Thoughts on 02 F450 dump

[jjeff]

First off, if your mechanic is ok with an exhaust leak and that weak frame passing inspection he's on the verge of loosing his inspection license if he passes that for inspection.

I'm a shop owner, I have a PA state inspection license, and I have owned an F-450 4x4 dump truck with a stainless steel bed. I dumped a ton of work and money in it before sending it down the road before the major expenses hit. Two major issues with these fords that I don't think have been mentioned are the exhaust manifolds crack + the mounting studs brake off requiring a ton of labor to repair. I'm friends with a Ford Tech and he said he had 49 hours replacing the exhaust manifolds + drilling out the broken studs on a V-10. There were two broken studs that were unable to be drilled out in the vehicle and he wound up having to pull the motor.

The other major area of concern is the engine oil pan rusts out. Another massive headache for anyone who has ever had to replace one.

Personally, I'd steer clear.

I think he was talking about the dump boxes sub frame rusted it's mounted to the trucks frame under the dump box imo as long as the hinges are solid on end of the trucks frame rails it's probably alright especially for occasional use. I used my dump truck for 5 years with a rusted out sub frame never a problem. You can still get good deals out there if you buy something from a state that requires annual inspections and import it to a state that doesn't lol.

 

[troverman]

The early v10 fords were good. Later 3-valve designs were more problematic. That truck looks to be in decent shape minus the lower cab. I’d buy it.

I just bought one myself, a 2003 F550 4x4 with the 6.0 diesel and 5 speed auto. The 6.0 is a known problem, but I’m familiar with them and have another truck with this engine. My 550 is also a project, former town truck, New England, with scaly rust all over the frame but solid and no cracks. Cab has no visible rust and only one small cab corner repair on the inside. Like this v10 450, it has central hydraulics via an under hood pump. One thing to note is that on a 450 or 550, the tires and brakes are a lot more expensive than a 350 dually truck. I’m going to use mine for work, gradually restore it to nice condition. Interior is clean.

 

[tlj87]

First off, if your mechanic is ok with an exhaust leak and that weak frame passing inspection he's on the verge of loosing his inspection license if he passes that for inspection.

I'm a shop owner, I have a PA state inspection license, and I have owned an F-450 4x4 dump truck with a stainless steel bed. I dumped a ton of work and money in it before sending it down the road before the major expenses hit. Two major issues with these fords that I don't think have been mentioned are the exhaust manifolds crack + the mounting studs brake off requiring a ton of labor to repair. I'm friends with a Ford Tech and he said he had 49 hours replacing the exhaust manifolds + drilling out the broken studs on a V-10. There were two broken studs that were unable to be drilled out in the vehicle and he wound up having to pull the motor.

The other major area of concern is the engine oil pan rusts out. Another massive headache for anyone who has ever had to replace one.

Personally, I'd steer clear.

It is just one section of the dump
Body frame and yes it would need repaired. The truck frame is OK.

The exhaust system is not leaking. I mentioned in an earlier post that a cab with holes could allow exhaust gas into the cab which is one reason a vehicle with holes in the passenger compartment may not pass PA state safety inspection.

 

[Mountain Meadows]

It's still a safety issue. If that sub frame fails under load and somebody gets hurt the inspection mechanic would be held responsible. When the State Police get involved hear say and ignorance go out the window.

 

[jjeff]

It's still a safety issue. If that sub frame fails under load and somebody gets hurt the inspection mechanic would be held responsible. When the State Police get involved hear say and ignorance go out the window.

Understood. I'm still ignorant enough to think common sense when operating old dilapidated equipment goes a long way lol.

 

[Fxfymn413]

I know that having your own dump may be convenient, but unless you are planning on using it a lot the costs just don't justify keeping one for personal use. It appears you will be into this one for at least $4K and that is before your annual carrying costs of insurance, repairs, inspections, tags, etc.

IMO you will be money (and personal time) ahead to pay for material delivery and/or rent a dump for the few times you will need it. If you have your own rig all you are saving is the delivery cost, so if it costs $300.00 per load for the trucking cost of 20 tons of gravel, you could pay for 13 loads before you broke even with the purchase cost. And you still have the money in the bank earning interest.

For what its worth I use a small, 6x12, dump trailer and it can easily be towed by a 1/2 ton vehicle. And even that still costs $ to keep up. I just spent $300.00 for new brakes and $500.00 for new tires, Granted that will amortize over five years, but the point is that any vehicle will continue to cost real dollars to keep.

 

[Todd727]

Cool truck and nice deal. Personally, I originally went with a medium duty dump truck with a GVWR of 26K. It was a Sterling and didn't need any work for 12K. The problem I see with these 350 and 450 trucks is you really can't haul much. Great for a plow truck and carrying a little bit of salt though.

If I wanted another small dump, I'd look for a 600/650/700/750 sized vehicle that was 26K GVWR if you don't have a CDL or a 33K GVWR truck if you do have a CDL or are going to put Farm tags on it.

 

[jjeff]

I know that having your own dump may be convenient, but unless you are planning on using it a lot the costs just don't justify keeping one for personal use. It appears you will be into this one for at least $4K and that is before your annual carrying costs of insurance, repairs, inspections, tags, etc.

IMO you will be money (and personal time) ahead to pay for material delivery and/or rent a dump for the few times you will need it. If you have your own rig all you are saving is the delivery cost, so if it costs $300.00 per load for the trucking cost of 20 tons of gravel, you could pay for 13 loads before you broke even with the purchase cost. And you still have the money in the bank earning interest.

For what its worth I use a small, 6x12, dump trailer and it can easily be towed by a 1/2 ton vehicle. And even that still costs $ to keep up. I just spent $300.00 for new brakes and $500.00 for new tires, Granted that will amortize over five years, but the point is that any vehicle will continue to cost real dollars to keep.

I think you also need to look at additional uses for a one ton dump trucks besides just using the dump on it like using it as a tow vehicle for a trailer in my experience with my 1 ton I hauled a lot of material with it and used it to tow a 16' trailer repeatedly to get building materials not to mention I hauled all the fill and top soil from one section of my property to grade and finish another section of property that would have taken forever cutting and hauling it with a 2850 with a small bf 500 loader not to mention top soil was very pricy at the time I can't imagine it getting any cheaper. If you have a plan with uses for it projects will pay for a small dump truck in a limited amount of time in my experience.

 

[Doz]

I would buy the truck wouldn’t worry about the rust squirt some oil on it and go to work!

 

[troverman]

49 hours removing an exhaust stud? It would be far cheaper to just replace the whole head, or at least remove the head and pull the stud out on a bench. That’s just foolish.

That truck is fine. The frame actually looks pretty good, and the dump body is mostly in pretty good shape. There are far, far worse on the road.

There is a considerable difference between a 350 and 450. Somebody said you can’t haul that much in them. Unlike a 350 dump truck, the 450 has commercial 19.5 tires and a much more substantial Dana S110 rear axle, along with much larger brakes. You can haul a decent amount. The big advantage with these trucks is 4x4, something not offered on the F650/750, etc, and not needing a CDL.

I think the price is more than fair.