From fire tanker to flatbed dump

[rdbrumfield]

I have this 1972 F700 with all the lights and sirens. Had it set up for dust control and haven't used it much. figured I might as well pull the tank off and make a nice flatbed with hoist.
Wow, started buying steel, hoist and such, couldn't believe how much it has gone up.
Anyway, pulled the tank off and built the subframe today. I put an air system on to run the water valves so I will keep the airtank on for low tires and such. I used a 1973 toyota celica airconditioner pump. they are two cylinder and have their own crankcase. Makes for a great compressor. On the tag it is tested to 425 lbs. Don't think 125 will hurt anything.
Have a couple of used propane tanks for the air and hyd. Will hang those later.
Tomorrow will cut some more gold and start fabbing the bed. Will take a few pics if anyone is interested.
By the way, this truck has 6071 original miles on it. Only drawback is the rearend. Rockwell with 6:83 gears. I have another one with 4:88's coming. Right now it runs about 40mph at 2500.

 

[jayste]

Sounds interesting. Looking forward to more and pics. I can relate to your phrase "cut some more gold"!

Jay

 

[RickB]

Depending on the transmission ratios, you may be just as well off with the 6.83 rear. Too tall a low gear is a PITA for off-road and heavy work.

 

[EddieWalker]

Sounds interesting. I have a 1983 F600 dump truck with a gas engine that gets the job done, but is also a constant project.

What brakes do you have? Mine has a vacuum booster under the cab, on the drivers side. It's a real pain, and I've replaced it twice. Now I'm messing around, hunting down hydraulic oil leaks. I'm pulling the rear tires off and going in there next.

One thing that I really hate, and see all the time, is the sissor lift system used to lift the dump bed. The hydraulic cylinder is run off the PTO, and that works great. The cylinder is attached to a T kind of shaped piece of metal that in turns is attached to several arms that lift the bed. It allows the cylinder to fit inbetween the frame rails, and gives more room for the bed. That T shaped thing has broke on my twice now. The first time I'm sure it was just fatigue since it's so old. The welder I paid to fix it didn't get it right, and the next time, I took it to the most expensive, but what I'm told, the best welding outfit in town. So far, so good.

When I look at dump trucks, and I do, I see that there are several other ways to lift a bed. Before commiting to any of the options available, I'd spend some time researching all of them. There is a difference in how bigger beds are lifted compared to smaller ones. I think it's significant and if I had it all over to to again, I'd buy a different truck just based on the brakes and the lift of the bed.

Like the other suggested, I'd wait on messing with the rear axle until everything else is done and you've done some test runs. If you want more speed, you can do it then, but depending on the load, the terrain and how far you are going, lower gears might be better.

Eddie

 

[Iplayfarmer]

...By the way, this truck has 6071 original miles on it...

I'll bet that truck spent at least as much time idling as it ever spent driving. It's still a pretty low use truck, though.

If it came from a fire department anything like the one I volunteer with, you know that it had all the required maintenance on or ahead of schedule. It will be a great truck for you.

So, are you going to keep the lights and sirens when it's a dump truck?

 

[rdbrumfield]

I would love to keep the siren and lights, but you know that big red light is right in the middle of the roof and I need a place to mount a spare tire, and it would help protect the cab.
Today I put the new pump in, fitted the hoist and welded it up to the main and subframe and put the rear of the bed on.
Tomorrow, it is cut all the crossmembers, stake pockets, headache rack, mount the air and hyd tanks. Big order, will see how far I get.
It is turning out to be a bit higher than I would like, but that hoist mechanism needs some room to fold up and the truck frame has a crossmember right under it with just a couple of inches to spare. Other than that things are coming together nicely.
First order tomorrow is take a pic.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

...First order tomorrow is take a pic.

Definately!! Pics are a must.

 

[mjncad]

I second the call for pics!

 

[J_J]

Sounds interesting. Looking forward to more and pics. I can relate to your phrase "cut some more gold"!

Jay

I am sure the [ cut some more gold ], refers to the price of steel. The price of junk metal has dropped. but the new steel suppliers are keeping the prices as high as possible.

 

[Lloyd_E]

Would like step-by-step pics. I have a buddy who will be doing this soon...

TIA

Lloyd