Talk to me about owning a Dump Truck

[1stDeuce]

Wow, that's a great looking Loadstar hslogger!! I had the chance to buy a 3 yard dump loadstar, ~1973 vintage. I passed, thinking at the time that it was too much of a project.

I hope my truck looks half that nice once it's painted... I currently have about $4800 into it, not including the plow or scraper. I still haven't managed to sell the spare 366 that it came with either, so I'll get some money out of that if I ever find a buyer.

The hoist showed up Friday, so I'll get working on the install later this week. Then I need to bleed the brakes really well and see if I can get some pedal. I did a panic stop in it the other say and was NOT impressed, but I may have simply been out of pedal travel...

The first pedal apply goes pretty much to the floor before you get any stopping at all. Because it's Hydrovac, both the apply and return of the pedal are terribly slow, so you currently have to anticipate the need to stop by 15 seconds or more if you want good pedal and decent braking power.

Shoes are all adjusted tight to the drums, so I think there must be air in the system somewhere... Original owner said he bled it numerous times and never improved the pedal. I'm thinking a pressure bleed might purge whatever air is still there. If that doesn't work, I'm scraping the hydrovac for a newer hydroboost setup with a dual reservoir master. I know I can get that to bleed out, and I'll probably get quite a bit more braking power too...

 

[hslogger]

Thanks. The shiny paint is about four years old now. Photo is only a year old. It's Mopar " adrenaline red" Clear coat makes the diff in the long run. Truck lives out doors its' whole life. I was just a corn binder fan from growing up.Family and friends had them. Always liked the rounded fenders, transmissions and the coolest dashboard that existed. They were all iron through and through.

 

[DJ54]

Dumpy is still going strong here. Bought it new in '93, and have worn holes though the bed from hauling numerous loads. Off the top of my head, well over 6,000 tons, but mostly only hauling short distances of a few miles. Plus 2-3 trips a year to the limestone quarry, which is 25 miles away. Has right at 75,000 miles on it, and still going strong.

 

[1stDeuce]

After a week of long evenings, I am happy to report that I hauled the first load with it today.



This is 10k of road base (3/4 minus). Power is not bad, was only down to 45 on the long grade here, which isn't too bad considering we're at 7k'.
Brakes stop pretty well, and I power bled them so no more pump to stop.

I checked the lift at the quarry and it will dump this load without issue. Actually, it'll probably dump a LOT more considering I got a 20k hoist under there... Could have gone with the 16k, but the 20k was only $50 more...

I need to order a mesh tarp, and I have two mudflaps to hang.

Perhaps I'll paint it sometime this summer... The gray/tan/green thing is a bit homely...

 

[1stDeuce]

After a week of long evenings, I am happy to report that I hauled the first load with it today.

View attachment 539318

This is 10k of road base (3/4 minus). Power is not bad, was only down to 45 on the long grade here, which is better than I expected considering we're at 7k'.
Brakes stop pretty well, and I power bled them so no more pump to stop.

I checked the lift at the quarry and it will dump this load without issue. Actually, it'll probably dump a LOT more considering I got a 20k hoist under there... Could have gone with the 16k, but the 20k was only $50 more...

I need to order a mesh tarp, and I have two mudflaps to hang.

Perhaps I'll paint it sometime this summer... The gray/tan/green thing is a bit homely...

 

[4570Man]

Here’s my second dump truck. I’ve got a 14” flat bed with a dump to go on it but I may part ways with it before I do that.

 

[STx]

I finally finished up the inframe on my truck in March, got all the little leaks fixed, replaced some lights, got it inspected and renewed the registration. I'd just putted around with it for that stuff as an easy start for the new motor and today I gave it a real test. I drove 48 miles to the dirt yard, got 5.5 tons of compost and drove back, everything ran great. My front tires are out of balance and I get some vibration starting at about 55-60 so I stayed at 55 or less, I can't find anyone willing to balance these old tube tires, I'm going to try the Fleetpride next.

I realized after I got loaded that the back tires needed air, they call for 110 but, the gas station I stopped at could only do 70 so I got them there and got home fine. After dumping the load, I went over to the shop and checked all the fluids, coolant was still full and the oil looks like new. I aired up the back tires, got the first one to 100 pounds and then couldn't get it any higher after 5-10 minutes when it dawned on me that the regulator was set to 100 pounds. DOH! I put the air line direct to the tank and got them all up to 110 so I'm good to go.

I'm going to put a tailgate on it in the next week or two, I just tarped over everything today, and then I'll make the 65 Mile drive to the landfill to get some mulch. Once we get the 2nd garden done and I'm caught up with work, it'll be time to start getting asphalt millings for the driveway.

It's good to have her running again, she's incredibly useful to have.