Should I buy this truck?

[Hay Dude]

Ive had drywall delivered by trucks just like that and although not a 6x6, they do very well.
I kind of realized the same thing a while back. If it’s that muddy, I don’t belong in there. But lockers will be nice for a couple uphill slogs I have from some lower “hollers” I hay.

 

[4570Man]

I wondered about height.
You know about the 6x6 dream, I have limited experience in that class truck (in awd), but in reality (and IMHO) if a tandem with inter axle lock is not enough to pickup your big squares in the field, you really shouldn't be there unless it's just the morning dew and a few hours of sunshine would make it passable.
Maybe adding some additional time to the weather guesswork that hay making is and stack near a roadway or somewhere with suitable (flat & hard) 10 wheeler access.

That’s kinda what I think. We’ve had loaded dump trucks in pretty bad places and when they do get stuck I can’t imagine 6x6 changing the outcome all that often. Maybe after the dump truck dumped the load 6x6 would have helped but there’s zero chance it would have came out loaded.

 

[mrmikey]

Looks like I’d have to cut the moffitt apparatus off the back. The brackets behind the wheels would bottom out coming out of ditches.

What's the purpose of those?

 

[Hay Dude]

That’s kinda what I think. We’ve had loaded dump trucks in pretty bad places and when they do get stuck I can’t imagine 6x6 changing the outcome all that often. Maybe after the dump truck dumped the load 6x6 would have helped but there’s zero chance it would have came out loaded.

You have to own & operate one to really know. We did 2 winters of sloppy, muddy work with my 4x4 dump. Several days of driving over frozen ground with the upper 1” thawed is really challenging, but the 4x4 (along with the diff lock rear) made it possible to haul logs when tandems would have been stuck. Even my buddy with a Mack tri with lockers wouldn’t venture where I would.

That front axle can get you out of trouble (it can also get you in trouble if you get over confident)

Once the sun gets on this frozen trail, it’s slicker than owl schit.

 

[4570Man]

You have to own & operate one to really know. We did 2 winters of sloppy, muddy work with my 4x4 dump. Several days of driving over frozen ground with the upper 1” thawed is really challenging, but the 4x4 (along with the diff lock rear) made it possible to haul logs when tandems would have been stuck. Even my buddy with a Mack tri with lockers wouldn’t venture where I would.

That front axle can get you out of trouble (it can also get you in trouble if you get over confident)

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I’m sure it makes a huge difference in a single axel but a non 4x4 single axel gets stuck on level grass. I’m not sold on the idea of it being a game changer on a loaded tandem.

 

[5030]

You have to own & operate one to really know. We did 2 winters of sloppy, muddy work with my 4x4 dump. Several days of driving over frozen ground with the upper 1” thawed is really challenging, but the 4x4 (along with the diff lock rear) made it possible to haul logs when tandems would have been stuck. Even my buddy with a Mack tri with lockers wouldn’t venture where I would.

That front axle can get you out of trouble (it can also get you in trouble if you get over confident)

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I see you now have the Qwiepie award for top troller of the month. Congratulations, you deserve it...

 

[LHF2019]

You need to check it out better OR take a chance. You could spend twice as much or more and still end up with 20 grand in repairs.

I’m figuring on some repairs. We facetimed and he started it, showed me oil pressure after it warmed up, jumped out of cab, pulled oil fill cap, no blowby. Pulled dipstick, too. No blowby.
Took it out on the road, drove back roads, drove 55 for a few minutes. Looked at oil pressure again, shifted good, looked pretty solid.
The AC blows cold and all the gauges work. That tells me there was someone keeping up with minor issues. Usually means the major issues are kept up, too.
I understand there could be some issues. I’m not using this thing for a limo service, I’m using it for a farm truck, so it don’t have to be perfect.
And I’m not married to the heiress of a fortune, so I have get started with something in the “value” price range, then address things as they arise.
I still might have someone look at it, but my connections in that area are slim to none.
[/QUOTE]

Which are you doing type C or type D farm exemption.

 

[OzarkChris]

My 2-year search for a hay truck might have finally ended.
At the outset, I wanted a long tandem, 6x6, automatic.
Budget was only $30,000, so as you can imagine, it greatly limited my choices.
Looked all over the country and found many of them, but most were over $50,000. They would also need the auger or bucket body removed and a 24’ flatbed installed. That adds another ~ $10,000.
Also most were grossly underpowered (DT-466, CAT C-7, etc), because they only needed enough ass to pull the truck with a auger or man lift.

So I gave up on 6x6 traction and decided that a 6x4 with full locking tandems would give me the traction I need most of the time.
That opened me up to a lot more choices since so few trucks are 6x6.

Then the battle turned to finding a long tandem 6x4, full lockers, automatic, but now I had more choices in bigger power.

So anyway, I found a 2006 Sterling with a CAT C-13 @ 415/1400 and as a bonus, it has a Allison 4000 series. Most smaller displacement trucks have a Allison 3000 series.

I can buy this for way under my 30K budget. Even with shipping (1,000 miles from me)

The only downside is it will need painted. 310,000 miles on it, but seller showed me a video of engine running. No blowby. He also drove it while face timing me. It seemed to run & shift fine. AC works, has trailer brakes, jake brakes, locking diffs and a PTO. Bed has sliding ratchet straps and tool bin/box. Also has air to rear and pintle hitch for PUP trailer (which I am going to try to find the one that went with this truck).
There’s nothing by some minor surface rust as it has been a southern (Tennessee) truck most its’ life.

I know it ain’t pretty. I will paint cab white or dark green. It will be tagged as a Farm Truck.

My 2-year search for a hay truck might have finally ended.
At the outset, I wanted a long tandem, 6x6, automatic.
Budget was only $30,000, so as you can imagine, it greatly limited my choices.
Looked all over the country and found many of them, but most were over $50,000. They would also need the auger or bucket body removed and a 24’ flatbed installed. That adds another ~ $10,000.
Also most were grossly underpowered (DT-466, CAT C-7, etc), because they only needed enough ass to pull the truck with a auger or man lift.

So I gave up on 6x6 traction and decided that a 6x4 with full locking tandems would give me the traction I need most of the time.
That opened me up to a lot more choices since so few trucks are 6x6.

Then the battle turned to finding a long tandem 6x4, full lockers, automatic, but now I had more choices in bigger power.

So anyway, I found a 2006 Sterling with a CAT C-13 @ 415/1400 and as a bonus, it has a Allison 4000 series. Most smaller displacement trucks have a Allison 3000 series.

I can buy this for way under my 30K budget. Even with shipping (1,000 miles from me)

The only downside is it will need painted. 310,000 miles on it, but seller showed me a video of engine running. No blowby. He also drove it while face timing me. It seemed to run & shift fine. AC works, has trailer brakes, jake brakes, locking diffs and a PTO. Bed has sliding ratchet straps and tool bin/box. Also has air to rear and pintle hitch for PUP trailer (which I am going to try to find the one that went with this truck).
There’s nothing by some minor surface rust as it has been a southern (Tennessee) truck most its’ life.

I know it ain’t pretty. I will paint cab white or dark green. It will be tagged as a Farm Truck.

That actually looks, and sounds like a mighty fine truck that you found considering your budget. Just in case it doesn't work out, several years ago I was looking for a similar vehicle - I have no need now. What I found that seemed to be the most cost effective were old cement trucks. Most are 6x6 with lockers and the HD version of positrac (whatever its called now) on all axles. At that time, the cement guys wanted to keep the mixing & dispensing part unless it was also dead in which case you didn't want either part. The stripped down truck was then sold at either auction, locally or by trade/truck selling magazines. What I found at that time was folks really did NOT want a truck without a bed, deck, etc, so they went very inexpensively.

I also looked at junk yards and in magazines, online for just the metal bed of a wrecker. Again, if you found them, they would be very inexpensive because nobody wanted them without the hydraulics.

Just a thought.

 

[SethWilliams]

Hay Dude - what part of TN is it in? It looks like REW materials is in Lebanon based off of google, which is only about 45 minutes from me. If you want a mechanic to check it out, I have a good friend who owns a diesel truck shop I can connect you with.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Where I'm from houses are still being built like crazy. These trucks are all around and I see them for sale on the side of the road from time to time. I have no idea what they go for or what drivetrain is in them. But they must be pretty stout and capable. They are on the road all the time and carry lots of weight to unfinished jobsites.