads.

In my case, I have a dump truck that I call a "farm" truck. It has a brand new engine, clutch and brakes, but the lights, wipers and most of the elctronics don't work. I don't have any reason to run it on the street, so I leave it as is. If I wanted to drive it on the streets, I'd have to fix all those little things and then register it and buy insurance. None of that is important to me, so it will stay like it is.

Eddie

 

[Builder]

1977 Ford F-800 Dump Truck Single Axle

what do you think? Ive been looking for a "beater" truck to tow with. seems this might serve as a tow vehical and be an added plus of a dump truck....

Try to find one that has as much current inspection on it as possible. That way if you buy it, you can at least be "legal" over the road. If it looks to be a real money pit, it'll be easier to resell.

I owned a '87-ish F-700 with a 6.6L diesel and an allison auto. The trans went ($3,000 in '91). Ford used the Lucas Girling brake system in their older trucks. A real PITA and VERY expensive to fix. A complete brake job could run 3-5 grand!

See if you can find an IH dump. Parts are 1/2 the price of Ford parts. They're simpler and usually better built trucks. There's a gazillion of them out there you can pull parts from in salvage yards.

My number one piece of advice if you must buy an old dumptruck and it's a reach for you to afford, is make sure there's a truck salvage yard nearby. I used my days off to go to the salvage yards to pull parts I needed for my dump trucks.

For a little contractor like you, you'd be FAR better off with a HD pickup with a dumptrailer OR a dump insert in the bed of your pickup.

Trailers cost nearly nothing to insure, have no drivetrain to repair, and probably cost about the same as a old tired dumptruck by the time you fix everything.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

so back to my original question, "what defines a farm truck?" I have read some about this but if you were to plate a truck a farm truck what are the stipulations? I know you can only drive it 150 air miles, not out of state and it has to be for farm products or something along those lines. Anybody else have any better information for clarity?