Hello, I have a small 2ton excavator and do what ever I can for who ever I can with it. Lol. Pulling bushes, leveling pads, ditches, grading, trails, etc. I've had a few jobs recently where I could have charged to remove top soil and then sold it on other projects... The city has some nice looking F350 dump trucks but all I ever see in them is limbs. The Izuzu low wall dump trucks look almost perfect but I never see any companies around here using them. Any chance of finding a decent old dump truck for 8k or less? I think the last one that brought me rock was a single axle International with 8ton capacity. The new Izuzu's arent terrible new, but with that comes the taxes, higher insurance etc. So I'd rather buy something older outright. Any advise is welcome. I'm in a rural area so it wouldnt be in traffic much and will mainly stay within 30miles of home. Thanks
Ton trucks will net you around a three ton load limit, will get a "5" yard bed but putting that to them is brutal. A 450/550 Ford or a Top Kick GM will take the five ton but are pricey if go anywhere near to or even new. Two ton trucks are used and abused by point of sale by previous owner, city and state trucks end up salted in Northern climates and just run to trash south. A decent used GMC Top Kick, Chevrolet Kodiak series of the 90s are still selling for close to $20,000 here, International/Navistar similar for same size series. Can find repairable trucks but will end up spending at least same end figure by time have bought all necessities. Going Silverado Ton 3500, Ford ton F350Dual Rear Wheel trucks or even Dodge ton trucks is a gambit of what can find but most will still range in the $12-15,000 mark. At least in MO, other states will vary and not knowing where you are at does not help.
Thanks for the reply. Eastern VA/NC boarder. Very flat, 2 snows a year and currently way too humid!
Be looking KY, TN areas, try to stay clear of the rube used truck lots if can, maybe hit Craigslist Eastern cities KY and TN. Some need a "Little" work to get closer to right, others you can tell they will not ever be right again.
If you were out West, I found a decent International S1600 for $7500 within walking distance of my place.
There is a FB group "Single Axle Dump Trucks" that has some interesting things, amongst all the garbage.
I've been sort of looking for a single axle dump for a couple of years to use around the ranch. I spend way too much time moving material or whatever with the tractor. The $5k to $8k dumps I've seen pictures of and one in person are basically old beat up wrecks.
Could be the Proud owner of this one!! I am already. yeeha
DMiller, I have a ex county 87' F-700 gasser that looks close. Girling brake system is a pita. Otherwise it is a very handy "ranch" truck.
Or: I have moved the bed to another truck. It is presently a cab & chassis. Original miles 59000 Within 5000 miles a professionally rebuilt tall block 427 Steel forged crank, massive cooling system, long bores for long pistons with extra oil control ring, big valves, big cam. New clutch, pressure plate, radiator, tires. Eaton 5 speed trans, Eaton two speed rear differential. Titled 26000 GVWR Registered 25999 GVWR Highway ready, I drove it today at highway speed. A very pleasant truck to drive. PTO, hydraulic pump, reservoir & valve intact $3000. FIRM
Almost rather have the Bendix Disc brake Juice brakes and rust bucket than the Girling!! Park side works good when work, otherwise a leaking snotty mess most of the time! Old 366 still runs OK, has leaks everywhere that need attention, has all manner of salt cancer been chasing where should have donor on the way.
I think your best bet to find something in that low of price range is a single axle on air, more requirements to operate so at least here they don't fetch as much money as by that point most people just want a tandem. Maybe better off with a dump trailer even for that price range?
Back in 2008 I bought a GMC Topkick with hyd. brakes and grain box with twin cylinder hoist for $5500, 177,000 original kms. and 30,000lb GVW. Box was rusted from hauling feed but almost new front tires and decent rears. has a 6.0 L/366 cu. EFI engine so none of the notorious carb. problems. Put a new distributor in last year and new fuel pumps this year but about $300 total for aftermarket parts. I use it for a water truck now but hauled several hundred yards of sand from my neighbors field. Grain box is too light for sand and dirt but I thought the price was too good to pass up. Only noticeable problem is 3rd. gear requires double clutching but that's not a big deal. I bought a tandem dump truck in 2015 for $8000. It was a former plow truck but the frame isn't rusted. It's 94 Ford L9000 with a Cummins M11. It does the heavy hauling now.
Single axle dumps are common on the farm sales because farmers don't use them much for grain anymore. I saw two trucks sell last winter that were in running condition and sold for less than $1000 each. 30 or more years old with gas engines.
I sold it today. I held out for full price, but ended up $300 short with a promise for Friday. I'll tell you later.
Single axles don't really make sense for most of us. A tandem hauls twice as much in the same time. I choose a single cause truck only no CDL needed under 26000 LBS, but I have a CDL, so that doesn't make sense. They go in rough terrain where a tandem won't go. I can use it like a pickup. I can haul logs, wood, lumber, trash, construction debris, old tires scrap, and my list goes on. Plus I tow a 10 ton trailer
If you try a tandem with the right suspension off road, you'd never want a single axle. Twice the traction and flotation, but if you get a hwy air ride tandem, they won't climb a curb.
Lots of single axle trucks under 10 tho have to take your time and look Honestly though comparing a 20 year old truck to a brand new Isuzu isnt going to work you really have to decide what way you want to go, working on something or having new and just running it You would have to put a gun to my head to buy an old carburated gas dump truck over one ton size for work purposes I've drove enough of those gutless gas hogs
And parts issues arise with older than the dirt they haul equipment, if do not know or can readily scab on parts that are available can be a maintenance expense headache. I spend considerable time locating and installing have to use parts in my machines. Ford and GM got out of Medium duty for a time where the parts for the earlier units are getting scarce
I have found that to be a problem for a few parts. Never did find rubber engine mounts for the old C65.
I believe a single axle under $10000 is going to need extensive work. I bought a low mileage fire truck, rationalized converting it wouldn't be all that bad. The unanticipated costs were multiple.
I have a project due to arrive here, may be more than bargained for but seems we take on what we can stand physically and mentally not so much financially!! I found engine mounts for neighbors '66 C60 thru GM Dealer near here, guy just had to go back to paper parts guides and then ordered them, were in warehouse in TX. Not all dissimilar to the newer trucks mounts where believe they could have been made to work.
I gave up on getting a dump truck and bought a dump trailer instead. It is working out nicely. Thanks for all the help.
That was a pretty truck @Willie B had I read about it sooner I may have made a trip!
How big is your budget? Might still be worth a trip? Break even, I'd sell. We went 130 miles round trip today. Towing a trailer with 18000 LB backhoe over VT mountains is slow uphill & down. Too little weight on rear truck wheels encourages caution up & down. Add the complication of losing air 50 miles from home! It seems protecting every air line on the truck, I had missed a tiny sensor line, gives feedback from air dryer to compressor regulator. Only takes a minute amount of water to ice that little bugger up. In future, it drinks much more alcohol. Then I needed fuel. Little country fuel station, only one for 20 miles. The diesel pump was closest to the building, fuel tank on the truck is right side. Only access to fuel a truck with trailer is wait for the 8 parking spaces to be empty. Seth driving, me directing, we negotiated the difficult. 10 seconds short of the pump, a 320 LB c*nt in a Rav 4 scooted in blocking our access. She defiantly filled her tank, went inside to scratch off some tickets. I may have muttered too loud my displeasure. At this point, trucks, tractors, dozers, sons, all have lost their charm!
I thought you sold it!? If I'm really considering it I don't know what my budget is, less than 5k feels right but it'd also need to make a long trip home.
No expert, but I envy an older single axle dump truck myself. I would opt for a larger international diesel with air brakes. One with 8-10 ton maxed out hauling capacity. Anything smaller doesn't get you much capacity per load. One important thing to keep in mind is the loading height of your equipment. Cheers
Several City County State and Utility Dumps come up usually around the time they all get thru winter at Auctions here, usually go Pricey as people do not understand how to judge these.
I looked at several town dump trucks before buying a fire truck. New England town trucks do NOT have a good life! All I looked at were rusted out, including the frame.
Pretty well where I was directing.
I see southern trucks in remarkably nice condition, even a 1936 Ford, originally a Montana town truck. It seems they raise the road above surrounding terrain & let the wind keep them clear. As I understand it, (at least years in the past) they didn't use salt.
As D Miller can attest, buying a used truck is a can of worms. Even my case of buying a low mileage truck still in service as a small town fire truck, there was a lot needed to be done. I bought mine cheap, but spent twice the purchase price making it road worthy.
Open the hood every morning and poor a sack full of money under there, shut the hood and drive away. been that way since time began.
I can hear those old gas jobs running now. There was a fella here that had a topkick gas job with a trailing axle. It was new enough to be fuel injected. He could haul more than the other tandems because he was so light. There was a fella up the street from my parent's place. He had a ....I think it was a 78 or 79 F800 Chrome grill, 2 tone brown and white. Single axle with a trailing axle. He painted every nut and bolt on that thing twice a year. It was always shining. I can hear it running yet.
I had the C65 Chevy 1976. I bought it with 366, couldn't time it. Best advice was timing must be fouled up, chain worn out. I bought a 427 truck engine, had it rebuilt. It only climbed steep hills with a full tank. I went through Hell figuring out the air sucking problem in the fuel system. On a good day it was under powered, and a gas hog. I replaced it with a Top Kick 3208 Caterpillar. Still under powered, but not as severe & it costs half as much for fuel.
One thing a old boss said that made more sense than any thing he ever said was a truck can brake down even though its parked.
Not sure what the market is like these days, but over the past few years Ive picked up international single axles for 20k (canadian) or less. Ran em for a bit and sold them for more than I paid. No frill trucks, and reliable provided you get a DT466 and not a maxxforce. DT466 is a gutless motor, but it will get the job done. My trucks were legal for 7-8 metric tons. 10 yard dump body, but you'd run out of weight before space.
Loading height is why I am happy with the 8 yard box on the Ford tandem truck. With short boards I can get over the side of it with the 35.
We had a fleet of internationals with the 466 and they were tandems. There are still 2 still running in the fleet, and one is a water truck now. Not enough power to hurt themselves, but I know one of them is on it's 3rd box, and has over a million kilometers on it, and that's not highway driving. The only reason they have retired some is that the frame is wearing out. The new trucks that have replaced them will never get as many years use as these ones. Would love to have the money that came through the tailgate on them.
That sumps up the DT466 perfectly. I do regret selling my 05 sometimes. Cheapest to run truck I've ever had.
Ours were older. The newest one that is still in service is a 96.
I have a 95 F800 with that Girling system last time I done the brakes it was $2,000 for just the rear
Lucas Girling or ANY Lucas Anything still sucks.
Juice brakes suck.
I think you can find good deals on single axle CDL required trucks. Just not many people want them, I picked up a L9000 Ford Aeromax for about 10k. She can haul 10 ton, diesel with air brakes just a beast and fits anywhere I want to go.
What's not to like about that? If I did not have the 120 to drag, I'd love that at work. I have to run 6000 pounds of pintle weight to make the axle rules with the two axle trailer. If I had a 3 axle I could run about 4 and a single axle truck would be fine.
I had a little IH 2375 L10 10 sp. 6/7 box that was a great truck. @skyking1 you may have seen it around- red & white. Guy that bought it was the little farm on 410 at 234th
I would like to meet the guys that came up with some of this stuff. Are they really that dumb or did they spend so much developing some of this stuff that they had to go ahead with it.
We had the little early 90's Fords with the 160 hp? diesel and 5x2 and hydro brakes at RT and T. I had a double tandem beavertail with electric brakes to haul the Case 590s and 580 extendahoes. Climbing up an onramp was a little painful with that setup.