We would like to buy a rock truck... a bunch coming up on the Edmonton Ritchie Brothers sale. Would like to be in the $65,000 to $85,000 range. Is that reasonable to think we could get something that wont be totally worn out for that price?? We wont use it all that much but would come in very handy at times. Any one on here familiar with any of those trucks? which ones to bid on or which ones to steer clear of?? Thanks in advance for any replies.
You looking for a quarry type truck or an articulated type. Most of them are pretty good, but go in as early as you can with a mechanic that you trust, it's worth the price to give a good inspection, next shop for a good dealer, no matter how good the truck looks if you don't have a good dealer that knows trucks you will regret it later on. Some dealers concentrate on loaders or dozers, and trucks are a side line. When you find what you think might be a good deal, come back here for opinions. give us brands and age to work with, a lot of knowledge on this forum.
I don't think your going to get a great truck for that price. With that being said, the market is way down right now, and I have seen machines in the last Richie auction go way lower then they should have. As oldseabee mentioned, you should look at a few machines your interested in, and get them checked over by someone. Rock trucks can be a money pit, so you don't want something that is going to cost a lot just to get running. Volvo has always made a good truck. Cat and deere are good too. Terex is ok, but check on your dealer status. For your price range, I think you would end up with a older Cat, or maybe a not as old terex.
Thanks guys for the response. We'd likely be interested in the 730 cats or comparable sized JD or Terex. We have some other Cat industrial equipment and have a decent dealer nearby. Just a bit concerned on not knowing really anything about articulated rock trucks what to watch for. I know more or less what to look for on track hoes and dozers etc but this is a different ball game. I guess we'll see how they sell and we'll go from there.
Buying stuff blind is really not in your best interests... It has already been said and I'll agree that whatever you would expect to pay for a pre sale inspection on any number of potential machines would be money very well spent. There are numerous local and not so local firms who can be reached for inspections and reports. The RB sites are all open pre sales for people to inspect and view equipment, and they encourage such behaviour. Driving over a ramp is very different to a ten hour shift, five days a week.
I assume that the bulk of the equipment in the Edmonton sale is oil field related, and that the companies probably had decent maintenance programs. Perhaps maintenance records are available for some of the equipment. Also, you should be able to take the serial number to Cat (on the Cat trucks) and get a history of work done by Cat. For that kind of investment though I should think that the cost of having an inspection done on those that you are interested in is well warranted as others have mentioned.
The biggest problem right now, is that with the Canadian dollar as low as it is, it's hard to compete with the money that people from south of the border are willing to spend at Canadian auctions. They tend to drive the prices above what would be a reasonable cost for most items in the sales.