My dad has an S1854 with a spreader(chicken litter) bed that he has given me. He had the brakes supposedly gone through, but they locked up. The mechanic took it back to his shop, supposedly made some adjustments, and it seemed to have no brakes at all, as well as no leaks we could find. He kept promising to fix it. It sat there a good 3-4 years. I got it home via someone who owed me a debt(gambling is a dirty dirty habit and I recommend it to no one) and he loaded it to his lowboy and I pulled it off at home with a very large 4x4 Farmtrac 665. The brake pedal still goes to the floor. I've checked the lines and there are no rusted through hard lines and no apparently screwed up rubber lines. I put a 4DLT on it, and it fired off. I've never used ether on it, and didn't this time. The electronic part that shifts the two speed rear, on the rear end, is bad now. The clutch was new when we bought it, it works great. The DT466 smokes a little on startup but clears up and seems to have great power. The engine is low mileage due to it driving around a north GA chicken house and surrounding fields. I will need to go through and find the brake problem. I will need to replace the two speed rear axle actuator. Now, in the mean time, I've found an L8000 Ford, built circa 84 to 87, it was sold to a salvage yard for $1400. It was used as a bookmobile by a western NC county, sold at auction, a guy in Polk County TN got a TN title to it and was converting it to an RV. He sold it to someone in NC and kept the title for extortion purposes. The NC owner could have gotten a bonded title which would have been branded "Rebuilt" and he just said screw it, and sold it for $1400 scrap. The scrap yard has said $1400, and bill of sale. I can pay the guy in in TN his extortion money or try the bonded title route. What I want to do is put a dead bed on it- a car/equipment hauling bed, not for hire, not to exceed total hauling GVW of 24,600 on either. I then don't have to have a CDL, but I've heard I'd need a health card. My equipment is all small stuff Case 380CK Backhoe, Zetor 7711, first year manual trans JD 450, JD 420C with transplanted Detroit Diesel, IH TD6, IH TD340 with skid shovel DROTT and Ditch Witch back hoe, and a project T340 crawler I'm converting to run a JD 4 cylinder 40hp diesel. The DT466 truck I've never driven more than 3 times, but it would seem fine for local use, with no Interstate traffic desired. It already has the pto, hydraulic tank and pumps(the bed's conveyor, litter ripper, and litter flinger are all hydraulic driven and have their own hydraulic motor). I have a miltary winch off a 5ton and it is a Garwood. It is rated at 25,000 lbs. I have no idea if the hydraulic pump on the S1854 is rated for this, but I'm willing to try. I have the appropriate steel and a friend is willing to trade building the bed for a project Harley I own. I might be able to find a dead bed already made and adapt it. Anyway, thoughts ? I do not want(and cannot afford) to buy a roll back, I do not want to sell the S1854, but I can no longer use the spreader bed as litter is no longer available, and you mostly got feathers anyway before it headed to the cotton country. Thanks for any advice. I do own a 12 ton low boy, but it uses a pindle hitch, bed needs reflooring, and it has those hidden secondary axles, and all axles use those "donut" centerless tires- 12 of those in total.
You will be going over the gvw with the 450 dozer, it will weigh close to 15,000 lbs. I really dislike hyd. brakes because they are a chore to keep in top shape. If it was me, I would get a CDL B license, a medical card isn't a big deal, a chiropractor can do the exam.
You are asking what others think so here it is. I would bet the IH is very rusty but i could be wrong and it will need alot of cash to get the brakes up in shape. The ford has no title and it may never have a title i wouldnt touch it. Unless the IH is alot better than i think it is i would find something else it sounds like a money pit. I have never owned a truck or pickup that was driveable when i bought them so take it from me its almost always cheaper to by some thing good than it is to make something good now days. I just got a truck this summer i fell into a good deal i bought one truck that had sat for years and another that i know had alot of new parts put on it but had a frame problem.I spent 1000.00 on the 2 trucks and 100s of hours labor and ended up with something.
Brakes shouldn't be too hard to get working. I'd try and bleed them first. That truck should have a vacuum booster on it. It was usually behind the driver's side of cab. I believe you need to bleed the lines from the master cylinder to the booster before you bleed the lines to the wheels.
You don't see many people hauling equipment on a flatbed truck. There's got to be a reason for that. Especially if you already have a trailer that may be worth fixing? I don't know if you mean the trailer is cobbled together with 14.5 mobile home wheels, or if it's a factory trailer that needs a deck. Don't be afraid to tear into the two speed axle motor, there pretty simple and you can imagine how easy they get dirty contacts etc being on the axle of a spreader truck. Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know. As far as the winch hydraulic pump compatibility, pressure is torque/force on the winch, and flow volume is speed. If anything I'd think a litter spreader has a higher power hydraulic pump than a typical dump truck setup.
I think that most guys don't use trucks like this is the load is up high and top heavy. Most time when you are moving dirt you also need a dump truck also, so a trailer is a better fit. Geardoc, is your trailer one of those backhoe specials with the roller skate axles?
I should have mentioned: The S1854 has no rust. The litter bed has rust but the frame doesn't. The person who attached the bed to the frame used oak as a spacer between the bed and frame. I don't know if Hudson cobbled Loboys, this one is a titled 12 ton Hudson loboy. It uses 14x8.5 rims, one set is mounted on a visible set of axles with 6 showing. It also has a set of hidden 6 tires on seperate axles. All three inner axles have brakes and the very front and very rear outer ones have brakes. It also a surge brake. I honestly know nothing about a 1980 Hudson 12 ton- they may be complete poop, I had always heard they were good. In NC: so long as there is good reason, and as long as you don't mind the Rebuilt brand, you can get a title for over vehicles over 20 years old. You buy a bond, and after a year, if no one makes a claim that is more recent or shows they're in constructive possession current improvement, you get a rebuilt title. If someone contests it- the bond covers your ass on your improvements and purchase cost. I have 1974 Loadstar 1600 dump truck and it was a state of Georgia dump truck- it has a "Rebuilt" title via the bond method. The only thing I really have that's heavy is the damn 450, but the damn 450 cost $1000 and I sold the hydraulic trans spare that the PO always wanted to have installed and got an extra 450C turbo engine with it. And it makes a lot quicker work of fence rows than my Komatsu D20PL6 does... Go figure. The reason I was interested in the L8000 is it has air brakes and it has rear air bags.
Thanks for taking time out of your days to offer your thoughts. All are greatly appreciated !
I have a '84 S1824 (gas version of S1854) and the brakes and power steering are powered through the hydraulic pump. Belt driven off the main pulley. Mine is pretty janky and not aligned or tightened well, so when I stomp on the brakes it stops the pump, sequels the belt, and I have no brakes. There is an electronic booster/back-up that isn't strong enough to really make a difference at all. It is kind of annoying, but a really simple system. I don't know if yours has it or not, but it sounds like it should. Maybe check the fluid level and pump pressure, that could be the culprit. I love my IH and it drives great! I think if you can get the brakes going, you will love it as well. Here in Texas, as long as you don't have air brakes and are under a certain GVWR, you don't have to have a CDL. Might be something worth looking into so you don't have to get it.
They are hydroboost brakes.. Check the power steering pump. As soon as you hook a trailer thats a class A CDL combo. I found out the hard way on a 23500# juice brake truck with trailer. That was a $908 tow plus a pending court date. Wasnt even hauling anything. My best advice, get your cdl now, not after youre in trouble.
Another thing to keep in mind. Licensing a truck to 26,000 does not exempt you from a CDL if the trucks manufacture data plate is rated higher. It only limits your load and you as a driver are still under licensed.
What staties enforce and what is published are two different things. And there are constant changes to FMCSA as a whole and in each state. Old info is just that. Weight wise they are looking at your door tag, your reg and your scale slip. Whatever is highest is the number they are using. If your trailer says 10k you are automatically CDL unless you can prove you arent doing commerce. I had them impound my stuff as i was headed to my own home eviction. Trooper called the constable and said i wasnt gonna make my date with him, no lie. Im on my way to retrieve my impounded trailer now. $2,750+tax for less than a month of impound. Criminal case pending for "driving out of class" Theyre wrong, but i still had to pay to get my property AND go to court. Not like you get a refund. Be careful out there and never trust DOT.