The boss is too cheap to buy a new box or get it skinned. It could really use it. There a depression towards the back, 3" deep and about 18" x 2' between the rails. I was thinking of plating over it and welding a strongback down the length underneath. I was wondering if filling it with sand would help?
Really? Not a single opinion? What's wrong with you guys...
Forget the sand idea! Price 3ft X box width plus 6-8" up the sides AR400 3/16th material and info the cheapo boss. Welding that repair plate in won't be much more than mickey mousing with a smallish plate.
Of course you're right but I'll leave it to you to explain to my boss what was done...
Explain what was done? Well, in a nutshell, you're in a no win situation. Ding in the floor of a dump body, near the rear, about 3" deep, a crater 18" x 2'. Obviously, this ding wasn't caused by dumping #57 stone in the bed and dumping it. No, it was done by an operator dumping a boulder or boulders in an empty dump body (I believe they love to hear the thud). So you patch it, even using the method mentioned by Stan, 3 ft wide x the width of the box. Send it out on a job and said operator dumps a boulder toward the front and makes another ding. Damn, should've lined the whole bed floor. El cheapo boss goes to the moon like a rocket. Your problem is operators. I've said it before and I'll say it again, operators are like peanut butter, they only come in two flavors...smooth and crunchy. I don't know how to tell you to fix that problem.
That can be a problem, seems it's frowned on dumping the boulders on the operators. On the topic of operators, we had a young guy running our pit loader 988H and bosses were complaining he was too slow on his cycle times. So they stuck another guy in the loader they felt was faster. Funny thing was after they spent time checking the two they found out the "slow" kid was actually faster. Point being like this posters boss who probably thinks his operator is saving time and money by dropping stones in empty box instead of putting a layer of material in to cushion the boulders he is actually costing more money down the road in repairs. It's the dump body this week, next week it will be springs and then frame and axles. I'd say Rob should be keeping his eyes and ears open for a better boss!
Old saying is Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
Bosses are usually okay, after you get them trained.....
Recommend to the boss that it will not last and to not bother crabbing at you when it needs work again. Then politely tell him that you will patch it as many times as he wants to pay you to do so. Good Luck.
Forget welding anything in it. Sounds like you need to line floor with some native lumber if the operator is dropping large boulders in it.
Maybe patch that area with some old tire material. So next time said operator drops a bolder there...it'll bounce right back out...
The operator probably only dropped that boulder to try and get the driver's attention.
Our operators are top notch. It's the guys at the quarry that load 4 and 5 man rock with a thumb. Our older boxes are beat to heck. The area in the bed I was talking about was bigger than I remembered. Just left it. Spent 10 hours yesterday patching and welding cracks. It'll last the summer and then I'll get to do it again next year....
Like Rod Taylor to Ben Johnson in the movie "The Train Robbers"... "Something to do!" :drinkup
Loved that movie... The Duke to Anne Margaret: "Ma'am, I got saddles older than you are..."
I wouldn't consider a boss not wanting to fix or replace a dented dump truck cheap probably wiser than you think if the truck can get material from point A to point B without leaking out there is nothing to fix even an AR liner cant be put over a big dent it will just crack and dent in the same Rob knew that thats why he mentioned sand Timber on the floor is a excellent solution
I agree. In a perfect world when something is worn out one would get a new one. However in the business world it's never perfect and often times resources are stretched in all different directions. Obviously I don't know the interworking financials of this company and I can't say one way or the other on the repair but I'll give my insight on running a small business. Sometimes we have to patch up something when a better fix or getting a new one is obviously the smarter choice but the money is not there to fund it. The tax man and the insurance man come at the same time of the year for me - during the wet winter months. Tags are due in Nov. Taxes are due in Dec. General liability, auto and workers comp are up for renewal in March. GL and WC require a down payment to start the policy with the remainder financed over the next 10-12 months. All these overhead costs come due when the weather is wet, production comes to a grind and billing for work performed is slim. You have to work like hell during the dry months and put back money in order to not only survive the wet months but also pay the overhead costs listed above. I have often times said you have to be crazy to be a small commercial excavating contractor. You take on bid jobs with huge amounts of risk from plans that are very seldom accurate, with expensive machinery and labor. You perform your work, bill every 30 days and wait another 30 to get your check. Sometimes an owner may appear "cheap" but in reality he's just trying to keep everything rolling. Just my perspective, take as one will.
When a box gets to this point it is time to replace it or do major repairs (I.e. Full liner). If this is just a site truck that only gets used a few hundred hours a year just keep shoe stringing it with patches until another better junker takes its place. If this a main truck getting over 1000 hours a year you should patch it to get it back on the road until the new liner shows up for install. I have never seen a dump truck make money, the tire guy gets paid, the fuel guy gets paid, the driver gets paid after this there is little left over to make a payment or do repairs, this is not your problem but the owner/managers......TIO
I drove for a while back in the nineties, leased to an outfit that had fifty plus power units, about half dump and pups or transfers the rest end spills or bellies. The head mechanic was one of the three partners in the outfit and he told me that even with the discounts and savings they got from having that many rigs running, in a good month if they didn't have too many accidents or breakdowns they averaged $6 per hour billed in gross profit.