L9000 Tandem Dump

CM1995 · Jul 18, 2019

Well I was low bidder on a municipality owned L9000 tandem dump with L10 Cummins and Allison Auto. The truck has 56k miles and looks in good shape.

I was bottom feeding the auction and snagged it for $15K..actually didn't think I would win the bid that low but here we are.

Original thought was it would make a great site truck as the L series Ford's are tough as nails but if it's in good enough shape I may insure and tag it.

Not a big Cummins fan but the money was right. Thoughts on what I should be looking out for?

Tenwheeler · Jul 18, 2019

Have it inspected. Pictures look like it needs freshened up and more road.

mitch504 · Jul 18, 2019

You can't do better than an L10. I've had 3 in spreader trucks, and I defy anyone to tell me a harder life for a truck than that. It was amazing what it took to kill the only one we did.

crane operator · Jul 18, 2019

CM1995 said:
Thoughts on what I should be looking out for?

4 sets of tires, 3 truck drivers, 2 more trucks and a DOT number in a pear tree.

petepilot · Jul 18, 2019

mitch504 said:
You can't do better than an L10. I've had 3 in spreader trucks, and I defy anyone to tell me a harder life for a truck than that. It was amazing what it took to kill the only one we did.

I will second that opinion, taken care of an L10 will out do most any other engine of its size. clean oil clean air clean fuel

walkerv · Jul 19, 2019

Service the transmission if your going to license it use transynd , if it has the big spin on filter like i think change filter at every engine oil change. Looks like you got a steal of a truck , tell anyone driving it be easy on stuff in the cab kinda hard to get some of the parts now a days , rest of the truck is just components.

walkerv · Jul 19, 2019

Almost forgot steer spring pins and bushings at shackle side if they are still good and tight keep them greased well and often

colson04 · Jul 19, 2019

walkerv said:
Service the transmission if your going to license it use transynd , if it has the big spin on filter like i think change filter at every engine oil change. Looks like you got a steal of a truck , tell anyone driving it be easy on stuff in the cab kinda hard to get some of the parts now a days , rest of the truck is just components.

That damn spin on is one expensive filter. I swapped out Allison's on my dump last fall and was shocked at the $100 tag for that one filter. It cost almost as much as the synthetic fluid I filled the trans with.

CM1995 · Jul 19, 2019

crane operator said:
4 sets of tires, 3 truck drivers, 2 more trucks and a DOT number in a pear tree.

LOL. At the moment I am the only CDL driver..but I have a two veterans that can easily get theirs Class A's. Yeah I'm going to have to get a DOT number too.

I'll ask Santa for the other truck later this year.

walkerv said:
Service the transmission if your going to license it use transynd , if it has the big spin on filter like i think change filter at every engine oil change. Looks like you got a steal of a truck , tell anyone driving it be easy on stuff in the cab kinda hard to get some of the parts now a days , rest of the truck is just components.

Thanks Walker. We had two of the newer Allison transmissions (04 and 07), I'm not sure if this is a 4570 or 740. Either way transynd is the only fluid we used before. Also listing says the trans was recently rebuilt. Don't know what to think about that with the low miles on the clock. We'll find out.

Thank you all for the info. This should be an interesting project truck good thing I've got a good mechanic on staff because I'm not one.

walkerv · Jul 19, 2019

CM1995 said:
LOL. At the moment I am the only CDL driver..but I have a two veterans that can easily get theirs Class A's. Yeah I'm going to have to get a DOT number too.

I'll ask Santa for the other truck later this year.

Thanks Walker. We had two of the newer Allison transmissions (04 and 07), I'm not sure if this is a 4570 or 740. Either way transynd is the only fluid we used before. Also listing says the trans was recently rebuilt. Don't know what to think about that with the low miles on the clock. We'll find out.

Thank you all for the info. This should be an interesting project truck good thing I've got a good mechanic on staff because I'm not one.

Yeah those older allisons especially the ht740 didnt like garbage truck duty well . About 3 years is all we got out of them in a front load and 4-5 in a rearload resi truck. If its the ht 740 the big spin on isnt that bad from baldwin, alot of people dont like them think they are cheap ect ect but while i was in waste we never had a filter related issue from them, and no lost engines. The plus side of the ht740 not lasting long is the fact remans are cheap dump truck should be alot easier on them though. The newer allison trannys we usually got 6 years out of them so they werent really all that much better thats one were the application and the severe duty cycle make a difference .

CM1995 · Jul 19, 2019

Garbage duty is rough on a truck and it's components. I would've bet the res. rear loader trans would've crapped out before the front load just due to the duty cycle of start/stop at every driveway.

walkerv · Jul 19, 2019

CM1995 said:
Garbage duty is rough on a truck and it's components. I would've bet the res. rear loader trans would've crapped out before the front load just due to the duty cycle of start/stop at every driveway.

Rearload rruck now that i think about was just doing bulky and overflow trash 2 days a week and yard waste the other 3 prolly why it lasted longer all of the normal resi route trucks had the electronic trans

Shimmy1 · Jul 19, 2019

CM1995 said:
Also listing says the trans was recently rebuilt. Don't know what to think about that with the low miles on the clock. We'll find out.

Does the odometer only have 6 digits? Probably has 1,056,000 miles on it.

Set the overhead on the engine. You will be surprised at how much better they run when the injectors are nice and tight.

It looks like it has a Hendrickson. Hopefully the bushings aren't fagged out. Looks like a nice, solid truck. $15k was a steal.

crane operator · Jul 20, 2019

Looks like the cummins might have a jake or pac brake installed, with the jake and the transmission holding you back, it shouldn't need brake shoes very often. That's not a very common option on a l10, be glad you have it.

Maybe the A/C compressor is more important.

Its probably double frame, looks like spring over walking beam, heavy front axle, drive tires look pretty good. There used to be a lot of $15,000 dump trucks by me, but in the last year or two, it seems like they are now all $25,000 trucks. There's a ford dump just about like the one you bought, for sale right now by me. Its been used pretty hard, and they are wanting $26,000 for it.

CM1995 · Jul 20, 2019

Shimmy1 said:
Does the odometer only have 6 digits? Probably has 1,056,000 miles on it.

No the odometer has six digits -

This truck was owned by the city of Rainsville, AL. Rainsville is a little city in northeast AL on I-59. Probably never left the city limits.

crane operator said:
Looks like the cummins might have a jake or pac brake installed, with the jake and the transmission holding you back, it shouldn't need brake shoes very often. That's not a very common option on a l10, be glad you have it.

Maybe the A/C compressor is more important.

Its probably double frame, looks like spring over walking beam, heavy front axle, drive tires look pretty good. There used to be a lot of $15,000 dump trucks by me, but in the last year or two, it seems like they are now all $25,000 trucks. There's a ford dump just about like the one you bought, for sale right now by me. Its been used pretty hard, and they are wanting $26,000 for it.

Good catch on the Jake brake, I hope it does have one.

Yes the A/C compressor is very important as well, I did pick that up before I bid. I just hope it works. If the A/C doesn't work it will either get repaired or put a Reddot unit on it. I couldn't find anyone to drive the truck if it didn't have it - including myself.

Same here on the price of used/wore out trucks. The floor on pricing is $25K and that's for rode hard and put up wet trucks. Then it jumps to $50-70K for a decent 10-15 year old truck and then jumps to new prices.

If anyone has a decent used truck around here they are putting it to work. I've heard that some are charging $100 and hour for tri-axles here, the going rate has been $85 for the last several years. Supply and demand I guess, with the cost associated with dump trucks I don't see how they are making anything at $85.

mowingman · Jul 20, 2019

Insurance cost alone, convinced me to get rid of all my big trucks. It is hard to make a profit with insurance running up the cost of ownership, let alone repairs and fuel.

CM1995 · Jul 20, 2019

mowingman said:
Insurance cost alone, convinced me to get rid of all my big trucks. It is hard to make a profit with insurance running up the cost of ownership, let alone repairs and fuel.

Our insurance has skyrocketed as well. I'll have to make the decision either to tag this one or just use it as a site truck which would still make money.

At the moment we are renting a little Hydrema 912 dumper on a job for some onsite dirt and shot rock shifting. Nice little truck that will go all sorts of places but the rent is $2900 a week. We could've used this truck to do the same thing.

funwithfuel · Jul 20, 2019

Is that an LTA10 or L10STC? STCs are pain to control smoke on unless you adjust them with OBC method. OBC works best for either.
BTW nice truck. Usually you see them (around here anyway) with the set back front axle. Subsequently the front bumper and hood corners are usually trashed. Great find.

CM1995 · Jul 26, 2019

funwithfuel said:
Is that an LTA10 or L10STC? STCs are pain to control smoke on unless you adjust them with OBC method. OBC works best for either.
BTW nice truck. Usually you see them (around here anyway) with the set back front axle. Subsequently the front bumper and hood corners are usually trashed. Great find.

FunWF I'm not sure. Trucks and the mechanical side are not my forte'. I do know the truck doesn't smoke on the trip home and it has very little blow by.

Yesterday we went to pick the truck up in north AL about 125 mile trip one way. The old truck ran good didn't overheat, rode well and no hiccups on the trip back home. Bless her heart she is low geared - all I could do was 60 MPH going down hill with the wind behind my back - got passed by the governed OTR trucks..

All in all the old truck is in great shape. We'll have to replace some sway bars on the rear end, 2 sets of brake shoes and seal up the ducts in the dash to stop the A/C leaks. In addition to a general fluid and filter change.

The L10 does have a Jake - nice catch Crane Op!

The dump cylinder has recently been replaced, the packing slip is still attached. However the bed has seen better days,

The rear rubber is in good shape. Walking beam rear suspension.

The dash and gauges are good shape, didn't expect that.

For now we're going to bring up to road worthy see how she does.

funwithfuel · Jul 26, 2019

Straight L10 300hp. (Good pic shows the engine tag) That's a good engine. Stay on top of your coolant. Maintain your DCA.
Oil sampling will be your best defense. If you start showing coolant in the oil plan on a head gasket. They are simple and strong. You got a good one. Really glad for you.

L9000 Tandem Dump

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