I have a property in the mountains that needs gravel for roads and pads, and lots of it. The property is fairly remote, so the costs to have the gravel trucked in, is very expensive. There is a gravel pit not too far from the property, and so I am considering purchasing a dump truck to truck the gravel in myself. The gravel road to the property is well maintained by the forest service, but it is very steep and winding in several sections. Wondering if someone could give me some advice on what type/brand/specs of a dump truck that would handle the mountain roads, but that is still something a beginner could operate.
A little axle truck might better for you a tandem axle could be tricky.And if you rock is not very far from you thats even better
I would do a 10 wheeler with a 14-16’ bed. A tandem drive axle setup with full lockers would be ideal. Low gears, 4.11’s or 4.33’s. Doesn’t need to be a 500hp motor. 350 is plenty with a low gear ratio and the right transmission. If you’re a beginner something with an Allison automatic would be easy to drive and should keep you from slinging a driveline or breaking an axle. I don’t know what your budget is, sometimes auctions are selling off ex county trucks. Those are often spec’d decent for your intended use.
Came here to say what Junkyard did. Tandem, auto with smaller dump bed. Ex county and state trucks would be a perfect fit. OP do you have a CDL and what is your budget?
How far away is the gravel pit and how many tons in total do you expect to haul? We have similar conditions here and I haul to lots of remote areas. I have both a single axle Ford F600 with a 10' bed and a tandem axle Ford LT9000 with a 15' bed. If you want something easy that anyone can drive a single axle class 6-7 medium duty will be the easiest. Most will have either and auto tranny or a synchronized manual tranny and are very maneuverable. Only expect to haul 6-8 tons depending on how it is spec'd. If you can afford it and find one definitely get one with a diesel and air brakes, even if it's a 26000lb under-CDL truck. IF you have a lot to haul and can get a CDL or are farm exempt, you may want to look into a tandem spec'd out as others have said above. I agree with the auto tranny and shorter bed for a beginner. My LT9000 is we'll spec'd for off road use, but I wouldn't say it'd be friendly to someone without truck driving experience. If you think a tandem would work you are basically doubling your work capacity and cutting your time in half vs a single axle.
My L9000 with L10 Cummins with Allison auto is very user friendly and built like a brick **** house but slow as hell. Great site truck though. Tearing out a DOT crossover.
I do not have a CDL, but it is my understanding that I don't need one if I am operating it just for my property, and not for commerce. Hoping to stay around 25-30K budget.
The gravel pit is only about 15-20 miles away, but because of the mountain roads, it takes about 40 minutes in regular vehicle each way. I am guessing at the amount, but I think I'll need about 500 tons of gravel.
Locally, I'm seeing a couple for sale: 2000 model GMC C8500 tandem dump truck - Truck is equipped with a 300hp C7 Caterpillar and 8LL Eaton transmission. It has a ten yard bed (31K) 2002 IHC 2574 tandem axle dump truck with 15 Ft. bed. Cummins N-14 Diesel with 370HP. Fuller 13 speed. transmission. Jake brake. PS,AC,CC. 20, 000 Lb. front axle with 46,000 Lb. rears. Hendrickson spring rear suspension. (36K) 2012 F750 non-cdl dump truck. Has Cummins engine with Alison transmission. (34K) 1990 Ford F800 CONVENTIONAL CAB, 7.0L V8 OHV 16V 429 Gas motor. Auto transmission. Spicer rear end. 75k miles. 7yard bed (16K)
For hauling down steep hills, a Jake brake is a non-negotiable for me or at least an exhaust brake. Don't be afraid of a tandem unless you really like making the trip.
So you get a dump truck. Then what? How do you spread the gravel? Are you going to compact the gravel? How much is the gravel in your area? How will you maintain your new gravel roads? We have a 1990 International 4900 auto which is a great truck and can do 6yds of gravel. But that's a lot of trips if you need a lot of gravel and a lot of time as it won't go up hills fast. We have a 2007 Kenworth T800 triaxle Auto 430hp we are going to sell soon. It's costly to insure, run, and maintain. But it will get the job done! I think you will need a CDL class B. I would suggest and engine in the 370hp to 430hp. For sure Automatic
Steep and winding roads for a beginner is not great. You need something with an engine break, good breaks, and lots of gears, I'd stay away from the smaller trucks (pickup cabbed ones) but they are a lot easier to run when new. They probably don't tip over to the side like a real dump truck will. Perhaps a dump bed running half loads and a good pickup that has a factory engine brake (03+ on Ford's)
One of them he is looking at I believe. Can be rerated to 435 hp from 370. * 2002 IHC 2574 tandem axle dump truck - heavy equipment - by owner - sale - craigslist 2002 IHC 2574 tandem axle dump truck with 15 Ft. bed. Cummins N-14 Diesel with 370HP. Fuller 13 speed. transmission. Jake brake. PS,AC,CC. 20, 000 Lb. front axle with 46,000 Lb. rears. Hendrickson... boise.craigslist.org
For the price--it's no power house but would take care of your job. * 1986 2574 tandem dump truck - heavy equipment - by owner - sale - craigslist 1986 IHC 2574 tandem axle dump truck with 12 yard bed. Cummins L10 Diesel. Fuller 13 speed transmission. ODO shows 53,440 miles. PS,AC. Jake Brake. 16,000 Lb. front axle. 315?85/22.5 frons with 70%... boise.craigslist.org
One has to remember these are EX state/county rigs--so normally have fairly good care taken of them by the tax payer.
While that may be true in Idaho, (from what little I read) the burden of proof is on you. Good luck proving to the DOT officer when he pulls you over that the load of gravel you are hauling is only for your private use. I'm sure they've heard that line a million times. If it's anything construction related (equipment, materials, etc) you'll probably have to prove it in the court room. Now if you were using that tandem dump to pull a RV or a boat that's easy to prove its not for construction. BTDT, not over a CDL, but moving equipment across state lines without DOT # and IFTA sticker. Didn't matter I was using it on our families property in another state, not for hire, I had no way to prove that so I had to turn around. Not trying to be a downer, but once you get over that 26K mark you have to have all your I's dotted and T's crossed. A lot of the DOT laws are written intentionally vague and usually it's not in your favor. I would do some real research and double checking before you buy a tandem thinking you can drive it without a CDL. There are some loopholes, but the only common exemptions are for farm use.
So start a tater patch---it's Idaho put exempt farm stickers on it, wear tater stomping boots with bib overalls and Ag hat related to spuds, common down there DOT expects it. But you still need a cdl class b.
You can probably get it hauled for $15/ton. So for $7500 or so you can hire it done. How much do you want to spend to save $7500? I get the appeal, but it seems to me that you might want to get an estimate and see where you are. The learning curve on your own truck could easily cost $7500 on its own.
^ that is the right way to look at it. One the one hand you get : Pride of ownership. ( this is usually a very expensive club) I can haul it when I want to. ( Also, you get to waste a lot of precious time going to get rock) On the other hand, you get to be patient, but not waste your time going to the pit and back.
Many people that don't know how to drive a truck will put a driveshaft on the ground. Hint don't use throttle to take off
He could probably get some farm plates in Ada County. Toss a few sugar beats on top of the gravel.
This is a do all world, everyone's a do all, so let him do it.
I agree completely IF he can get it delivered. The problem we run into around here is the quarries and trucking companies are running tri/quad/quint axle highway trucks and are completely unwilling or unable to get material where it's needed. I've had deliveries of gravel dumped almost a mile from where they were needed because "the road is too bad." I guess the flip side (no pun intended) is that driving a dump truck, off-road, in the mountains is not a good place for a beginner. We need more info on where the gravel is going, how it will be spread, overall timeline for the project, etc.
The op could be like me, more capable than the average person and just wants to do it himself, When I first asked about laying out and digging a basement, I had lots of people on here tell me not to do it, hire a professional, etc. They can do it all, it'll be faster, etc. I did it anyways. Took me a long weekend with my backhoe and my dad and FIL helping, but the hole was what the poured wall guys wanted when they showed up. I also hauled my own materials, and I paid to have some hauled in. The situation varied based on what I had time for. I'm all for doing it yourself, learning something new, and getting the enjoyment out of the experience.
Can you find gravel on your own property ? Buy a small towable screener if there is gravel.
It paid to do it ourselves---1.5 miles of 3/4 crush. The cost to have it done was just out there. The best way is to find some old used single axle cross-gate and a cheap old single axle tractor. can't hardly screw up with a cross-gate. *
1988 MIDLAND 29 ft For Sale in Edmonton, Alberta 1988 MIDLAND 29 ft For Sale in Edmonton, Alberta at TruckPaper.com. 1988 Midland 29 Ft T/A Bottom Dump Trailer www.truckpaper.com
And the perfect short truck to pull it---both for under 29K Facebook www.facebook.com *
^the learning curve is expensive. Just putting the clutch brake back in there will cost $$ if you don't do it yourself.
look out, that has the silver *Serious* Detroit in it!
There is a BUNCH of ????? you need to ask yourself before you buy something that you could do without. I have thought several times in the past about a dump truck and i could have used one but what i have is i think a lot more useful for what i do and will steal haul gravel . Are you going to build something there when you get a good road? My truck is great to haul lumber or other stuff . I would hate to take on your job with my truck but maybe hire a lot of it hauled and just haul part of it yourself and figure out if you want to haul it all.
In this case the best for a rookie----engine over speeds--who cares it's only a detroit, cowboy engine. *Clutch brake--SB-200 $23.00 and 35 minutes to change it.
A year ago a family member with a 100 acre stump farm and no truck or equipment experience purchased a 1995 Cat 315 excavator and a early 80's White Western Star dump truck. The Cat is in decent condition but the truck is very tired but its hauled a lot of gravel and has not missed a beat. He paid $5000 for the truck. It has a naturally aspirated Detroit 8V92 in it and an aluminium dump box. He told me the scrap metal dealer will give him what he paid for it for scrap if it dies on him.
Whatever you buy, don't go into the mountains as a rookie driver in any truck with hydraulic brakes. Kill the engine and you loose power brakes.
My silly suggestion, I believe you said you would only be on your property, However, Please have insurance on it just in case and do not be shocked by the price.
If he buys a 26001+ truck- I doubt he can get insurance without a CDL and proof of experience. No insurance, probably means no plates. Unless he goes the "farm" route.
Wonder how many rear diffs will he shear teeth off of since the road sounds like mine and "apparently" that's expected.
It is easy to spin a wheel, on a not great gravel road, especially if its washboarded and steep. And if you get anything spinning, eventually its going to bite, and something is going to give. Buying the truck is just the first step, its no fun to tear it up in the middle of nowhere with no other help. As far as what to buy, I'd buy the biggest truck I thought I could get, to where it needs to go. Of the ones you've listed, I'd do the N-14 and a manual. If you have no experience, you are going to be better off with some kind of automatic. (Which is basically everything junkyard told you at the start). If you go small, 500 tons of rock is 100 trips- 5 tons at a time. That's more than 30 days of hauling, if you don't spend any time spreading it out.
I bought a dump trailer thinking it was a good route for what I needed. Timewise it was way better to have a contractor with a large dump truck bring gravel to a easy to offload area and I would move the gravel to the far corners of the property with the tractor and trailer. The contractor didn't mind bringing me gravel cause I made it super easy for them. They could drive up a gravel driveway,back to a turn point that was flat and wide, then drive away. Make it easy for a contractor and they don't mind helping, and it's cheaper. Some contractor may even be able to haul on a return load, which at that point they are more inclined to do the job. It's also easier for you, you can stay on your land and move the gravel where it's needed and don't waste time on the road. Over here, farm plates means farm tractor speed. 20MPH, or the DOT is on you.
Working in the quarry here I see a lot of private dumps. Buy 5 to 500 acres, get a dump truck. Usually ex government rigs. Yeah, they break just like everything. Some of the guys aren't pros (beep! beep! latch your gate bud!) but generally much better than the Billy Big Rig "pros". Sure, we'll haul it, probably the numbers don't pencil out in the long run owning a truck vs. having it hauled. If it's what you want to do go for it. 3 axle rig, 2 axle, whatever. My old KW is registered/plated Idaho Non-Commercial use <50,000GVW ( not farm plates), I think that's around $213/yr. Insurance, liability only personal use, is around $600/yr. All your neighbors will be "hey, when you fire up your dump truck could you get me a couple of loads...."
You got that right. One of my neighbors that rarely talks to me got all butt hurt when I told them "sure, I charge $75/hr for trucking " He hasn't talked to me since.
Oh you meanie. lol