Dump Truck

[DKinWA]

Eddie,

I'll take a slightly different approach and throw out some other options. Seeing you have 100 acres, is there any chance you could develop a small 3 - 5 acre pit on your own property? You could probably get 10,000 tons crushed pretty reasonably. You could even clear the overburden yourself and reclaim it when done. Once the crushing is done, you could buy a cheap truck and use it for your hauling. If not, what about a neighbors property?

Another thought is to get a price for the rock at the pit if you purchased the rock and hire the dump trucks to haul it. Around here, I can get a truck and pup for $65-75/hour depending on the time of year. A typical 4 axle truck and 4 axle trailer will haul about 25 tons and I wouldn't even consider moving 10,000 tons solo (truck only).

Personally, if I wanted to do my own hauling, I'd buy a 4 axle truck and 4 axle trailer to keep my hauling costs down. The downside is a decent truck like this is going to be in the $70,000 plus range and you can plan on burning $2,000 a month in fuel. Given 10,000 tons will be about 400 trips, you'd be running it three months solid. (On edit, it's more like 5 months!)

Actually the more I think about it, I'd look for a closer rock source and get my hauling cost down. I definitely wouldn't go with a single axle truck since this would work out to around 1,250 loads. At two hours per load, you'd be at 2,500 hours /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif I'm kinda rambling here, but I'd want to get the work done as fast a possible and get the RV Park opened up to start recupping some of my money. This is a pretty ambitious project for one person, so lots to consider. Anyway you go though, it sounds like a fun project with a lot of potential. Good luck /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Bully]

Out here in Calif. you would want to stay under 26,000 gvw's, DMV registration alone could be over $1400a year alone, plus the annual bit inspection with the Highway Patrol, and class b license. I would check out the auctions from Utility Co. or government . flat bed w/hyd. or dump bed.

 

[Taylortractornut]

Eddie how far are you from Aiken TX. I have an uncle that works for a seed company and they are selling some 75 F600 and 700 Ford Bean trucks with dump beds. I think bidding starts at 500 but the way he talks i think 650 would be a sure take home price. They make good farm trucks around the lot I may take one to use on demo jobs where my 5 yard bed wont take odd debris. Ifyour interested I llgivehim a call and see if I can get one foryou.

 

[roccon31]

being a contractor in the state of PA, i can tell you from first hand experience that it would be cheaper to hire the trucks to haul than to buy one. we pay ~$2k/yr for tags, ~4k/yr insurance, CDL, DOT physical every 2 years, 400 each for tires (12 every 30k miles!!! heaven forbid you cut one with a rock), 2.30/gal fuel (at 5mpg!!). it adds up quick.

i used to work in a stone quarry. most people ordering over 1000 tons of material would call the company headquarters and get a price quote. 10k tons would net you a significant price decrease in my area. find yourself 2-3 trucks that want to work for you consistantly throughout the whole project. pick the best ones, and ask them to come back. you may have to set that up through dispatch though, depending on the operation. most times folks will ask certain drivers to return to their job, if they like them. we happily oblige. most truck owners will be grateful for consistant work from one source, especially if you are kind and pay on time. also, if they tell you they cant do something with the truck that you think they can, listen to them. they know best (most of the time) you would be surprised at how arrogant folks can be when it comes to mud, unlevel dump areas, etc.

good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[Egon]

For the one hour one way haul consider having it hauled by a contractor using the largest truck available with a tag trailer. Just remember he has to also make a living.

On site it's a different story. A single axle or even a dump trailer may fit your needs. Maintenance goes way down on site as the working conditions have changed.

Egon

 

[EddieWalker]

Taylor,

I sent you a PM about the trucks. I'm very interested in this aproach and it might be the answer to my situation.

Does anybody know anything about this model of truck? I'll do a google search and see what I can learn, but would also apreciate any other info.

It would appear that buying a dump truck to haul rock might not be such a bright idea. Long term expenses probably wont result in a significant savings or prove to be cost effective. It also looks like it might be a bigger hassle than what I want to deal with.

Taylor's idea of a cheap farm dump truck really sounds like the aproach I should take. That way I can move the dirt around my place that I need. The rock will come in over the years as I need it, and can be contracted out in a couple thousand pound bids.

Thanks, Eddie

 

[roccon31]

f700's are great mid size trucks. you can beat them and they take it, and then they ask for more!

some notes- stay away from electric-over-hydraulic ("lucas gerling") brakes. they are hard to get parts for, very difficult to adjust, and difficult to maintain. an air brake model is the way to go.

the diesel's in those trucks are WAY better than the gas models.

be wary of a sloppy 2-speed rear axle. if not driven correctly, it can get very pricy to fix them.

 

[vetteman]

I have to put in my 2 cents. If you could buy a GOOD used diesel dump truck for 50K haul 5000 ton of stone and you said you got a quote for $14 per ton thats 70K in expense. You buy a good truck for 50K or maybe less lots of truckers going bankrupt out there 10K per year expense and turn around and sell the truck in 2 years for 25K You still saved 25K and got the work done when you wanted and you could also use it around your property in the mean time.

 

[Taylortractornut]

Roccon31 You said it best on the F700 I live 5 miles from the limestone quarry and when hauling stockpiles home for the weekend customers ill have them fill mine up last load I got saturday I was grossing 27000 pounds on a single axle. luckily its all back roads home. Mine is all hydraulc boost brakes. Thats on my 75 model. Im still divided on puttin a sevice body on my 95 Ford F700 or a nice flat dump or maybe a contractors dump. The only thing about making the newr model a dump is the fact its a Propane truck.

 

[jgh]

20050217

One consideration--do you have mud where you are going to be working? Think traction. Will the single or tandem truck you buy get stuck? 4WD is available. Old mixer trucks are the girls most likely, but are often worn out when sold and are usually tandem or larger. Not sure if any of the DOT type singles have it. But they sure sell a lot of those around here, many with AT, which my brother cautions me about, says they can be expensive to repair.

I own 2 Mack tandems, early 80s models with rough bodies. They have the old double stick mack transmissions, not easy to negotiate /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif. I plan to sell them and buy one smaller truck, prob a single and hoping to find 4wd since there are hills and mud on our farm.

Opinions are free /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Jim