Choosing service truck

Hi all, I’m new to the forum,

looking to buy me some service truck with the crane and welder on board , found that guy on Richie bros auction, can someone give me opinion on that Ford f550 2013 and Richie bros auctions, never happened to buy anything from then

Some more pictures and btw it’s powerstroke 6.7

Some more pictures

Looks decent if the price was right. Buyer beware at any auction. What are you planning on doing with it?

If it is at an auction you have to entertain the possibility that the engine is a problematic mess of a lemon hence they decided to get rid of it.

I wonder if you could pull a list of historic codes with a laptop to see if this was the case, before bidding.

There have been several threads here regarding truck selection, fitment, design etc, etc. Some guys accomplish a lot with very little. Some guys have designed their rig from the ground up. It all depends on who you want to cater to. How much chassis do you need, how heavy do you objectively think you're going to be, then add at least 2-2 1/2 ton. Never know when you might have to cross a scale fully loaded with tools plus the machine component that's on your back heading to your shop. Then crane, how much stick do you need? Is it a manual pull out jib that you pin in place or going with a full power boom? Does it and your chassis have enough a$$ to handle your biggest job? Not just capacity but length. Can't tell how many times a guy goes to pick something and runs outta stick or capacity and it goes into HCL . When I was rolling my last rig, it was a stretched F550. Poor thing was 25,800 and I didn't even have all my tools on there. Company supplied, so that's the way the mop flops. If I carried fluids and filters for a 2k service, I was overweight. Be honest with yourself if you're going to be self sufficient or do you see farming out some heavy lifting. For example you could hire out a crane and operator for really big picks vs investing in "that much" crane. Weight is something you can't cheap out on, fines are steep and once yer marked, yet an easy target.
Good luck in your selection process

Denys,

You’ll need DOT numbers, URS MCSA -1 URS application verification, Motor Carrier ID report, USDOT Registration Approval Letter. A medical examiners certificate and a DOT Annual Vehicle Examination to drive it. Intrastate and Interstate?

Then, if you drive it more than 100 miles or 12 hours per day, you’ll need a Electronic Log Book subscription.

Its just easier to stay home.

In other words, you’ll have to start a trucking company to legally drive it for commerce.

Coaldust said:

Denys,

You’ll need DOT numbers, URS MCSA -1 URS application verification, Motor Carrier ID report, USDOT Registration Approval Letter. A medical examiners certificate and a DOT Annual Vehicle Examination to drive it. Intrastate and Interstate?

Then, if you drive it more than 100 miles or 12 hours per day, you’ll need a Electronic Log Book subscription.

Its just easier to stay home.

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See n he's in Canadu why in the world would he need all this US crap?
Bob

That’s an X-Finning (Cat dealer) service truck. Vmac under hood, 3000 lb crane, waste oil tank in the body, welder (add on after Finning I suspect), heated cabinets, varsal tank - now what still works is another question. Set up to handle most jobs. See lots of the X-Finning trucks out there. Some are great and others are lemons the new owners sent right back after dumping 10-15k before giving up. Be nice to know the engine hours as they can idle 10 hrs a day 6 days a week when working to run the Vmac. I would buy expecting the worst (engine on its way out, crane not working and Vmac failed to start) and if it turns out anything better then your happy lol.

Ha. I didn’t notice that. Excellent. All he needs to do is diesel up and hammer down.

big ben said:

That’s an X-Finning (Cat dealer) service truck. Vmac under hood, 3000 lb crane, waste oil tank in the body, welder (add on after Finning I suspect), heated cabinets, varsal tank - now what still works is another question. Set up to handle most jobs. See lots of the X-Finning trucks out there. Some are great and others are lemons the new owners sent right back after dumping 10-15k before giving up. Be nice to know the engine hours as they can idle 10 hrs a day 6 days a week when working to run the Vmac. I would buy expecting the worst (engine on its way out, crane not working and Vmac failed to start) and if it turns out anything better then your happy lol.

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Thanks for an answer

yes it says vmac compressor inoperable, also no idea if the compressor shot completely or restorable

However I will go on site see the truck personally before bidding fortunately the location isn’t far from me , just to get closer look at it

Also I think you are 100% right about truck being from finning, and yes there probably lots of engine hours of running vmac and that oil pump, cause I think they would do lots of fluid change with the truck

Are there any advice what to look on it to make sure that she is not totally shot and has some life in there?

When I was shopping for my truck I looked hard at the 550/5500 size truck. What I found out quickly is that with the budget I had to work with, a 26k gvwr truck was a better value. Ford had a bunch of engine trouble for a lot of years and those trucks are way cheap for a reason. Yes my truck is older and I did have to put an engine in it after a year but I don’t need to lift the cab to work on it and I gotta believe parts aren’t any more expensive. Secondly I was concerned with my weight once I was fully loaded on a 550. I don’t have a shop so everything I got goes with me everywhere and I currently weigh in at 24,500 lbs. I’ll never make it to 26k because I’m out of room in the boxes and if I load an engine in the back I’m overweight. I’ve got a 10k crane and have zero intention of ever going smaller. It’s not that I ever pick anything that heavy but I need the extra grunt for the off kilter/ too far away picks. I hope to upgrade trucks in the next 12-18 months and I’m looking at 33k trucks with air brakes and air ride. Juice brakes make life interesting when your heavy and some jack wagon pulls out in front of me. For what I do a bigger truck is better.

Mike L said:

When I was shopping for my truck I looked hard at the 550/5500 size truck. What I found out quickly is that with the budget I had to work with, a 26k gvwr truck was a better value. Ford had a bunch of engine trouble for a lot of years and those trucks are way cheap for a reason. Yes my truck is older and I did have to put an engine in it after a year but I don’t need to lift the cab to work on it and I gotta believe parts aren’t any more expensive. Secondly I was concerned with my weight once I was fully loaded on a 550. I don’t have a shop so everything I got goes with me everywhere and I currently weigh in at 24,500 lbs. I’ll never make it to 26k because I’m out of room in the boxes and if I load an engine in the back I’m overweight. I’ve got a 10k crane and have zero intention of ever going smaller. It’s not that I ever pick anything that heavy but I need the extra grunt for the off kilter/ too far away picks. I hope to upgrade trucks in the next 12-18 months and I’m looking at 33k trucks with air brakes and air ride. Juice brakes make life interesting when your heavy and some jack wagon pulls out in front of me. For what I do a bigger truck is better.

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Thank you Mike for your sharing, good and honest opinion

I’m not huge fan of Ford, the idea of pulling cab off all the time when you got some major break down or want to swap the engine just killing me, you don’t want to have that kind of crap on the service rig... I remember changing a turbo on 6.0 powerstroke with out lifting a cab off and what a pain in a butt that was, like you really want to take a bloody cab off and it just for changing the turbo... I like idea of dodge 5500 more, but the bastards are pricy

I like your idea of avoiding 550/5500 and getting into heavier rigs , especially those ones with air brakes, but damn I need me something smaller and not with high dollar price as I’m just starting out on my own, sick of working on those companies in the shop or as fleet mechanic, no one appreciate your work, you just running around to make boss happy, sick of that crap, it’s just a joke to be mechanic and work for someone nowadays, like you have a bunch of money spend on tools, dirty , high risk of getting injured and you get paid -+ as equipment operator wtf, more over you don’t have much freedom as bunch of managers are sitting on your ass... Love being mechanic, love fix machines , especially heavy equipment, but it’s a hard work and hard work should be paid good and you should have more freedom, currently at least to give it a try and start on my own, otherwise changing occupation cause what’s a point

I’d take a good look at the f650/750. Mine is an 06 with a 24 valve Cummins and a 7speed spicer. It has a tight steering radius, 26k gvwr and Ford made so any of these trucks in so many configurations that they can be had for peanuts compared to other brands. Download the truck paper app and you can do a detailed search to narrow down your requirements

I'm in a 750 as well . Best turning radius there is for a heavy equipment repair rig. A lot of little things to go wrong. Nothing severe, just annoyances. I've got a '12 with emissions. 6.7 Cummins. Low HP , 230 I believe. It's been relatively smooth for me. I'm spoiled, got an Allison slushbox. Super happy with it. Previous ride was a stretched F550 with a 6 liter. Couldn't accomplish or carry half of what I do now. I'm the same as Mike, scale between 24.8 to 25.2k . I dont carry nuts n bolts either. Extended cab is so helpful, but runs the risk of being a garbage pale if you're not careful.
Good luck.

JMO..................stay away from Powerstrokes. UGH

It really depends on what kind of work you want to do. In the beginning I was in a Ford Super Duty (exactly why I hate powerstrokes) with a 6006E auto crane. I did a lot of engine and transmission pulls back then.............it was overloaded to beat all hell and I wore it out in 5 years. Was stupid enough to buy another powerstroke after I let a salesman convince me that the engine issues were addressed.......wrong! I couldn't wait to get rid of that truck! In 99, I bought a brand new International 4300 with the DT466 and the 6 speed manual...........best dam truck I ever owned, still equipped with the 6006E autocrane. It lasted until 3 years ago when I downsized to a Dodge 5500 with a 4K autocrane. The reason I down sized was I haven't needed to pull major powertrain components in years. I am more specialized and the 4K does everything I need at a more lower cost. If I need more lifting capacity, there always seems to be an excavator around. Im VERY happy with this Dodge and the auto tranny is my first in a service truck. I still use an engine driven compressor and welder.

I take it Passed on the Crawler UC?