Looking at dump trucks again, single axle vs tandem

MG84 said:

but off road performance is as important to me as on road,

Click to expand...

Most around here run a tandem with a low profile 12 yard box just for that reason. It's a problem
with hiring it hauled, most outfits are running a quad and yes those are not work a sh!t in soft
conditions. Most around here run a standard 3 axle dump with floats on the front. They seem to
get enough hauled and if they do have a drop they just don't load to max. But they have a rig
that can pull a tag trailer easily. Last year I looked at a 1992 KW 900 with a 425 3406 Cat 13 spd
and two spd rears with a drop and a newer 12 yard box, had 46,000 lb Hendrickson spring beam.
I found a few smaller issues, some brakes and the suspension needed rebushed. He bought it
for $28,000 had a total of 34 in it when done. He is so happy not to have a single axle any more
and he can get what he needs done when he needs it.

hseII said:

Does anyone have a DT530/8LL combo tandem?

I’ve seen probably 4-6 of those on marketplace in the last few months: spring suspension, 14’-15’ gravel tandems.

Click to expand...

My buddy had one shortly after they were introduced and had nothing but trouble with it. Some electrical gremilin would make it shut down randomly and not restart. After two years of trips to the dealer and several lost loads of asphalt IH bought the truck back.

Counting miles on a dump truck I think only has a limited amount of value. If you need the truck to get the jobs done to make money, even under 10K a year, its a pretty important piece of gear. A single axle is not really any more manuverable than a tandem. I would get that single axle mistake out of your mind.

My next truck will be a two drop, truck with a demo bed. I kind feel that with a four axle and demo body, I can only haul about 11-12 yards. I hire a lot of trucks for that reason and lack of help being another. The 2 drop trucks can haul about 18 yards, they are not too bad off road and in some ways presents a similar to the single axle issue with a one drop truck. Going bigger allows more cy per load, drop tires are not that expensive (relative). These can be a little harder to manuever but the productivity increase in more yards per load with about the same amount of diesel fuel, simply makes sense to me.

I love my MACK. That Camel Back suspension I think is simply awesome in my opinion, simple in construction, smooth enough. I have been checking truck trader off and on to find exactly what I wont. I would like my next one to be a MACK as well. Problem is out west, Mack isn't as popular, and I am aways from a Mack dealer, but I sure love the trucks.

Well, the decision has been made, went back and bought that Ford L9000 I looked at over the weekend. He came down on price to what I thought was a pretty good deal. Not 'exactly' what I was looking for but close, and just too nice of a truck to pass up. Runs and drives beautifully, rides great, and I think the power will be adequate. Drove it 2.5hrs home on the interstate last night and it cruised along at 67mph @ 2000rpms, pulled Fancy Gap pass on I77 in high gear. I'll start another thread on the truck when I get a chance, got a few small repairs/maintenance to do, then add a hitch, barn door conversion, tool boxes, new tires, etc.

1997 L9000, L10 Cummins, 9spd Road Ranger, belly frame, walking tandems, dual steering boxes, 385 floats on the front, clean, tight, completely rust free, gave $21K for it:

We also do a lot of off road….walking beams/spring suspension were a must have.

Looks to me you made a great purchase, Good luck!

If you're handy with repairs it's a really good purchase to me. L10 with a 9 LL is a really good combination but you are going to hate it loaded. Just be content with 50 mph and it won't matter anymore

I think it will serve my needs well. The bar is set pretty low, right now I’m often grossing 30-40k (with a trailer) with 185-190hp. This new truck with 300hp is registered at 54k, by my math thats as good or better power/weight ratio. We’ll see when we get a load on it, before that though I’m brushing up on my shifting. It’s been 20+ yrs since I’ve driven a tandem/non-syncro tranny and my shifting skills have gotten a bit rusty, definitely humbled me a little lol.

Congrats. I still fudge things up now and then.

Ordered a set of good used Ford shop manuals for the truck, trying to find one for the engine. Not sure which one, seeing manuals for L10 Command, L10 STC, L10 Celect, etc?

Celect is the electronic engine (it will have a little computer box on the drivers side and electronic injectors. I don't know what the "command" is.

1997--should be a celect.

Does it have a 9LL or a regular 9 speed. The 9LL was designed mostly for ready mix trucks, It's got some funny low speed gears like for unloading concrete on the go, like curbs etc?
FWD

There are a multitude of 9 speed gear ratios, with a range of ending prefix letters-A-B-H plus
overdrive LL's. Below is a ratio chart, if your transmission still has a model tag check it and
compare against chart.
*

I think (for what it matters) you made the right choice, certainly better than any single axle truck.

MG84 said:

Well, the decision has been made, went back and bought that Ford L9000 I looked at over the weekend. He came down on price to what I thought was a pretty good deal. Not 'exactly' what I was looking for but close, and just too nice of a truck to pass up. Runs and drives beautifully, rides great, and I think the power will be adequate. Drove it 2.5hrs home on the interstate last night and it cruised along at 67mph @ 2000rpms, pulled Fancy Gap pass on I77 in high gear. I'll start another thread on the truck when I get a chance, got a few small repairs/maintenance to do, then add a hitch, barn door conversion, tool boxes, new tires, etc.

1997 L9000, L10 Cummins, 9spd Road Ranger, belly frame, walking tandems, dual steering boxes, 385 floats on the front, clean, tight, completely rust free, gave $21K for it:

View attachment 308292

Click to expand...

Have almost the same year and spec'd L9000 except mine has an Allison auto. Slow as hell but it's a great site truck as it's built like a brick **** house.

Won it with a minimum bid on Govdeals. Forgot I placed the bid until the email notification was in the inbox saying Congratulations.

Found a set of Cummins shop manuals for the L10 on ebay, actually covered all the models I listed. Includes both a shop manual and a troubleshooting/electrical diagnoses manual.

So I've been mistakenly calling the truck a L9000, (as does everyone selling them) turns out it's an LT9000. The truck is at the glass shop for a new windshield and the one they ordered didn't fit. Apparently the LT/LTL take a different, shorter, and gasketed vs glued windshield than the L9000. Ran the vin, sure enough LT9000. I'm sure some of you probably caught that mistake just by looking at the picture

The transmission is a 9spd Road Ranger, not a 9LL. There is only one selection in the low gear vs 2 or 3 in the 8LL/9LL. Both Low gear and reverse are pretty deep however, should be good for my needs. When I get the truck back I'll post up a new thread with all the specs, pics and repairs/modifications.

If by chance you run across a hulk 9000-and buy it cheap you better do so--for parts.

Truck Shop said:

If by chance you run across a hulk 9000-and buy it cheap you better do so--for parts.

Click to expand...

So I've heard, especially cab parts. Can't be any worse than my 1980 F600 and 1988 F700. A few parts somewhat interchange with the pickups on those, but the hyd brake, suspension and axle parts on the F600 are pretty dang hard to find. What parts I can get are just the cheapest Chinese garbage you've ever seen, not even worth the box they came in. Maybe at least the engine, drivetrain, and brake parts on this new truck are a little more universal....I hope.

Same dash parts in some respects as a pickup--ford did that allot, the one thing I didn't like
about fords. As far as drivetrain and brake that's not really a issue. I have in the past just
made some new dash panels and separated the wiring out to circuits with toggle switches.

Not many pickup parts are interchangeable on my L9000. Like TS said drivetrain, suspension and the like are easy to find. Ford specific parts are hard to get.

We had to fit up a radiator overflow tank because we found 2 - 1 aftermarket aluminum that was $1500 (IIRC it was expensive) or a used plastic one for $700.

MG is the dash in good shape? Also the factory A/C sucks.