Tandem Dump Trucks

[Dickjr.]

I have been looking on and off for 2 years for a decent tandem dump. I get interested then discouraged when about all I can find is 35k plus up to 100 grand. Age is not a big factor , condition and a decent bed set up is. I did find a Sterling , 98 model , I think it had a M11 , 9 speed but it was on air ride. Guy had 18 grand on it , it looked good ( I know that can be deceiving ). I wish I had pursued that one a little more. I noticed in Fast Dirts thread there seems to be a lot of tandems in his area. I don't really want a big block 500 hp engine , an L10 or something along that line decent on fuel. I will use it to mostly pull my equipment and occasionally haul my own gravel. Rarely haul gravel , there are guys around that do it for a living and to be honest they can send me a triaxle load and the haul is relatively cheap, 70$ or so. Most of them are good at spreading as well. Where would one look for a decent tandem , I'm open to any brand , I have a Ford single axle now and like it well.

 

[td25c]

Found a couple of Ford's on truck Paper .

http://www.truckpaper.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=5647243

http://www.truckpaper.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=5712183

 

[YEC1998]

I have a 1987 Ford L9000 I might be interested in selling. It has a L10 Cummins, 8LL trans, and 44,000 rears on walking beams. It has a 14 ft dump, it does have air/electric to the rear already. The walking beam bushings are out and it needs a little work but could be roadworthy pretty easily.

 

[Shimmy1]

If you're not going to haul material alot, I would recommend an air ride truck. Probably don't need double frame, either, but anything longer than a 14' bed you probably should. You want a truck that has the axles as close to back of box as possible. This is to minimize lift on front end while spreading. Also, when you put the pintle hook on, the farther ahead you can mount it, the more weight you can put on without taking too much off the steer. My favorite engines for a tandem dump would be an Cummins M11/ISM or a very distant second Cat C-12. Cummins C8.3 is a good choice as well, but you can only find them in Fords or a rare Freightliner. One other point, if you do alot of spreading with the tandem, the hoist design where the cylinder is mounted inverted and the head end is attached to the box, the rod to the truck is a very stable design. I suppose it keeps the center of gravity lower. As for suspension, tandems are usually overloaded, so a truck with at least 40,000 lb. rears would be good, as would a 16,000 front. These all add weight, of course, but compared with broken springs and such probably better way to go. All these things are opinion, but I did run tandems for most of my life. Mostly heavy, crude International work trucks, but good trucks nonetheless. You could beat them to death day after day and not worry about them falling apart.

 

[Dickjr.]

I have a 1987 Ford L9000 I might be interested in selling. It has a L10 Cummins, 8LL trans, and 44,000 rears on walking beams. It has a 14 ft dump, it does have air/electric to the rear already. The walking beam bushings are out and it needs a little work but could be roadworthy pretty easily.

You have my interest. General appearance needs to be pretty good and I want my next dump to have air con. I'm the primary driver. I'm not opposed to an 87 model. I did want 14' box or a little shorter. When I hook it up I need to be able to around the 1 lane roads around here. L10 and 8LL is what I was looking at. The thing , my single axle , an 8000 has a nice ox box , 10' with tall sides , the truck can scale 11.5 ton legal , it has the 7.8 ford engine and 6 speed trans. Its a solid dependable truck only things it needs is a little paint touch up and air conditioning. I don't want to go backwards. That being said , If your truck is well cared for it might be in as good of shape as mine.

 

[Dickjr.]

Shimmy , I like the International as well , I had one about 10 years ago , forget the number but seemed like it was a 2500. Had the 855 Big Cam at 300hp with the 7 speed. It was a brute no doubt. Ugly too. The partners on that deal decided to sell it , I put it on ebay and it went to Louisiana for hurricane clean up duty. The guys drove it 700 miles, only issue the front springs started to come apart , these old boys zip tied it and wired it , made it home. There is an International in Rush KY on ebay that looks decent other than the paint scheme. I want to be able to move a 15 to 17 ton machine with the Trailking TK40LP I bought last July. I can't pull it yet as my truck doesn't have air to the rear.

 

[Shimmy1]

If you're main thing is comfort and air, stay away from the S Series (1700-2600). Good trucks, but comfort is far down on the list. A/C is terrible, even on the '98 I drove towards the end. Just about freeze your pop on the floor, couldn't get the cold up high. If you are taller than 5'10", you will hate the S cab.

Here's your truck:http://www.truckpaper.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=4462253

 

[Dickjr.]

http://www.truckpaper.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=5712183

This might work , no fan of the auto , but In 8 years time I put 40k miles on my current truck. Check it out Shimmy , what do you think? I would remove most all the state highway things, but it has a decent pintle and air to the rear as well as AC.

 

[Shimmy1]

I personally like the 8.3. I put one in a 2600 that had a DT466. Some guys claim they're dogs, but next to a DT, it's a pretty big improvement. Only thing that would turn me off is the spoke wheels and the auto. That will probably be an Allison in it. No auto-shift back then. That truck also has that inverted ram I was talking about. Other than the box paint, truck looks decent, and in your state. It's a charge air 8.3, should be 275 hp. Doesn't appear to have hitch on it, that will cost.you some to plumb it.

 

[Shimmy1]

I would remove most all the state highway things, but it has a decent pintle and air to the rear as well as AC.

I can't see the hitch or plumbing, I'm on my phone. Do you know that it has it for sure? It doesn't say in the description. I also saw 4.11 gears. It more than likely won't go much over 55, maybe that's ok? Check the Hendrickson bushings out good. They're fairly intensive to replace. There is no better suspension for a site truck, though. When you look at it, crank it hard both ways while driving it ahead and back. Empty, an inch or so deflection is ok, more than that, you can still run it, but when they get really bad they affect your turning radius substantially. And they bounce more on washboards. I changed the bushing once. Vowed I would never for all the gold in the world do it again. That was 20 yrs ago though. Gold is worth more now.:lmao

 

[CM1995]

The reason why you see all the tandems in Fastdirt's thread is Georgia doesn't allow the drop axle to be figured into the gross weight on dump trucks. You'll only see tandem dumps working in GA.

 

[RonG]

I am surprised that no one mentioned Mack here,I have been out of touch for a few years but the Mack has always been the most durable and in many cases the best performing trucks around.Who cannot stop what they are doing and listen to a SuperLiner with that 500hp V8 when it goes by?I know that Mack has their own designs and engineers their own products but they are a tough truck if they are used as they were designed.Ron G

 

[td25c]

Good point RonG . Few Mack's in Tennessee ......

http://www.truckpaper.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=5250533

It might pay to call or take a drive and visit Brown Trucking in TN . They have several trucks in inventory .

http://www.truckpaper.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=5607125

http://www.truckpaper.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=5607127&dlr=1&pcid=2000832460

http://www.truckpaper.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=5607131&dlr=1&pcid=2000832460

For myself I would have to check out the 74 KW , could be a diamond in the rough .

http://www.truckpaper.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=5607143

 

[Dickjr.]

Ron G , there are two Mack's come for auction within 50 miles of me. The are R models. They look a little rough , but knowing where they are , Lexington , they would have to be in decent enough condition to pass inspection. Unless they were used as site trucks. I'm not picky about the brand. I know I'm not going to get a new looking rig for my budget either. Dependability is key. I am looking for a tandem only no drop axle. Actually even a 12 foot box would be ideal. I appreciate everyone's opinion. I would need to sell my single axle and trailer , I wouldn't have to , but I would rather and make a trade. My trailer should be ready to go. I even thought of trading both pieces to one of these guys , so long as they don't try to take it for nothing. I've left a lot of dealer lots mad as F***. You know the deal , they're is worth retail plus , yours in worth wholesale minus.

 

[YEC1998]

My 87 L9000 dos not have A/C and is probably a little rougher than you are looking for. I like the macks pretty good I have two old Superliners that I use for tractors and they are tougher than a night in jail. From my experience if you could find a good R model with a true Mack motor E6 or E7 they are dependable and easy on fuel.

 

[RonG]

You have the advantage of driving it yourself and with all due respect I have not found many drivers that I would trust on my trucks.A nice "R" model or an "DM" would make a nice truck and for the work that you will use it for net weight would be less of an issue than it would be if you were using it over the road.The "R" model is a very durable road truck too but they are a little rough riding for a tractor.Good luck with your purchase.Ron G

 

[mitch504]

Don't overlook the CH Macks either, when they first came out, everybody thought there was no way they would be tough as an "R", but if specced right, they are the same as a late R, except the cab.

I wouldn't buy one to start, but over the years, I owned 11 of them. They are way more comfortable than an R, too.

 

[RonG]

I have driven an "CH" quite a lot and this one had the 18 speed on the single stick,not the triplex and that had to be the most miserable shifting truck that I ever drove.I asked the dealer about it and he said that Mack had a kit to improve the shifting on it and he installed it for a customer and the result was that the customer wanted his old one back.
One of the design traits of that truck was that the engine brake,probably the Mack Dynatard but in any case it timed out if you used the clutch when shifting to take advantage of the rpm drop you didn't get it when you needed it and if you were upshifting at a low roadspeed you were out of luck unless you were shifting without the clutch and it is not pretty on a hard pull to be doing that sometimes so you have to pretend that nobody is watching,ya' know?We had two dump trucks and the other one was an old "R" model with the RR lookalike,I think maybe a 10 speed with the low range on a separate stick but if I had a choice and they were both on the line I would take the old "R" every time.That 18 speed was a tough transmission though as you would expect from Mack and the "R" with that short cab was a treat to get around in tight spots,the DM600 is the best site truck ever made.Ron G

 

[RonG]

My mind is going but I don't miss it much.....lol
The CH was really an "RD",the model before the CH and what I called an R model really was a "DM" but with the glass nose as many of them were.I was going by the memory of another company that I worked for that had 3 DM600 tractors that we used to pull 3 axle Freuhauf dump trailers with,you talk about dumping in a high wind,they were the biggest tubs that Freuhauf made, and they had steel noses on them.It is tough to get old.Ron G

 

[amscontr]

I'd search Craigslist as well Truckpaper is fine but mostly overpriced dealers.
Air ride is debatable depending on your off road use. Be aware of Semi Tractor "conversions". A factory built dump truck or vocational type truck would be the way to go. Another thing is parts in your area.
I'm partial to Mack as well, more pricy then the Freightliners, Fords, etc. but in the Off Road world they're hard to beat.