dump truck

[capt_met]

i have been looking for a medium duty dump truck. i will primarily be using it to tow my backhoe. one that has caught my eye is a GMC T6500. it has a 185HP cat 3126 engine in it. 6 speed transmision, hydraulic brakes. also has a 10 ft. 5 yard dump bed. looks to be in good shape. do you guys think this is enough power for towing? it doesn't seem to have better HP and torque ratings than my 1 ton. and that engine works too hard to tow that weight. any opinions would be appreciated.
thanks,
metin

[cat320]

i have been looking for a medium duty dump truck. i will primarily be using it to tow my backhoe. one that has caught my eye is a GMC T6500. it has a 185HP cat 3126 engine in it. 6 speed transmision, hydraulic brakes. also has a 10 ft. 5 yard dump bed. looks to be in good shape. do you guys think this is enough power for towing? it doesn't seem to have better HP and torque ratings than my 1 ton. and that engine works too hard to tow that weight. any opinions would be appreciated.
thanks,
metin


So a chevy cab over , I would have to say it would be lacking power especially going up hills pulling close to 20 ton . It will get the job done if you had all flat land i would say it be ok but the hils of tenn. I would say get one with more power.

[capt_met]

the backhoe and trailer have a combined weight of 14000 Lbs. if that helps any.
thanks for the reply,
metin

[Bob Horrell]

The CAT 3126 can go to higher horsepower. That engine comes from the factory at 300hp in some models. Check with a reputable diesel shop and see what it would cost to get more horsepower. Sometimes all it takes is removing the injector pump and sending it out to a shop for recalibration. Total cost could be under $1,000. If you don't get more horsepower, you will have problems in any hills with only a 6 speed.
I have an International with the DT466 and a Roadranger 10 speed and I find I need the extra gears when towing the trailer in any kind of hills. I have the 210hp, high torque version which is soon to get a horsepower increase. It would be a real dog in the hills with just a 6 speed.

[smalltime]

We rented a GMC dump truck from Hertz with the same engine. It was a 6 speed with hydraulic brakes. We were thinking of buying it until we kept it for a week. We towed our Case 455 loader with the hoe attatched. Not only was it underpowered when pulling the loader, it was also hard to stop, even with the trailer brakes. We ended up getting a truck with air brakes. Around the same time we were trying to decide, a guy was pulling a hill with a comparable truck when his drive shaft broke. The truck rolled back & crushed a car, killing at least one of the occupants. That sealed it for us, air brakes are hard to beat.

[Jeff D.]

Capt Met,I've a Ford 8000 w/3208 cat,and an Allison 6speed.It also has a 5 yrd box.I weighed the truck mt and it's just over 14k.When I've had the box full of class 5,and pulled my Bobcat behind on the trailer(about 36k total),it is VERY slow.Any hill will drop me below 50mph.The engine is rated at 187hp.I'm not sure about the torque rating,but it's somewhere around 450 ft.lds.The truck is on the gov. at 65mph.

When I've been loaded and on soft ground,if I'm starting out from a dead stop,the engine barely has enough power to get it moving.It's had me worried enough to think I may have to dump the load where it was,to get the truck light enough to pull itself out.(that was without a trailer behind also!)

From the experiences I've had,I would think you'de have troubles when you left the asphalt and got onto soft ground with just the 6 speed,if you'de your hoe behind.(first gear too high,not enough engagement torque)

[bobcatuser]

I had a Ford Cargo 8000, Cummings 8.3 210 hp. Eaton 5 + 2 transmission with Air Brakes. This truck pulled a 12,000 lb trailer with no problem.

When towing a trailer with a light cab over truck the combination will easily jack knife on a wet or icy road, so be careful not to buy a truck that will be too small.

If I were pulling a 14,000 lb trailer I’d defiantly get a truck with air brakes. Extra options like differential locker and road ranger transmission make the truck more versatile, but you can't get these options with a cab over truck.

[capt_met]

i appreciate the replies. i talked to a finance guy with the place today and don't believe i'm gonna go that route. i had the concerns that you all confirmed and this truck won't work for me. when they came out with their great help on the financing that ended it. you gotta love it when you hear you've got great credit and we'd like to help you BUT, you've only been in bussiness a short time so we are going to penalize you. i said no thanks. been talking with another dealer and get much better rates on better trucks. i don't plan on hauling much in the dump bed. it seems easier to call what i need in. so i'm thinking a contractors dump bed in whatever i end up with. would also like a I-box behind the cab. i've seen a few and they seem well set up for what i am doing. again thanks for the replies and if there are any other suggestions i would love to hear them.
metin

[Ford LT-9000]

Juice brakes are scary on medium duty trucks definatly need air and you can run your trailer on air over hyraulic or get a trailer on full air.

You want a single axle truck with a minimum 33,000lbs you don't want to fool with a 26,000lb truck. You want a 5 ton not a 3 ton truck.

[BIGDAN315]

I agree with you, I am using a s1900 IH with a dt 466 210 horse single axle pulling a 12 ton trailer with a 580 bachoe and would not want anything lighter or with less power.Hills can be a problem even with this combonation.