Seeking Truck Info?!?!

[Eric McCarthy]

OK gents here's the deal. I've been racking my brain for months trying to find an adequate dump truck by the Spring time to haul mulch and other landscaping chores for my business. Having a hard time finding anything within my budget I've found this {dare I say it} 1969 Dodge D300 that a friend I know has for sale.

What I can't seem to locate is any important info about the D300 series from Dodge. My main things I'd like to know are towing capacity, rough guesstimate of miles per gallon, top cruising speed on the highway. And how hard are parts to locate for a 44 year old truck.

While I think it would be fun to have an old school truck in great shape to haul mulch and other hauling needs in, I want to be sure its a step in the right direction for me and the business for the time being until I can afford a new dump bucket.

http://richmond.craigslist.org/cto/4107399222.html

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Are you a super skilled mechanic?
Are you able to fabricate old parts?
Do you have deep pockets for parts?
Do you like to get tickets?
Do you enjoy harassment by the cops?
Ready to get raped by your insurance company?
Do you have a close personal relationship with both a towing company and a mortician?
You'll be lucky if it can haul a ton... without it falling apart!
It's not miles per gallon that your going to get, its gallons per mile, and a few quarts of oil too!
If you hit 55mph you'll be lucky, and then there is that stopping thing!
To find parts for it... Oh who am I kidding... GOOD LUCK with that!

I'm not saying any of this to be spiteful, just years of experience, in landscaping ,construction, and equipment repair.

Get an older 80's/90's Chevy, Ford, or Dodge 1 ton dually P.U. truck.
Or if you already have a good truck 3/4 ton or better get a dump trailer.
You can haul your tractor and equipment, along with new and old material.
No additional insurance is required and repairs and upkeep are much cheaper to maintain your equipment.

 

[BadDog]

Agreed. I would want a good 1 ton (at least 3/4) truck for general work. Maybe a chassis cab with a flat bed and drop sides plus some optional stake sides for when needed. Maybe even a Top Kick or the like, preferably with an MD diesel.

Add on a dump bed trailer, again with drop sides if available. More flexible and cheaper by far, though a little more trouble maneuvering

I never realized how handy drop sides were till I helped a friend using his.

 

[bandaidmd]

I think that fits your needs perfectly, mpg is going to suck on any truck that size and parts are so basic on that era of vehicle they are still available from many sources. It probably has a bullet proof 318 in it. If it was closer to me I would be interested myself.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[hodge]

There's a reason why information is so scarce- they weren't widely popular, and it is going to be hard and expensive to maintain. I would imagine that power is lackluster, the brakes are marginal, and you will be very disgruntled after trying to use it for a while.
Dump trucks are money makers, so the best ones for the job are the highest priced ones, plain and simple. It takes money to make money, and that is reflected in the popularity and cost of a truck. Save your hard earned money and buy the right truck, instead of settling now and spending more later than you would have on the right truck to start with.
I have a close friend who just bought a Chrevrolet light duty dump truck- you know the kind- one ton frame and drivetrain with a multifunctional dump bed on the back. It is a 4 speed with granny low/reverse, had a brand new crate 350 put in it (he has the receipts), and new tires. The truck is in great shape, and he gave $4000 for it. I'd say he's already made his money back. The deals are out there- you just need to be patient and have the money ready when it's time to strike.
Stay away from the antique Dodge.

 

[xtruckerbob]

I would love to have the Dodge just to rebuild. Here is another path to consider you can log on to 'govliq' then scroll down to dump trucks these are large Freightliner with 18 ft beds. A surplus truck will be 20 years old or more. The average miles could be from a few thousand to maybe 50000. These are commerical trucks with a life span over a million miles. The parts new and used are avaible local. Most trucks have near new tires and run and you can test drive. Be carefully and pick wisely as on any used trucks. The prices are generally. $3000 to $8000. I.purchase pumps and generators and tools at times no problems.

 

[Lil Foot]

I'd like to own it just for the cool factor, (well kept old trucks look impressive & can be great advertising) but I think everybody's right, it looks like a money pit to me. Maybe if it were in better condition, with plenty of receipts for all the basics, (brakes, clutch, radiator, water pump, battery, fluids, hydraulics, etc.) but as it stands, I'd run away....

 

[Tire Biter]

I've had several one ton dump trucks over the years, and I can tell you that if it doesn't have power steering, don't buy it. Imagine trying to maneuver it in tight quarters with a full dump bed. You'll hate it. The brakes on those old dogs are a whole other issue.

 

[Kingcreek]

If you already have a pickup consider a dump trailer.

 

[hodge]

If you already have a pickup consider a dump trailer.

Or a dump bed- an insert, or put a dump bed on it.
Myself, I wouldn't want to alter my pickup- it has its own uses.

 

[ipz2222]

Dang, hodge, I thought you were talking about me , untill I saw the price. I only paid $3500. Actualling putting brakes on it today.

 

[hodge]

Dang, hodge, I thought you were talking about me , untill I saw the price. I only paid $3500. Actualling putting brakes on it today.

See? There are some great deals out there that will enable you to make more money, instead of spending more.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Dang, hodge, I thought you were talking about me , untill I saw the price. I only paid $3500. Actualling putting brakes on it today.

Show us a pic or two!

I paid no more than 3500 for 3 different Chevy 1 ton dually P.U.'s.
I know there are out there, and the bonus is that parts are cheap for those trucks.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Well gents maybe I should have been a little more specific. I need something for just straight deliveries come this Spring. I have a crew cab one ton currently and the hell with a dump trailer.

Yeah they have their place but I'll be damn if you can back one into somebodies property too well if you need to dump/load in a back yard around a bend. Yes they are cheaper but you simply can not haul a load of material in a dump trailer plus equipment at the same time. Also for what you pay for a decent dump insert for a P.U you may as well have bought a used dump truck for the same money. And with those you're not going to get a ton or two of weight and maybe 3-4 yards of material in them.

I'm looking for a truck that can haul 5-6 yards all the way up to maybe 10 on a one ton truck. YES it can be done on a one ton.

I was figuring with the Dodge I posted it would be some of the simplest mechanics to maintain and cheap to run over all. If I need to haul anything beyond the capacity of what that Dodge can handle I know where the keys to a few Freightliners Kenworths and Peterbilts attached to lowboys and 35ft drump trailers are located if I need bigger.

 

[BadDog]

I guess it's a matter of perspective and experience, but trailers aren't that bad when you get used to them. 90% of the time it's a non-issue. For those times you really have a squirrely place to get into, put a hitch on the front of your truck. You can then maneuver the trailer into and around tighter things than you can a big truck.

And the combination of a 10 yard capable bed, plus 10 yard of heavy material, you're going to be overloading even a 11k GVW Chassis Cab. Yeah, it probably will do it, and I've probably done worse, but I wouldn't want to depend on routinely overloading my money maker like that.

But you do make one point that there is no answer for, and that's equipment plus material. Just can't really do that with a dump trailer. You can drop the equipment and then go get the material, but not ideal when time is money, and the material may be an hour back the way you just came.

It was some years back, but I bought an extended frame chassis cab 11k GVW car hauler complete and functional for $3500 at auction. Bed was about 18' plus the dovetail and stinger/sling. Seems like it might have been an 82? It was not a roll back, but rather what we called a "skid truck".

Something like that, but obviously a dump rig would work nicely. And unlike Ford/Dodge, parts are plentiful and cheap with LOTS of interchange. I've swapped late 70s disk front (complete suspension cradles) into drum brake trucks from the 60s, added dual cylinder power brakes, all in a single day, practically bolt in. I also routinely put tilt columns from mid/late 70s mid/full size GMs (Impala, Bonneville, etc), found in practically all of them, and bolt right into a truck cab. I could go on and on...

 

[hodge]

It sounds like your mind is setting on the Dodge, which is fine- it's your money, your choice, and your battle.
You said simple- yes, but probably not easy. Old vehicles like that can be a bear because of age and because a dump truck isn't cared for like a classic car. Inexpensive, likely not. It will suck when something obsolete is broken on it, and it is loaded down for a job that you can't get it to so that you can make the money to buy that obsolete part.
Me, I would set my sights on a solid one ton dumptruck like has been mentioned. It will do a lot of work for the least amount of money, parts are plentiful, and it will be a very similar, if not the same, platform as what you already have in your pickup. And, you can turn around and sell it in a heartbeat. Who knows if/how long it would take to unload that old Dodge for what you will undoubtably have in it.
I would rather have a dedicated dumptruck than a dumptrailer that ties up my pickup. Either way, you have to pay property taxes, tags, tires, etc., but the dumptruck means that you can multitask, and if you work with someone else, you can divide and conquer. Can't do that when the truck is tethered to the trailer.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

You asked for info, and you got it.
Almost all of us has said to run away, but you still think it's the right choice for you, that I don't understand.
Well it is your option to buy whatever you want to buy, well good luck to you!
Oh and join a old truck forum, because you'll have a ton of problems and questions that most of us here will either not be willing or able to answer.

 

[ipz2222]

Eric, there's an '88 f600 ford dump on craigs list, Chattanooga, $3'000 today.

 

[ipz2222]

Forgot to mention, it's in the barter section .

 

[Eric McCarthy]

I'm not hell bent and determined to get the Dodge. The info I was looking for was the actual towing capacity of the truck. The fuel mileage it gets and what is can run down the highway at top cruising speed. Even if everything was cherry on the truck but it could not run atleast 70mph on the interstate then I'd walk away.

Once upon a time I had a 78 Ford F600 which was a beast of a truck and would haul 10 tons all day long. But its one draw back was 55mph was all she could run as the engine was governed to 55mph. I'd probably still have that truck today if my dad had not scewed me over and sold it from under me.

IF and that is a big IF I ever were to get a dump trailer it would be a goose neck. My dad has a goose neck dump trailer and looking at his the bed is too far over the frame and will not tilt all the way up high enough to unload without the bed bottoming out on the ground.

There just simply is not enough room on any kind of dump trailer to safely and accurately chain down equipment. I do not like the fact that a loader would have to stay up in the air. My next trailer purchase will be a deck over tag along. Looking hard at the Eager Beaver 6 ton deck over. I need trailer length and deck space because often times I have the tractor and usually 3 different implements on the trailer deck.

Also I love a deck over since you can haul and load cars and trucks of all types if its broken down and save on a towing bill. Not to mention a forklift can drop a stack of lumber on a flat bed trailer if I need to go build a deck some day.

NOOOO dump trailers here.