Driving a dump truck cross country - What do I need to know

I would vote for getting hauled as well since it will be going through several states. You never know what could happen, not to mention the time you could spend putting together the proper paperwork or being stuck tagged out of service IF you get pulled into a scale and have a ticket happy inspector. There goes the money to do some work to the girl. Pay someone that does it for a living and be done with it.

There's good advice here but me I and myself put insurance on it and drive in the dark just dont make habit of it.......

If you plate it, have insurance, and have no DOT number on it you should be fine. Just keep it empty. Have your new Bill of Sale with you just in case. I drove my 71 KW from CA to MN with my pickup on the drop deck and got waved thru every scale I hit. I also had Not for Hire stickers on it. Make sure the tires are good and not outdated. But as said if nervous, get a new Truckers Atlas and go around the scales. If on I-80 cut up from Laramie and across South Dakota coming out by St. Cloud. Its a nice drive and is 100 miles shorter if you can't run 80 MPH freeway speed anyway. Pretty hard to bypass the 3 scales by Lincoln.

I don't know if I'd do it but I love the romance of this adventure! I can't imagine how sore I'd be from riding over halfway across the country in a dump truck... If you embark on this I'd love to see a travel journal or at least some pictures of the trek!

Too bad you can't get the bandit to run cover. North East bound and down

I thought you have like 3 or 4 days to get a newly purchased truck home?? I'm dating myself a few years so maybe the laws have changed. Obviously you would need proof of insurance but I thought you could basically drive it home on 'in transits'.

I don't know. I wanted to buy a truck from Connecticut, I made a few calls. It wasn't a dealer able to issue an IN TRANSIT PERMIT. I found no alternative.
If it had been a done deal, I could transfer, or register new.

You guys are great

Yes, part of the reason I was considering driving it home was the adventure.

Cuttin edge - I had completely forgot about the cluster issues these trucks had. I drove a lot of them for work at one time and now I recall issues with the cluster in several of them.

Wille B - you're an electrician too?

After sleeping on this for a few nights I think I am going to hold off on this truck for now. If its still for sale in a few months I might reconsider. Its the cleanest little dump truck ive ever seen but the bed is a little shorter than I want ideally and with all the sudden uncertainty about the economy this summer I suddenly don't feel great about spending my savings on something I don't really need.

I think I might just watch for a deal on an older tractor with a wet kit and make my own bed. I like to weld.

Your insurance company should be able to insure you for an in transit permit from the DOT. I bought a dump truck at an RB auction and the in transit permit was good for 3 or 4 days if I remember and cost $25. Longer distance you might be able to get an extension for a few bucks more. I'm holding off getting insurance for my MX and flat tracks until I know if I'll even be able to have people out.

My dad and some of his buddys bought and sold trucks. When i turned 16 i started helping move them. We never had plates or insurance and alot of times no batteries. Most of these trucks hadnt been in use for sometime. We were very lucky i never got stopped or had much mechanical problems but close to home i have had several tickets for no plates.

Andy1845c said:

You guys are great

Yes, part of the reason I was considering driving it home was the adventure.

Cuttin edge - I had completely forgot about the cluster issues these trucks had. I drove a lot of them for work at one time and now I recall issues with the cluster in several of them.

Wille B - you're an electrician too?

After sleeping on this for a few nights I think I am going to hold off on this truck for now. If its still for sale in a few months I might reconsider. Its the cleanest little dump truck ive ever seen but the bed is a little shorter than I want ideally and with all the sudden uncertainty about the economy this summer I suddenly don't feel great about spending my savings on something I don't really need.

I think I might just watch for a deal on an older tractor with a wet kit and make my own bed. I like to weld.

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Mine was flawless & nicely painted when I bought it 14 years ago. First load of rocks, the floor blew out. My 30 year old wood was dust. The steel components were in poor condition under all that filler & paint. I rebuilt mine with heavy steel. I prefer the flatbed 14' deck with wooden sideboards I can remove. The truck is more versatile to me.

Willie B said:

I prefer the flatbed 14' deck with wooden sideboards I can remove. The truck is more versatile to me.

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Thats about exactly the bed I would like. I have had several flatbeds with wooden sides in the past and found them handy. I want more of a utility truck than something that will see rock and dirt every day.

Andy1845c said:

Thats about exactly the bed I would like. I have had several flatbeds with wooden sides in the past and found them handy. I want more of a utility truck than something that will see rock and dirt every day.

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Got a local guy that hauls a lot of gravel in a single axle Volvo with a flatbed with grain sides, looks for all the world like a farmer. DOT never messes with him. Not saying it's right, but he runs pretty steady. Could be road gravel for his farm for all I know.

Andy1845c said:

Crane operator has a good point and one I have considered. Im familiar with the driveline in these trucks so that boosts my confidence a little. This one has under a 100k miles on it, so that helps also. That said if something major fails I'm likely screwed. Im a little worried its been sitting for an extended period because its got new tires and batteries. That makes me wonder if all the zerks would take grease ok and if there are some are hoses ready to blow out or anything. I haven't priced hauling it. It would cost me over $800 to drive it back when I factor in fuel and 2 night lodging. Gut level I feel like moving it would be a lot more than that but Zucker says if I could find the right guy needing a backhaul. Hell even meeting someone closer to MN and driving it the rest could be ok.

I'm not sure if I am going to move on it or not. I am kinda torn. It's got a 10 speed in it which is kinda rare in a 4900/DT466 setup and its not all rusty like MN trucks are. I really like it and wish it was closer. I really appreciate the advice on this though. unless I find one local I probably will have to move it at least a little ways so this will all still apply.

I guess worst case I can always go back to my original idea of putting one together from a semi tractor.

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Short story for ya' Many years ago my cousin bought a 96' freightliner from colorado and drove it back here to washington state... I think it had 4-500k miles on it series 60 motor 13sp... seemed like a decent truck anyways he calls me up about a week later to tell me he would be delayed getting out to my place to do a service on it... he was just leaving his house about three miles down the road coming up to a tee intersection and lost power as he made the lefthand turn onto the intersecting road???

So he pulls off the road gets out and there's a cop pulled up behind him with his light going So he says what's wrong officer??? and the cop proceeds to tell him that when he made the corner his right front set of drivers didn't turn with the truck!! they kept going and veered right and flattened a stop sign and still kept going for a few hundred feet before coming to rest on an embankment!

I ran over to help him out and I gotta tell you just that one set of wheels and axle is heavy!!! it was all the two of us could do to get it in the back of my pickup. He flipped the interlock and drove it out to my place with the axle tube chained up the only real damage was a stripped axle nut... I was shocked... but then I tell him we should check the other axles.... every single axle lock nut was not even at 20 pounds!!! and he just drove it here from colorado!!! whoever worked on it last had basically turned it in to a time bomb... he was extremely upset -- kept telling me what if this had happened on the freeway!!!! that set of wheels could have caused some serious damage and injuries or deaths!!!!

So check out as much stuff as you can before starting on a trip with this truck, not that you can check axle nuts but anything else you can check spend plenty of time beforehand checking!