Hello everybody, new guy here (raises hand). I've been poking around here for a few weeks researching some various questions here and there. I'm looking to buy a single axle dump truck. I'm fairly set of a Chevy/ GMC from the 70s to 80s era. Most of them have the 366 big block or 350 small block engines. I have pretty strong inclination to stick with the gasser trucks since I was a GM dealership mechanic back in the day so they're what I know best. The trucks in my price range that are not gassers tend to have the 8.2. Detroit, which I'm not too fond of. I'm looking in the 5-6k dollar range. My questions is, for guys here who have run them, is what kind of fuel mileage does a GM gas powered 6 yard dump truck return ? I've heard from 4 mpg at the lowest to one guy who said 12 mpg from his :crazy . To the old pocketbook, there is a huge difference between 4 and 6 miles per gallon when you run the truck very many miles.
The only gas powered medium truck I've ever gotten any kind of mileage from was a '68 Chevy C-50 w/ a 292 straight six, 4-speed and 2-speed rear, but the truck ran out of power pulling a 15,000lb trailer over 40 mph on our flat coastal plain. If you are going to put any miles on a truck go diesel, the mileage is much, much better, and the maintenance is less too. My '68 got into the low teens empty, and the high single digits w/ a light load, and low when heavy. I never checked any of my other gas trucks but they were awful. When I bought my first diesel, it was an '86 IH w/ an L-10, 9-speed, and 3.73 rears. I put it beside another IH w/ an MV-404, 5-speed, and 2-speed rear (9.97 & 7.??). Running side-by-side as spreader trucks the gas truck burnt over 60 gallons/day, while the diesel used 20-something. I have bought 15 or 20 more diesel trucks, but never an other gas one.
I would recommend an international single axle with the DT466 diesel. They sip fuel and have way better power than the 8.2 GM. And they are a straight forward simple engine to work on.
Check out isuzu NPR, I can't say enough good stuff about mine, they can be found diesel or gas.
I appreciate the input so far on this. I fully understand the economy of diesel over gas in the long haul. Problem is, there's just such a limited selection of diesel small dump trucks in my budget range (about 7500 cash max). There are a few Internationals out there, but very few. I discount the trucks from Northern areas due to rust concerns and buying long distance. My thoughts are, I could buy a gas truck for about 5k real easily here in Texas (rust free and local for easy close up inspection before purchase) and still have enough money in my budget left over to buy a trailer to pull my little tractor around behind the truck too all for my 7500 dollar budget. I am a cash kind of guy and don't have any interest in financing any purchase at this time. For instance, here's a quick one like I'm talking about..... http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/3287409208.html If that little truck, for instance, would give me say 5 or 6 miles per gallon, it would take a good number of miles driven to offset a diesel truck which would cost twice as much. My area is flat so I am not too worried about having enough pulling power. As long as I can run 55 miles per hour with a load on, that would be plenty for my area (rural and smaller country roads).
We used to get 3-4 with the old 427s on a good day.
I was burning a $20 every hr with a 350 in a 78' c-60. Good milage was 6mpg. Now I have a ford f-800 w/ a 7.8 brazilian in it. 2x the power and 2x the milage. Loaded heavy, and pullin hills. $12.40 per hr. I would very strongly encourage you to leave the gas powered medium duty dumps alone. Find an ih w/ a 466, a ford with an 8.3 cummins or a 7.8 ford, even a chevy w/ a 8v92 is a step up from a gasser, although not a big step.
Well it looks like 100 percent of the responses say to run quickly away from the gas powered trucks. I appreciate everyone's input on this. I think I'll just settle in and wait awhile for the old money tree to grow a little taller and try to kick it up a level to get into the next class of truck and get a decent diesel engine. It looks like a few thousand dollars more would open up a lot of options with what's out there on the market (Ford with 5.9 Cummins are common as well as GM trucks with little 3118 Cats). Again, I appreciate y'all taking the time to type out your responses to my question.
You are right to stay away from the 8.2 Detroit.
Try a search at machinerytrader, you can narrow your search down to a particluar truck, size, state etc... I have used them in the past with good luck. I also stated in my 1st post about the isuzu NPR because that is the easiest search for that stlye of truck. Mine is actually a chevy w45 dump, same as the NPR. I have hauled 5ton{like to keep it at 3tons per load, had a different loader that day) on it and can easily tow my 8500lb mini ex, I'm sure it would handle much more. My truck only has the 4cylinder turbo diesel but don't let that fool ya it is a work horse. I can get over 20mpg empty and around 11mpg full. It also comes in handy for tight spots, easy turning radius. I use mine mostly in hill country and would swear by it to never let me down.
Maddog, I hear you. My buddy worked here in Fort Worth at the Isuzu/ Detrot dealership. He swears by those trucks. I just don't see any out there set up as a dump anywhere near my price range.
I had a great 1970 Jimmy 6500 with a 350,5 speed with 2 speed rear that got 8 MPG.It had ungodly power and was always dependable.IMHO,if you can find the right one[stay AWAY from a converted tractor at all costs],meaning decent HP,gearing,and a double frame,it will be a lot of bang for the buck.
I have a '79 C65 with the 366 and a 5x2 transmission. it has done all I've asked and been pretty reliable. plan on some repairs to get it in good shape. mine gets 8 empty and can get as low as 4 when pulling heavy. empty I stay in high range. the milage goes down depending on how time it spends in the lower range on the rear end. I also like that the engine is very basic and parts very cheap so far. good luck,