If a dump truck has a 16.5 foot aluminum bed, how hard would it be to switch to a 16 foot steel bed from a different band truck? I spoke to a guy last night that has a truck with an aluminum bed but sounds like it may soon need some work. From searches it sounds like most people don't like aluminum beds because of how expensive they are to repair and easy to tear up. I have seen a 16 foot dump bed advertised off of a different brand truck for a reasonable price but I have no idea how expensive it would be to switch. I am guessing I would need to purchase the correct mounting hardware and have someone weld it in?
The biggest differance would be the rear hinge location or a slight differance in the hinge style/type ........ either way it's an easy change if needed ......... Unless something stupid apears the hoists mounting point, on the box's, should be identical
I went to look at the truck today. it is a 93 Freightliner classic tri axle with a 11.1 series 60. Overall i like the truck but there are two things that stick out as odd. First, he bolted a steel liner to the bottom of the aluminum bed. When I looked under the bed there weren't any frame member bent and I really didn't see any holes. I have pictures of the inside of the bed below. You can see he did a lot of asphalt hauling with the truck. even though steel liner bolted in a aluminum bed seems a little redneckish, it seemed functional. Any thoughts on if this is a major problem? The second issue is he paid to have the bed moved back so it could mate with the asphalt machine easier. The company he took it to screwed up the job and had to add wood spacers over the frame because the bed doesn't sit flat on the frame without. He has been hauling for over 3 years with it like this so it apparently works but doesn't look very good. Again, it won't win any beauty contests but does anyone see this as a major no-no?
I have seen many dump and water trucks built with the wood between the truck frame and bed subframe. I was told it helps absorb the frame flex, making the subframe less likely to crack. Not sure how true it is, but I would not say it is a bad thing. The steel liner looks like it saved the aluminum box. The sides look thin at the rear, and could use a patch, but it looks serviceable. If at a later time you wish to swap beds it is not too hard, as Craft said above.
Thanks JDOFMEMI. It sounds like bolting in a steel liner isn't completely crazy. Question, he put in a thin steel liner, if I took it out and put in a heavier one, could I haul concrete/debris etc if I was careful loading near the sides? I am O/O so I would be the one loading the bed. Also, how does one go about getting the dried asphalt out of a bed? Hammer and chisel?
I can't tell for sure, but it looks like maybe 1/8" thick. You do not need a really thick liner. It just adds weight. I would maybe put an aluminum patch at the rear sides, like the one forward of the bad area, and leave the floor alone for a while to see how it holds up. You are loading it, so maybe consider removing the sideboards when going to haul concrete, rocks, etc. This will reduce the drop for the material being loaded. Load the best, finest material in thew first scoop to cover the bed and absorb impact as you load the larger stuff later. You will be surprised how long it will last. If you were using it all day every day, it would be a different story, but from what I gather from your other posts, this bed would last a long time, especially if treated with care. Earn some money with it, then if there are problems later on, keep an eye out for a good box to swap. With the truck working, you can take your time to find an upgrade at a good price.
That bed is worn pop can thin on the sides. You can see in the top pic where it has worn through on the passenger side just ahead of the patch. The worst thing about aluminum is when it gets old and thin is it fatigue cracks and requires constant welding. I don't believe that bed would stand up to concrete or debris hauling for long. Personally I would pass unless it's priced cheap enough that you can replace the bed with a steel bed.
I do see your point about the sides. As JDOFMEMI pointed out I don't haul many loads per month so if I stick to dirt and gravel then it could probably last me for a couple of years. The biggest issue is I know where I can get a 16 food Godwin bed off of a 2001 L9000 with barn door/electic tarp etc for around $2500, maybe a little less. That would allow me to haul whatever I want and i do really like having a barn door but by the time installed, I'm sure it would be around $3500. It sounds like i need to do two things 1) find out how much it will cost to get the sides patched and in a workable condition and 2) decide how important/how much $$ I think I will generate by being able to haul debris/concrete. Most of my work in the past has revolved around jobs with the skid steer and mini which included hauling away brush/broken concrete etc. I never did much dirt/gravel hauling because with a single it was too hard to compete. The truck I am looking at now is a tri and the guy says it will haul 19 tons. I think i could be fairly competitive in the dirt/gravel market so my business may change some.
If the truck itself is what you are looking for and for the right price , you can always take that aluminum box off a scrap it out ..... scrap aluminum is at a premium ...I'd bet you could recover most all of your cost to buy the light steel box you talk about ...... the mistake that was made when they shifted the box back was they never compensated for the hinge point... so as a quik fix ...LOL ... they put those wooden wedges in ..... kinda hoaky but it did the job I guess ...... keep all of the good stuff off of the aluminum box, pull out the steel liner from the floor, you may need it down the road, tarp roller for a spare ect. ....... $2500 for a complete light steel box is cheap ..... on the other hand WHY ? .... maybe something is wrong with it too .....Do the home work ...... you're on the right track ....good-luck
Thanks Craft. I spoke to the guy selling the dump bed and he said he is in the septic business and took off the bed to put on different type of bed setup. Is Godwin known for light dumps or are you basing that off the price?
I have no idea about the Godwin brand ? ....we have totally different brands of box's in the west ....... It's just that any 16' box for $2500 complete and in good shape would be a good deal, in my opinion ..... and unless the tandem axle truck has a really short wheel base, our common box length is usually 16'-6" ...... Judging by the pic of the aluminum box you showed us, that sucker has really high sides on it ...... after all the steel crap is removed off of that box, it looks like alot of scrap aluminum to me ... $$$$$$$ in your pocket
Is Godwin known for light dumps or are you basing that off the price? Godwin builds some good quality beds and are located right around Dunn NC, I know that's mostly what the DOT runs on their tandems. I would put them right up there with Ox Bodies as far as quality
I agree that's a great price. If its in decent shape I don't think you can go wrong buying it.
Exactly what I was thinking as I was reading down through the thread...
1toomanyhobbies I started a post for ya to show ya how I changed the box on our L9000. Hope it helps ya a bit
Did you disapear after you bought the truck
Yeah, yeah yeah. I have been licking my wounds. There ended up being a few more repairs needed ($$$) to the steering than I realized so I have been busy trying to get the truck ready to put in service. My dad was also in the hospital for about a week and half so consumed a lot of my time as well. I am hoping everything will be done this weekend and I can start making money with it.
Good to see you are back, welcome to trucking
That Sucks ! ..... hope your Dad is doing better !
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Speaking of dump beds, many years ago I worked for this farmer who had a S line tipper on which you could take off the tipper body and then fit a turn turntable to turn it into a prime mover. Later we fitted a flat bed bed to it as well so he could transport his Allis N7 between his properties but he usually got pulled up to check height and width, which where just on the limit.