So I bought a army dump truck the other week and the next day the head gasket went south in my c-60 that I had been using to pull the trailer with my mini on it. So I tried to hook the trailer up to the 5 ton, but the truck has the large 3" pintle and the trailer has 2.75". So I find a lg pintle plate for the trailer ($110), but it uses 3/4 bolts instead of 5/8, so I'd have to drill out the plate on the front of the trailer. Then if I wanted to move the trailer with my pickup, i'd have to change the pintle ring... Then I look at the wiring, the 5 ton is a 24v system, the trailer is 12v w/ electric brakes... more problems. At this point a pipeliner friend suggests that I just load the excavator in the bed of the dump, bed is 10' + 2' of 6 position tail gate. Excavator tracks and blade are like 8'6". So he shows my how to do it. w/ the blade front lift the the front up and get the idlers over the edge of the bed, using the bucket in the bed of the truck to lift. very carefully spin around and lift the back of the mahine up until your level with the truck. You now have 4' or better of air under the tracks. Now push your self on to the truck. Then pick up the tailgate and lock in into the 1/2 way position, set the bucket on the tailgate, and your done. Now there are only a couple of inches to either side of the tracks when in the bed width wise, and the blade is against the front of the box. There is no room for chains, and no place to hook them. The sides of the dump are higher than the tracks of the hoe. d.o.t. isn't going to like this set up are they? Truck is legal for height @ 13' truck cap. is 53k, empty 21k, and hoe is 13k, so weight is fine. Boom stick over the back about 8' & its up high enough that the only thing that would hit it is a cab over semi. What are your thoughts?
over 4' past tail lights requires flaging, You have to find some way to tye it down period no if ands or buts. Your GVW may be ok but how is your axle loading. you may have to much on the rears only, maybe not but needs checking. I feel your pain on simple things snowballing tell they are a real PITA.
pics of machine in bed...
thats petty cool! I always liked those old trucks, where did you find that one? Are they road legal?
yeah, they are road legal. Takes a cdl w/ air to legally drive. multifuel turbo diesel motor, 5 speed tranny, 2 speed tx case, and all wheel drive. Optional 20k winch...
wow better check how tall the cab is before you move that truck...
No DOT will not like that and the real trouble is they express their displeasure with high dollar fines. You could get by on the job but as soon as you hit the streets your gambling . I'll mention the same as Tonka and it might be the camera angle but please check that height.
you could be a set of magnetic towing lights ..change bulbs to 24v Brakes? the option ... buy a 24 to 12 converter , which would take care of it all.. PLUS the DOT here, doesn't allow loads with tail gate down... or off.. UNSECURED LOAD
Magnetic lights don't fix the clearance lights on the trailer. The truck would need a brake controller as well. As far as the height of the load I'm right at 13', I have to watch wires but haven't had problems. I think I'm go back to pulling it with a single axle dump. Height is legal, but close. Alot of the roads are backroad that isn't trimmed back up 13' and I could see a tree branch wiping out my back glass. Either that or I'm going to an air braked trailer and wiring it for 24v.
Weld tiedowns in the 4 corners. swing hoe around and rest bucket teeth on front bumper and tie down. close tail gate or remove as hoe tied down is secured load. If you canot rotate house without hitting side of bed then park on top of 2x12 to raise hoe 2" if needed. Good luck We will all pray for you.
Odd, that's what I was thinking, those trucks have a stout front bumpers with big shackles. Close the tailgate and chain down to tie downs spotted in the bed corners.
I really like that truck, did you get it at eastern surplus? Can you tell us a little bit about it? thanks!
There is a guy sellin them locally down here w/ all the paperwork to make them road legal. What about it would you like to know ned? 6cyl 190 hp turbocharged diesel. All wheel drive. Has a 20k pound winch w/ 200' of cable on the front. Bed tips to almost verticle, like 85 degrees. 5 speed tranny, 2 speed transfer case. Tops out at 53 mph. It would make a heck of a plow / cider truck....
I've always wanted to own a good 5ton. I would like to be able to run it on the road and be able to access tough sites or use it as a site truck . It would be a great truck for us. The guy at eastern surlplus has them in the 15-25000 dollar range.
In Australia everyone carries small excavators and skids in the back of their dumps. You only need a trailer if you are carrying two machines such as a mini ex and bobcat/roller etc. Most people have a set of alloy ramps which will handle 2-9 tonnes depending on your machines weight. Just toss them in beside your machine when loaded. Dave
I don't know what the specific DOT rules in PA are, but my recommendation would be 4 tiedowns as close as possible to the corners of the machine that restrain the machine from moving in any and all directions. 1 more tiedown on the boom preventing it from moving in such a way to exceed legal height and width. With it sitting boom to the rear I see 2 methods to tie down. If there is a place on the rear of the machine/counterweight ABOVE the sides of bed that you can chain onto (or add a couple lugs), run 2 chains from there down and to the rear of the truck about half way back on the bed. Then run 2 chains from the lower boom pivot (don't damage any cylinder rods or hydraulic lines!) towards the front of the truck. You might be able to hook chains to the lower edge of the bed, or some handy place underneath on the frame, or you could weld lugs on at good spots. The binders can go on the outside of the bed if it isn't convenient inside. The important thing is to make sure that the pull is down as well as side to side. The other idea I have is to hook one set of chains onto the blade frame and run the chains forward over the tracks, and then hook the other set onto the ring on the rear of the undercarriage (use a shackle maybe?), and place the chains so they go up and over the tracks near the sprocket/idler and then down. In order for this idea to work, you would need to cut some holes in the side of the bed at the right height to let the chains pull the tracks down and towards the ends. Again, you can put your binders on the outside. Now speaking as a redneck instead of somebody that enjoys reading the Vehicle Code, since you only have a a couple of inches side to side space and the blade is against the front of the bed, if you dropped a 2x12 on one side and ran a chain in some manner holding the front down and another one going through the boom pivot holding the rear down and also against the front of the bed, you might be able to be safe and almost legal. (plus one on the boom of course) The problem with this is that the DOT says anything over 10,000 pounds has to have "4 separate tiedowns as close to the corners of the machine as practical", so although it might be "safe", if they decide to look for problems, you have a pricey one... Other things to keep in mind: The weight rating of the tiedowns has to equal the weight of the machine. 5/16 Transport chain is rated at 4700 pounds, so 2 chains will cover you for a 13,000 machine. Stay away from Dentist's Best Friend over-center binders. You can never get them tight and you have to tie them shut. If you are able to spin and put the boom over the cab and build a rest off the front bumper that would be even nicer. If not, I would go to Harbor Freight or Walmart and pick up a couple pairs of trailer lights and mount them on the boom so that they are in the right position when it's loaded. They should be as safe as the work lights! I say to pick up 2 pair, because if you wire them in series (you might have to re-wire a little inside the light fixtures to get them in series) you can run them straight off the 24V truck system. (two identical 12 volt bulbs in series work on 24v) The second pair could be mounted on the back of the truck or out of the way somewhere, as long as they are wired in series. I would want brake and tail at minimum, turn signals would make it even better. And make sure that whatever set of lights you have mounted, it includes the lights used for Hazard Flashers. Since it sticks out so far, I would just mount a full set on each side of the boom. Flags only work during daylight hours when it isn't raining. An idea for the trailer: You can use the same method for the lights on the trailer, just figure out how many bulbs it has on each light circuit and what size they are, and then either make the trailer pretty by doubling the lights on it or just mount the lights out of the way or on the dumptruck. It might be cheaper than buying converters or re-wiring the truck to 12v! For the trailer brakes, just wire the brake controller to one of the batteries so it's only getting 12 volts (I am assuming that it uses two 12v batts in series). It should be hooked up like: --- (-) [batt] (+) --wire-- (-) [batt] (+)----- ...........................(0 Volts)...(12 Volts)....(12 Volts).(24 Volts)..... So for 12V connect right here--^ Make sure that you use a separate switch on the brake pedal, since the brake light switch would be putting out 24v. Looking at the weights you gave, you should be good on the rear axles, considering that your empty weight and the mini added together equal 34,000 pounds, which is the tandem max. What I can't tell is what effect the boom over the back is going to have. It could transfer enough weight off the front axle onto the rear-rear and overload it. I also don't know what your axle ratings are. I would run it across the scales one axle at a time, and figure where you are. I wouldn't worry about weight if you are able to run the boom over the cab! Something else I just thought of. With the boom out over the back of the bed that far, you might not have much weight on the front of the bed. I would put the front chains down to the truck frame so there is no chance of the front of the bed lifting on bumpy roads. Note: I wrote this (late at night) based on my understanding of the laws as they are enforced out here in California. I may have overlooked something, or it may be stricter than where you are. I based most of it on Federal DOT rules, so I doubt they are any less strict! Actual enforcement does vary by area and whether the officer had his donut yet! Ben~
The Multi fuel has allot less hp than the Cummins 250 that allot of the M817's run. There are many that come up for auction on Goverment Liquidation, I'm sure many folks can comment on there varied experiences with good ole GL. As for my take, I'd say take it slow and steady and use all the best advice you've received so far. I'd weld some tie downs in the dump box and see about the boom being able to clear/reach the front bumper to secure it there. Thanks, Mark