I looked at a 95 L9000 tandem dump truck today. The engine is a 3306 with 300k with 13 speed 8ll transmission. It was told it was a one owner truck that had passed away and it has been sitting for a couple of years but otherwise in good condition. I like the truck because it came from the factory as a dump truck so it is double framed with lockers and walking beam suspension and barn door . The issue is when I lifted the bed I could see a few cracks through the bottom of the bed. It seems like the options would be to either patch the holes which is a temporary solution. Not using the truck full time I am guessing this would last potentially up to two year if no boulders or concrete. Option two is lining the bed which would be 2k give or take and reduce carrying capacity to some degree or 3 new bed which would be 4.5k unless I come across a deal somewhere. Does that sound about right or am I missing anything? They are asking 12.9k which if the bed was in decent condition I would think is fair but with the bed in that shape sounds a little high. Any thoughts?
new bed if the rest of the truck is worth it
Somebody was hauling way bigger rock than the should be with that bed. If the rest of the bed is sound and will work for you with a bit thicker floor, have the old floor cut out and put in a heavier floor. That's what we had to do with our dump after we hauled away some rock fence. It really did a number on the floor since it wasn't meant to haul anything more than asphalt and gravel.
I know patching is short term but if I am only planning to haul 4 to 10 loads of dirt or gravel a month, would patching last me for a year or two? Right now being able to haul a couple of tandem loads opens doors to a few additional opportunities. In two years I will have a couple of pieces of equipment paid off and I'd prefer to drop the 2-3k for a new bed then.
Can't comment on the value of the truck with the bed in that condtion. I'll leave that to others. That looks like a bed designed for hauling sand & gravel that's been used for hauling rock judging by the thickness of the floor plates. You could look at patching it but good luck trying to weld the patch plates to all that rust ........ What sort of material & size are you planning on hauling ..?
In your situation and not full time use, I would patch the holes and run it until it made enough money to justify replacing the bed. Then, if you want to haul rocks, you need not worry now, and later, if you look to be hauling a lot of rough items, look into a half-round bed for a replacement.
First I want to say I love your signature quote. How true those words are! I plan on mainly hauling dirt and some gravel. I know with the bed in that condition there is no way to do rip rap or boulders. I do sometimes need to haul demo concrete. I am wondering if I opened the barn door and placed the larger pieces carefully on the bottom if I could get away with it. I know that is more time consuming but the jobs I would be doing this on would be smaller so I don't think the extra time would be that big of an issue.
Personally I would fix the bed that's on the truck. The cross members are what you need to look at to evaluate whether a bed is fixable or not. As long as they are straight and structurally sound you have something to work with. The cross members that can be seen in your pics appear to be in good shape. If the only thing wrong with the bed is the floor it can be cut out and replaced as was previously suggested for a fraction of the price of a new bed. Have you priced any new dump beds? I don't think you can buy one for $4,500.
I have two pictures of the cross members. From what I can tell there are in good condition but I'd be happy hear any opinions. I spoke to a friend and he he said he was able to find a 16' bed for 4500 so that is what I am basing it on. Funny enough I did see an ad in craigslist for a Godwin 16' with tarp etc for 3k but no pictures. My preference if the deal goes through would be to patch the holes for a temporary solution and then cut it out in a couple of years like JDOF said.
I see no reason why you couldn't do that. It doesn't appear to be in that bad of shape to me.
Try lining it with oak boards that way you can haul what ever you want. I have a truck I put them 6 years ago and have hauled everything from class 3 loaded with a 988 to peagravel and they are just starting to fall out now. Sounds like a good truck the only thing that would better is if it had a cummins. Good Luck
I had thought about asking about linking the bottom with oak boards but was afraid I would get laughed at. :beatsme Did you go to a saw mill to have them cut? I'd be interesting to hear what setup you used.
Bed looks like it has lots of life in it yet. Been there and done it for myself and customers trucks. Weld up & patch as needed.From the pictures I would estimate around 10 to 15 pounds of 6011 welding rods ,few pieces of 3/16 thick sheet steel for patching,and case of barley soda should get the job done.If it all goes well .....Might look into installing a bedliner www.quicksilverliners.com They work great for dirt ,gravel,manure hualing etc.I have to laugh,we allways had to do a quick welding /patching job on the our 21 foot steel dump trailer every fall so we could haul corn & soybeans .The spring & summer dirt & demolition jobs took a toll on it. Good luck with your project.
Nothing to fancy just used 2x10 boards white oak lasts longest 2 3/8 carage bolts one one row behond dog house and one row at the back. I got the boards fron a local amish saw mill. If you put them in right it will even stop that leaky tailgate these old bodys get. Try to put the truck away or dump the bed as water will get stuck between the boards and the floor and rust and rot worse.
i ran a carfax report today and found out the truck is indeed a single owner truck. It looks someone took care of it and for a single owner to have it 17 years I have to think that is true. I even found where it looks like some of the fittings had been greased. I thought people greasing a dump truck was a myth like big foot... :falldownlaugh One weird thing is it has air hookups for a trailer but doesn't have the trailer air valve release in the cab. The dealer said when they bought the truck it had an air brake trailer with it and everything worked but without a trailer air valve in the cab, not sure how that work work. Any ideas?
I am also planning to the local sterling dealer to have them check out the truck . What would you have recommend having them check? I want them to check the engine, bushings, transmission, and brakes. The transmission and brakes seemed very good when I drove it but I figure it can't have a mechanic do a once over. I am planning to have them spend 3 or 4 hours which isn't a ton of time but hopefully enough to give a decent lookover the machine. Someone mentioned having the oil tested if i really wanted to know what is going on in there. I don't know how much that cost but i am guessing it is expensive. I have heard the 3306 can be a 500k engine before requiring a rebuild. Does that sound reasonable?
Show us the rest of this mystery dumptruck..........
The 3306 Cat is a bullet proof engine, its the same engine found in the 'ol faithfull 966 Cat loaders and other things too ..... to do oil analisis is not expensive ... from cat I think was ~$25 ea. .... can do it on the tranny and diff's too if you really think it'll make a difference to you, if it's been sitting a while maybe run it for a couple of days then take the samples ... it's your choice ... cheers
Thanks Craft it is good to know. It has been sitting for about a year and half but I don't know that I will be able to run it for a couple of days before getting it tested because it is at a dealer. I hadn't thought of getting the tranny and diffs tested but that is a good idea. I have always heard good things about the 3306 but it never hurts to ask.
i know it is hard to see but the last pic shows where dirt has built up around where the joint had been greased. I have looked at the other fittings and seen where it looks like they had been greased but since it has been sitting for 1.5 years it has been a while. You can see the air hookups but again no air valve in the cab...weird. From the outside it doesn't look like a show piece but I'm not worried about exterior rust on the bed and the doors have already been repainted. When I was driving it, it seemed tight. The engine didn't strike me as a powerhouse. I think it is supposed to have 320hp which i know is on the low end for tandems. The transmission is the 13 speed 8LL with the U shift pattern. I didn't use the gear splitter when i did the test ride so I am thinking/hoping that will help when fully loaded.
Now I understand your brake question. It looks like maybe someone took a truck that was not plumbed for a trailer and did it the cheap way. I bet from looking at the gladhands with the shut off valves that they just teed into the truck lines to supply trailer air. This means the truck valve is supplying air to both the truck and the trailer. This is dangerous, not to mention illegal if I recall correctly. If you have a line come loose to the trailer, or any other trailer problem, it could leave you without functioning brakes for the truck. Best to get a proper tractor protection valve installed. It would not be too much trouble, compared to what could happen. Otherwise, it looks like a decent truck to me, and I second that the 3306 is a great engine. No powerhouse, but bulletproof dependable. I have had them running way past 20,000 hours in equipment with only minor work, but no major overhaul.
I had wondered if this might be the case. The next time I go there I am going to scour the cab just to make sure they didn't mount it separately somewhere but if not then yes, I definitely want to get that fixed. I have no interest in an out of control 64k pound truck. I just called a truck service department and they said it would cost around $1800 parts and labor to have it installed correctly. I don't currently have a trailer with air brakes but with a tandem I would certainly want for it to be capable. :Banghead
You beat me to the punch Jerry. When I read 1toomany's question, I knew exactly what they did. Unfortunately, there are a lot of dumps on the road set up this way and I agree not a good way to plumb air trailer brakes. 1toomany, you really can't go wrong with a L9000, they are hell-for-stout trucks. We are currently using an '88 L9000 with a Cummins (don't know what model) on site shuttling fill. The trucks odometer broke at 750K, many years ago and it probably has a million miles on it, just guessing. Yesterday it carried 68 loads on-site, backing into a retention pond we are filling, not the optimum working conditions for an on-road dump.:cool2 It has made it's owner (not me) a lot of money over the years and still answers the call of duty. This truck has been retired from on-road service and spends most of it's time stocking an asphalt plant, although with a little TLC, it could pass a DOT and be put back on the road - once your ran the red fuel out. On a side note, I'll tell you a little more about this dump truck and why I have a soft spot for it my heart. Back 17 years ago when I was fresh out of college, my friend (the current owner) was looking to buy his first tandem dump. He found one in-state but at the other end of the state , that was a road tractor in good shape and the right size to add a dump bed. So we take off on a 200 mile one-way trip to look at the truck. My buddy bought the truck, as it checked out, and we headed home. 1/3 of the way back, we pulled into a rest area to take a break and when we got back to the truck he asked me if I wanted to drive. Of course I said, now I didn't have a CDL then but those were different times :cool2, so I hopped up into the cab, ground the hell out of the gears and drove 75 miles or so on the interstate until we needed fuel - it was the first big truck I had ever drove. Just for the record, the same transmission (not rebuilt yet) is in the truck we are using now. Hope this helps. Here's a pic of the truck being loaded. It does have an older bonnet as the original was destroyed in a backing accident.
Wow, that's great to hear you have gotten such great service from your L9000 CM1995. Even though I will be selling my S/A L8000 if this deal goes through, I really do like it. A friend of mine keeps telling me it is hard to get parts for the Ford L8000 and L9000. Have you found that to be true?
It's not mine 1toomany, although I have known the truck somewhat in it's second or third life. I do know that mechanical parts are not hard to find but I don't know about specific cab parts or "Ford only" parts.
I have not had any trouble geting parts not that I need many I have three 2 dumps and a road tractor and it has been awhile since I needed anything I cound not get from truckpride or napa. On that trans if it is a 8 spd you dont have a spliter like a 13 the blue button is LL deep reduction only shift that sitting still if it has a red button it is a 13spd and it has a splitter for the top 4 I think. As for the tractor protection valve it is not that complicated to put a button in the dash and run 2 air lines to the rear I would have to do it myself and save the money.Good luck
It does have a blue button on the side. If it is only used for the deep reduction I will have to say that is a bummer. The advertisement on the website said 13 speed so I was hoping the top range was split. I'm not an expert truck driver but I do think it is handy to have split top range gears.
Im repeating others, but here goes What are they asking for the truck? As far as the bed, its in good condition, compared to some Ive bought. It takes about 3 sheets (4x8) 11 guage steel to reline the whole bed. Dont go crazy, with trying to buy AR metal, it costs 4 times more. I just relined one of my trucks, took me about 6 hrs and about $400 in metal and welding rods. If its just small places, weld patches over bad places (keep edges, on top of frames, front and rear) Dont worry about the bed, if it goes up and down and the tailgate opens and closes. Its a job to replace the bed, with another Now to the engine, Ive had lots of 3306 engines, only had one that gave me problem. Make sure it doest have much/any blowby (when warmed up) Make sure they dont smoke alot, when going through the gears Hows the clutch? have you got any freeplay? does clutch brake work? Does tarp work? If you get it, take those gladhands off and plug the lines in the chassis, Our DMV will eat you alive, with this setup, like this. As far as paying a dealer, to inspect the truck, that can be very costly. If I didnt know how to do it, get a experienced dump truck driver/owner to look it over for you, they might do a better job than paying $1000 or more. You could use that money to fix the bed. Just my 2 cents worth Make sure you dont have have any water leaks on the radiator. The 95 L9000 I just bought had a leaking radiator and I had to replace it ($1200 and I did it) These are tough trucks,from what I can see and read, in our area this is a $8-$10,000 truck. Dont pay alot for it and then have to spend alot getting tires, brakes, etc
They are asking 12.9k for the truck. I think that is a little high but it is litterally a one owner truck and from what I can see was decently taken care of. I was real happy with what I thought was a 13 speed transmission which now sounds like it may be an 8 speed with deep reduction. The bed does lift and the tarp does work fine. The transmission seems tight from what I can tell. The bed does have a barn door which I really like and the truck it is a double frame with hendrik suspenion, lockers and 18k front axle. It was built from the beginning as a dump truck and isn't a conversion. The Sterling dealer said it would be $95 an hour so I was thinking of spending $300 to $400 for them to look it over. I figure an ouce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The bed I do plan to just patch for right now and see how things go. When I spoke to Sterling about the air lines they said it would actually require 3 valves to be done correctly...that surprised me but I have never plumbed one so I just took their word for it. ointhead The brakes are very grabby. I actually locked them up the first time I came to a stop. Don't know if my current L8000 brakes are bad or if the L9000's are really good. The clutch seemed to work ok. I don't double clutch so I didn't use it all that much. When you say clutch break...forgive my ignorance but what exactly do you mean?
The clutch brake is at the bottom of the clutch pedal stroke .... it is used to stop the counter shaft rotation in the tranny so the gears will shift with in out a big grind .... BUT its only used when you are starting off NOT for every shift .... you will feel it about a 1/2 inch from the bottom, try it, if its there you will feel it slow the shaft down and the gear shift will fall into place. BTW if that truck was in my back yard i'd probably beat you to buying it .....LOL .... nice truck I like the option of both barn doors and reg bottom swing out (if thats what I see in the pic) ....cheers
You might want to just plate the whole bottom of the box. The material gets thin as it gets worn out and even hauling material that it was designed for can cause it to crack. I am not sure how that would compare for cost to your other options but it seems that it would be quicker. If you only haul crushed rock, you could get away with a lighter plate. As for the 3 brake valves, that is correct for a proper trailer plumbing. (the application needs additional valves as well as the tractor protection valve)
Based on the price I just paid for mine a few days back( See New truck post) I would have to say that truck is way overpriced. But there is a chance that I did real good on mine but that would be a first. I always end up selling for nothing and buying things at top dollar. With all of that being said, Is there a mad rush to get a tandem ? If not, i would file this one away and then walk away and continue your search.
I spoke with the dealer today. They checked and realized the air setup was illegal and they are going to fix the trailer air plumbing. They have another similar truck that is plumbed for trailer air and use the air valves from that to setup this truck correctly. I am going to have the truck checked out mechanically next week and if that goes well i will most likely go ahead and get the truck.
The best of luck to you . I hope it all works out for you.
The truck should be going to the Sterling service dealer tomorrow to be checked out. I have copied and pasted Willis's post of things to check and added a few of my own. Any additions of what to ask the service department to check? Make sure it doest have much/any blowby (when warmed up) Make sure they dont smoke alot, when going through the gears Hows the clutch? have you got any freeplay? does clutch brake work? Make sure you dont have have any water leaks on the radiator. Check the hendrix suspension bushings I know you can have a compression check done on the engine but I don't know if that is overkill. Is there there anything that should be checked in the transmission if it shifts ok? I plan to have the fluid level checked in the diffs but I don't know if there is something beyond that I should have them look at.
I hope you have gotten a price in advance to do all this, these shops are $90+ an hour and they charge you $3-4.00 for a little tie wrap, $10 for a can of cleaning fluid, what gets me is that $30 for shop supplies and they dont list what it is As far as the diff, just get them to check the fluids, the plug has a magnet on it and they all will have metal stuck to it, its normal wear. I wouldnt let them talk you into changing fluids They can check the drive shaft yokes and see if there is alot of freeplay/slop in them, is the diff yoke seals leaking? check play in the driveshaft midshaft bearing check for wheel seals leaking (oil will be on the brake shoes) A shop really will know what to check for and they will spend alot of money doing it. I guess you can tell from some of my comments, that I dont like the big shops. Ive been stuck many times You need to find you a local truck shop, to do your work, or a mechanic that works at one of these shops and is looking for work on weekends. Just ask around, try to catch one of the mechanics outside, they are not supposed to work on the side, but they all do it Good Luck and keep us posted
Thanks Willis. A dear friend and mentor used to be my mechanic but he passed away last fall. :usa I agree I do need to find someone local, I just don't have someone right now and want the "insurance" of a mechanic to look over it before I commit to the purchase. Ill get some video of it when i purchase it. I already have my first load lined up for her!
What a Day Today was a long day. I got up early and traveled 1.5 hours to pick up the truck at 8am as i had scheduled. Of course no one is there and I have to wait 30 minutes for someone to show up. When i crank up the truck I notice the fuel gauge registers empty but they don't keep fuel onsite and there is a gas station 3 blocks down. The guy said put fuel in it and they would reimburse me. I get to where I am turning into the gas station and of course, it runs out. I get within 8 feet of pump and am blocking half the entrance. I call them and have to wait another 30 minutes for them to send a mechanic to help get it primed. The truck isn't running until 10:30. I head to the Sterling dealer but by the time I get there it will be a 2 hour wait because I didn't get there first thing. *sigh* Now the good things that happened. 1) by the time Sterling did get to me the guy came out and looked it over and didn't charge me ANYTHING. We didn't crack anything open but he checked most of the list Willis was kind enough to make for me. Also, while I was waiting I was able to contact the original owner and talk with him for 30 minutes about the truck. Here is what was found $700 exhaust manifold gasket leak. they said this need to be fixed soon because it can cause other problems if left unrepaired $300 front left wheel seal is leaking and won't pass DOT inspection $600 the brakes on both side of the first rear axle are at the replace line and will result in a DOT ticket if not replaced $250 there is an audible leak in the cab that we think is probably coming from the valve Things i already knew $250 back two tires $300 front tire $300 - $2000 bed patch/replacement Trailer air re-plumbed. When I got back to the dealer the salesman was out. i was in a hurry to get back so i left the keys with one of the mechanics. I have emailed the salesman telling him the first 4 items would have to be fixed before I would consider the truck at the price listed. I called a buddy of mine in SC while i was waiting at the dealer and he said he knows someoen who has a late 80's l9000 with less than 100k for similar price and i am going to see if I can look at it this weekend. As I said before I do like the truck I drove today but I can't justify buying it unless the dealer fixes or replaces a lot of the items above.
WOW. So they just responded to my email where i listed out what was found. They said they are 'adding it to their fleet" and no longer for sale. Ok, fine. In response to my request to be reimbursed they said I volunteered to put fuel in it to take to Sterling so they won't be reimbursing me. Um...what? I responded that it ran out and i was forced. If they don't reimburse i am going to write some reviews on google and Angie's list detailing my interaction with them. I guess better to find out now about them than to buy a truck from them.
So the rest of the fuel in the tank belongs to you right, since you paid for it. Be sure to get some barrels and take whats yours.
I think you are better off Dont waste your time trying to get your fuel money back, if they were honest people, they would have offered to pay for it. Its not worth your energy, just a bump in the road, you are the better man If you tell me your price range, Im sure I can find you a truck. A friend of mine has a 95 Ford L9000 tandem, ex NC state truck, L10 Cummins, automatic, 16ft bed, I think its like 140,000 miles, its needs painting (fading) I think he was asking $12,000.00. I tried to buy the truck about 4 months ago, but he didnt want to sell it. It was using the truck as a side line, and his other work picked up, so he is to busy to use the truck He is in my area, so if you are interested, PM me and I will give you his number Go to your local Sandpit or rock quarry and talk with truck drivers, they know where everything is. You might find one of those guys trying to upgrade
Have you checked Craigslist, I see several in your area and Raleigh
I have been looking at craigslist but up to this point the truck at the dealer had been my 1st choice. I will now be going back through and looking again. Ideally like like to find a dump truck that has a barn door and started out as a dump truck so it has the hendrick suspension, double frame etc. I will PM you about your friends truck.
If I were you I would check any local scrap metal yards around to see if anyone scrapped out a decent dump truck. I found one last year at one of our local scrap yards for about 500 bones. Figured that might a great option for ya
L9000s do not have double frames...They have the thick belly drop frames...L8000s have the straight frame with no bellydrop. $12,900 is way to high for that truck. I know where several one owner L series factory tri axle trucks are in the area for under $10,000. Also Charlotte Freightliner (sterling) is prolly the worst place to take a Ford since they quit working on them years ago and the mechanics dont know much about them. I highly recommend greasys truck repair or Superior truck service. The 3306 is decent engine, I had to rebuild mine at 300,000...Greasy only charged $6,800 for a complete overhaul. Im also running the pump turned up to around 400HP. Also if you do buy a L9000 spec'd the way as the one your looking at you can only haul 52,000 on the interstate and 55,000 off the interstate. I found this out the hard way. Im in huntersville, so im not to far away chances are we've seen each other somewhere along the way.
"W T F " ...... he wants a truck to go to work tomorrow .... not re-build one from scratch ! .......LOL .........
Just grind, weld, patch, whatever you need to do to fix it. Dump boxes are always abused and they always crack in different spots. Every winter we have to go through the older dump trucks, look for cracks, grind them all the way down and weld them back up. There really isn't another way around it.
L9000's can have a double frame and many do. I have a 1990 L9000 with a 3406B Cat and a 1995 LTL 9000 with a Cat 3406E at the present time, both have double frames. I had a 74 LT9000 with a double frame and a 88 LTL900 with double frames. I had a 75 LT8000 with the single belly drop frame. FWD
Agreed. My 1993 Ford L9000 has a double frame as well.............
Hey no need to be a ****, all I was suggesting was find a box set it aside and work on it when time permits but in the mean time patch the old one and run it. In my experience once a box starts going to hell, there isn't enough maintenance in the world that will get it caught up
I think he was assuming you were talking about the whole truck, not just the box.
...................... Y u p ! .............
next time I'll be more descriptive in my post
I don't know what your future plans are for this truck. If it's going to be for the every now and then job just patch the bed and fix what breaks as you go. If you plan to put this thing to work full time start with what looks like it needs fixed the worse and start there and as the money comes in keep upgradeing the truck till it's 100% dependable. You could probebly buy a newer truck in better condition when you finaly tally up all the repairs but not haveing to put out that big chunk of cash at once is kinda nice. Pluse not haveing a huge payment is good too, makes those slow winters a little easyer.
After looking at the pictures ya have there I would do this. Get a porta power with a split wedge and straighten the belly of the box first before you put any patches on it so there isn't any spots for the sand/topsoil/22A etc... to catch when you're dumping. Put the wedge between the box frame and the floor and straighten then see if you can knock the rest of it out by putting some extensions and the flat stops on the porta power to press up on the center of the box floor of course with the box down. Let me guess, the spot on the box belly is between the axles or over top of one? Those welds that are busted over the cross members are just from the stress of the belly stretching down. Once you get it straightened out clean it up and feed it some wire.
Check out POST # 39 ..... that Truck he was looking at went " DOWN THE TOILET " ....... typical goofy sellers ....sorry to say but that's LIFE
I stand corrected, I was told that was the only way to tell the difference between the true "L" 9000 and LNT, LT versions.
*** is wrong with you !!! Only kiddin ...Couldn't resist seeing the above posting (#46) by SOODUDE.........Live and learn young man. Lots of knowlwdge on here from long term verterns in this god awesome , back breaking, good for nothing, but big bills and bigger headache business of heavy equipment ownership and operations. I digress !!!
Typical me just blowing through to the end of a post.... My bad..... A friend of mine I think was trying to sell his ltl9000 quad if that's something you would consider... I think he is asking 18,000.00 for it. I like the truck but my only problem with it is the drives are all the way to the rear instead of being centered with the lifts on the front and rear.