Purchasing a S/A dump truck, could use some help/checklist

Good Morning,

I have been in and around construction most of my life. Most of my experience centers around skid steers, hoes, crawler/loaders and the occasional dump in various sizes.

This is not what I do for a living though. I am looking into helping my son get started as most of the employers in our town are food related and there just isn't a market for 20' somethings to go to school and try to support yourself.

With that said, I do have a decent background in diesels, pumps, routine maintenance items, etc. So the prospects of purchasing a small dump aren't daunting. I bought a new 14K equipment trailer last week and can support either a pintel or ball. I am looking at purchasing a Caterpillar skid steer from Empire Equipment in the next month or so.

Here's the meat and potatoes, so to speak, I have found a 2006 IHC 4400 with a DT466, 10 speed fuller, air bags, air brakes, air seat, air conditioning (lot's of air) Heil dump bed, 10' 8 yard, front mount hoist, good tires, good brakes. Truck looks good overall. Has 157,000 miles on the clock.

This truck would mostly be used to haul the skid steer around and move gravel for driveways and such. I don't mind using tandems or tri's for big load delivery and keep this unit under 26K for registration and insurance purposes.

Question: Does anyone know of a checklist that I can look at to make sure I am not missing anything when I go look at this truck? And, any pointers from experience would be nice to have also. With the miles on it, I assume taking it to a reputable HE shop for a once over would be standard OP.

If you are going to tow that new trailer with this truck, you will need a CDL A! Also, the GVWR determines if you need a CDL, not the registered weight.

Thanks bigbob,

I have to get a DOT physical every two years with my company anyway so getting a CDL isn't out of the question. Now getting the 20' something to pass a CDL test could prove problematic though.

And along with that goes the random drug testing program....... and all the other regulations.

Hammerhead said:

Thanks bigbob,

I have to get a DOT physical every two years with my company anyway so getting a CDL isn't out of the question. Now getting the 20' something to pass a CDL test could prove problematic though.

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5 years ago i passed it at 18 on the first go around. I would think most any 20' something could do it if they worked at it and wanted it bad enough.

Welcome to the Forums Hammerhead!:drinkup

As it's been said, towing a 14K trailer with a 26k truck will require a Class A CDL and all the rules that go along with that.

If it were me and I was just starting out I would buy a 10K-11K GVW pickup and tow the skid around on the trailer. Hire out any material hauling as needed and save the headache of owning a dump truck. The insurance difference alone between a pickup and a dump truck is a substantial savings, especially starting out.

I've found it more profitable to hire trucks as needed, especially if you are getting stone delivered on an irregular basis. Pay the freight, dump the load and send the truck away knowing you have no further costs involved. It's easier to price jobs and you don't have the overhead.

Now if you're hauling everyday and have the volume to support a dump truck then that's a different ballgame.

:drinkup

CM1995 said:

Welcome to the Forums Hammerhead!:drinkup



If it were me and I was just starting out I would buy a 10K-11K GVW pickup and tow the skid around on the trailer. Hire out any material hauling as needed and save the headache of owning a dump truck. The insurance difference alone between a pickup and a dump truck is a substantial savings, especially starting out.


Now if you're hauling everyday and have the volume to support a dump truck then that's a different ballgame.

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Amen to that, having a truck sitting or not being used to it's full potential is like having a big rusty burn barrel in your front yard you dump money into every day. If you want to just spend money, go down to your local beer hall and spend it there buying beer for everyone, same end results, but a lot more fun.... :drinkup

I own two dump trucks. A single axle non CDL international 2007 4300 and a tandem kenworth.

We have excavated a bunch of dirt on our property and are selling it and use the trucks to deliver it. We also haul gravel and do driveways and stuff like that. I have a pintle trailer and can use either one to haul our skid steer or backhoe.

Some days we might take 8-10 loads with each truck so they get used enough to justify them. Once I run out of dirt to sell from my place I will for sure be selling one and maybe both. I can haul my equipment behind my pickup and the amount of gravel we haul for driveways or hauling material for others that doesn't originate from my place amounts to less than ten loads a month. At that volume I am probably money ahead just hiring it done.

Dump trucks are great to have but if you are not hauling with them on a regular basis they cost more to have, insure, maintain than they are worth. You certainly don't need something that big to haul a skid steer around.

If you just want one great get it but you are going to have to hustle to get enough work to make it pay for itself.

bdog1234 said:

I have a pintle trailer and can use either one to haul our skid steer or backhoe.

I can haul my equipment behind my pickup and the amount of gravel we haul for driveways or hauling material for others that doesn't originate from my place amounts to less than ten loads a month. At that volume I am probably money ahead just hiring it done.

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How big is your truck and how big is your backhoe?

I have a Chev 2500hd ext. cab, duramax diesel with allison tranny and a 12 ton DOW float with electric brakes. I would not consider hauling my JD 310se backhoe behind my pickup, tried it once years ago with a 3/4 ton ford p/u pulling a JD 310 on a 9 ton DOW tri-axle and that was enough to convince me.

Backhoe was Kubota M59. Weighs about 8-9k.

I actually just sold it and and looking for a bigger one. Probably a 310 SJ and I won;t be hauling that beast behind my pickup.

My advice to the OP still stands though especially if he is only buying a 14k trailer. Anything that will safely go on that trailer can be hauled behind a pickup.

bdog1234 said:

Backhoe was Kubota M59. Weighs about 8-9k.

I actually just sold it and and looking for a bigger one. Probably a 310 SJ and I won;t be hauling that beast behind my pickup.

My advice to the OP still stands though especially if he is only buying a 14k trailer. Anything that will safely go on that trailer can be hauled behind a pickup.

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The rest of your post is right on the money, good advice. For myself, I would only buy a dump truck to move my equipment if I needed a site truck, which is where I'll be at next year. Any highway hauling I'll hire out if I can.

For what it's worth, I have a 14,500lb dual-axle single-tire that weights just under 6,000 pounds (5850) and regularly carries a 7,000lb or 8,000lb load, depending on which piece of equipment is on it.

I pull that with a high mileage (160,000) 2011 Silverado 3500 regular cab with an 8' bed that I picked up for $25,000.

I'm pretty sure the dealership used it to pull a car trailer from auctions, because it's hard to get 40k miles a year unless you spend a lot of time on the highway.
I mention that because looking for a high mileage pickup like that, which has basically been used as a road tractor and was owned by a dealership is a good way to find a good value.

Anyway...
It has the LML Duramax with exhaust brake, the 6-speed Allison and a 7,000lb rear axle. That means that if I need to I can pull the trailer with a 12,000 pound load (18,000# Total), shift the load forward so that I offload 4,000 pounds onto the truck and with the combined weight only hitting about 25,000 pounds. Fully legal and only 500 pounds over the rated tow weight of the truck.

The truck pulls it just fine and brakes it just fine too.

I should mention that the trailer has disc brakes and I am using a DirecLink brake controller, but the point is that a modern "1 Ton" from any of the big three are an excellent match for a 14k trailer, especially if you want to stay below CDL.

FWIW- I believe you'll find he has to be 21 years old for a Class A.

Have to be 21 to cross state lines with a commercial vehicle. You can get a cdl at 18 but it's only valid in your state. At least that's how it is in Indiana.

RTSmith said:

FWIW- I believe you'll find he has to be 21 years old for a Class A.

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I just looked it up and there is some strange cdl laws in tn. It's in state before your 21, and that's normal for everywhere. But you can get a class B at 18, and then a class A at 19, Here you can get a class A at 18. I've never heard of the 18 and 19 thing.