1 ton dump truck

[dodge man]

I have seen ads for used dump trucks that look like a very reasonable price, or I was also kicking around buying a dump trailer. This would be for home use hauling gravel, fill, probably not alot of continious use.

I have seen these ads that are often used municipal trucks and include a snowplow and a 10 dump bed. The prices can range anywhere from $7000-$15000. The higher prices are for a diesel and the lower ones a gas motor. Some of these are often low miles also. How good of shape will these be in? I was suprised at the low cost of these, they often seem as cheap or cheaper than a pickup of similar age and miles. How much will one of these things haul, 4 tons?

I like the idea of a dump trailer, but I'm not sure my truck will pull one. I have a 2007 Dodge Quad cab, 1/2 ton with a 5.7 hemi and 3.91 rear gears. I think it's rated at something like 8000 lbs for a trailer. That just doesn't seem like enough for a 10' or 12' dump trailer loaded. I've seen these listed as 16,000 gvw.

Probably in the end it would be cheaper to have someone haul stuff in for me but it seems like it would be handy to have one. If you can pick one up for 7k or 8k, that seems like it might be nearly as cheap as a new dump trailer. Dump trailers appear impossible to find used.

Thanks in advance for the answers.

 

[AlanB]

This one gets kicked around here quite a bit, so a search will find you some of the salient points.

Things I would look at (and a bit from me for relavance)

Wife owns A landscaping / lawncare company we have a 6 X 10 dump trailer.

Short version I would go with a trailer, load lighter if you need too.

I haul 3.5 tons in mine. (real regularly)

I think that will be about all you will want to pull with your truck.

I don't want to keep up maintenance on another vehicle and dump trucks are not cheap to work on (although they can be cheap too buy, I was offered some for free)

You will also have to tag and insure the dump truck, and it was high for us.

I second the dump trailers are danged near impossible to find used.

Best thing I can say about my dump is SWMBO fought me tooth and nail about buying one for years, I was lazy, I just wanted to spend money etc. etc.

Week or two after I got fed up and bought one. She asks me why I did not buy one sooner

Trailer option works for us, but I still constantly look at dump trucks. And my next personal truck when my Suburban dies will probably be a cab forward Isuzu with dump bed.

 

[Bird]

I have seen these ads that are often used municipal trucks

Of course my personal knowledge and experience is quite dated, but I'd be very careful about buying used municipal equipment. Dallas (Texas) sold a lot of their old equipment at auction, but I never knew of anything that I would have bought. I once had a deputy sheriff from another part of Texas call me because they had bought two police sedans with about 80k miles on them, and when they got them home, he called because he figured that must have been at least 180k. Nope, it was 80k and they're junk when the city gets rid of them.

Now, as I said, my information is dated, and maybe it's different in other parts of the country, but I doubt it.

 

[Blackhammer]

The problem with municipality trucks is they run all day long. The truck gets turned on and runs all day. No matter what type of motor idle time is not good for it. I have lookid at some of the Medium duty dumps and they are just garbage. Alot of times the trucks just sit for weeks in between uses and the one I looked at had the pass and drivers window open about 2 inches. It had been that way over a year.

 

[Builder]

I have seen ads for used dump trucks that look like a very reasonable price, or I was also kicking around buying a dump trailer. This would be for home use hauling gravel, fill, probably not alot of continious use.

I have seen these ads that are often used municipal trucks and include a snowplow and a 10 dump bed. The prices can range anywhere from $7000-$15000. The higher prices are for a diesel and the lower ones a gas motor. Some of these are often low miles also. How good of shape will these be in? I was suprised at the low cost of these, they often seem as cheap or cheaper than a pickup of similar age and miles. How much will one of these things haul, 4 tons?

I like the idea of a dump trailer, but I'm not sure my truck will pull one. I have a 2007 Dodge Quad cab, 1/2 ton with a 5.7 hemi and 3.91 rear gears. I think it's rated at something like 8000 lbs for a trailer. That just doesn't seem like enough for a 10' or 12' dump trailer loaded. I've seen these listed as 16,000 gvw.

Probably in the end it would be cheaper to have someone haul stuff in for me but it seems like it would be handy to have one. If you can pick one up for 7k or 8k, that seems like it might be nearly as cheap as a new dump trailer. Dump trailers appear impossible to find used.

Thanks in advance for the answers.

If you're an occassional user, a dump trailer is a great choice as it's virtually free to insure and keep inspected compared to a dumptruck. A dumptruck is another vehicle you must keep inspecting, maintaining and insuring, which gets expensive. Ask me how I know.

If your truck could handle a 8K dump trailer, it might be good for about a 5,000 lb payload. That's more than most "1-ton" dumptrucks can handle, anyway.

Probably the best "bang for the buck" package is a nice 1-ton dually pickup and a 14-16K dump trailer. That will give you lots of capacity for weight and still be easy on the wallet compared to a dumptruck.

I would do that if I were a smaller contractor.

 

[LBrown59]

*If you're an occassional user, a dump trailer is a great choice as it's virtually free to insure and keep inspected compared to a dumptruck.
**A dumptruck is another vehicle you must keep inspecting, maintaining and insuring, which gets expensive. Ask me how I know.
***Probably the best "bang for the buck" package is a nice 1-ton dually pickup and a 14-16K dump trailer. That will give you lots of capacity for weight and still be easy on the wallet compared to a dumptruck.
.

`**Don't you need a vehicle to pull the trailer with anyhow so how does a dump truck
become another vehicle but the pick up doesn't ???```````````

***I'd like a 3/4 ton or 1 ton single rear wheeled pick up with a dump bed and a 16 foot tilt trailer better.
`````````

 

[farmboy12]

`**Don't you need a vehicle to pull the trailer with anyhow so how does a dump truck
become another vehicle but the pick up doesn't ???```````````

***I'd like a 3/4 ton or 1 ton single rear wheeled pick up with a dump bed and a 16 foot tilt trailer better.
`````````

But, the p/u is easier to insure. Especially if you have a SRW 1 ton, then the size weight would be less. If I am wrong, please correct me. Have not done much with insurance, as I'm only 13. This is what I see.

And, you'll have the trailer to haul stuff in. If you need to put something in a 1ton, it has to be smaller, and can't weigh as much. Plus, if you ever don't need the dump trailer, you can sell, and get a new trailer suiting your needs best, and have the truck to tow it with.


Kyle

 

[Builder]

`**Don't you need a vehicle to pull the trailer with anyhow so how does a dump truck
become another vehicle but the pick up doesn't ???```````````

***I'd like a 3/4 ton or 1 ton single rear wheeled pick up with a dump bed and a 16 foot tilt trailer better.
`````````

** Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the OP's intent was to keep his pickup and decide whether to add a dump truck or a dump trailer to his existing fleet of equipment, not to replace the pickup with a dumptruck. However, this was my interpretation of the OP, your's may be different. I would also think life might be kind of rough having only an old municipal 1-ton dumptruck to run everyday errands with.

 

[LBrown59]

** Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the OP's intent was to keep his pickup and decide whether to add a dump truck or a dump trailer to his existing fleet of equipment, not to replace the pickup with a dumptruck. However, this was my interpretation of the OP, your's may be different. I would also think life might be kind of rough having only an old municipal 1-ton dumptruck to run everyday errands with.

Well yes that's another way of viewing it.
We could both be rite.

 

[ray66v]

Make sure you can get auto insurance on it. Sometimes they will not insure one unless it is with a business policy.

 

[john_bud]

** Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the OP's intent was to keep his pickup and decide whether to add a dump truck or a dump trailer to his existing fleet of equipment, not to replace the pickup with a dumptruck. However, this was my interpretation of the OP, your's may be different. I would also think life might be kind of rough having only an old municipal 1-ton dumptruck to run everyday errands with.

Man I gotta gets me some new glasses!

 

[LBrown59]

Make sure you can get auto insurance on it. Sometimes they will not insure one unless it is with a business policy.

1 what?

 

[ToaDisco]

1 what?

I'm guessing he's referring to a one ton dump. Although I've never attempted to insure such a vehicle, if the truck's a common domestic one ton truck, how will the insurance people know what kind of bed it has on it?

Getting back to the original question, I can personally say a majority of one ton based flatbeds/dumps tend to get beat on/severely overloaded. While the miles may not be that much compared to a traditional vehicle, probably every one of those miles have been loaded, to which degree is the question

 

[ray66v]

Yes of course, since the thread is named "1 ton dump truck". I thought it would be obvious what I meant.

And yes, the insurance agent will very likely ask you what is on the back. Because, your not going to lie and say you have a 1 ton pick up you want to insure. (that would be a really bad idea). So, when you say I have a truck, or a one ton truck, I want to insure, and they will ask what kind of truck? (The computer is going to have a list of choices they need to mark off), Answering "Chevy" is not going to satisfy the question.

Since this happened to me. I thought I would pass it on. Now I'm sorry I tried to be helpful.

 

[radioman]

in the northeastern states, a trailer make great sense for me. Having a trailer means you only pay the prorated fee registration when you ready to put on the road in the spring. this saves money. Having a dump truck in new York state means you MUST pay insurance for for whole year and registration for 2 full years. Sure you can save money by turning in the plates in fall to save money on insurance but you lose the registration money during first year and you can get refund for second year provided you didn't go past 1 year of registered date. this kinda a bummer and pain. I hate going to DAV. When you ready to put dump truck on road , you have to shop for insurance again then go in person to DAV for the plates in spring. No thanks!! with a trailer I can wait till spring and then renew on line and bam ! I am done. I am surprised on how little people actually buy trailers just because they have no space to put it.

forgot to add: reason I say we put trailers or dump away is due to seasonal use and most trailers are steel and its bad to use in the winter time due to salt. I dont see many dump trucker owners in the winter time since half of them are not used in snow clearing business. I have one trailer that i used in the winter time many times and it really rusty. I have some metal replacement and welding to do if i ever get my hobart welder working again.

 

[amigauser]

Yeah, a 1 ton dump would sure be fun to own.

I mentioned it to my insurance agent and anything 1 ton or more with dual rear wheels (dump, flatbed, etc.) needs to be on a commercial auto policy. The only "loop hole" I could find was on older (20 years or more old) dumps that can go on an antique auto type policy. But those policies really limit the mileage and use of said vehicle.

Another option is a 1 ton single rear wheel with a pickup box and dump insert. Around here I see quite a few 3/4 ton trucks with the pickup box and dump insert. I would think they would be very limited in capacity though. A dump trailer does make the most sense.

 

[dal929]

I have an 07 Lincoln Mark LT ( a rebranded F150) with the 300hp 5.4 liter. Towing capacity is 9k. I also have a 12x6 10k dump trailer. I too was looking at dump trucks but the price of a good used one was approx 10k and a used 12x6 10k dump trailer was 4k. My mini excavator and BX24 do not have any problems loading material into the trailer where the dump truck is a bit more difficult (can not have side boards). The single most important thing with the trailer in your application is good brakes on both axles. I'm sure your truck is already pre-wired so you can just add the controller under the dash somewhere. With a full load my truck struggles a bit on take off to haul it but I take it easy, especially leaving plenty of room for stopping. You'll find a lot more uses for it that you think. The best part about it is when you're done with it you can just put it away and you won't have any problem trying to get rid of it.

 

[LBrown59]

Yes of course, since the thread is named "1 ton dump truck". I thought it would be obvious what I meant.
--------And yes, the insurance agent will very likely ask you what is on the back. Because, your not going to lie and say you have a 1 ton pick up you want to insure. (that would be a really bad idea). So, when you say I have a truck, or a one ton truck, I want to insure, and they will ask what kind of truck? (The computer is going to have a list of choices they need to mark off), Answering "Chevy" is not going to satisfy the question.
---------Since this happened to me. I thought I would pass it on.
1*Now I'm sorry I tried to be helpful.

1*I'm not because you helped me.

Wouldn't a 1 ton dump truck be a different animal than a I ton pick up ?
This is why I brought it up.

L . B .

 

[LBrown59]

I'm guessing he's referring to a one ton dump.
Although I've never attempted to insure such a vehicle, if the truck's a common domestic one ton truck, how will the insurance people know what kind of bed it has on it?

Basing the insurance premium on the bed rather than basing it on how or what the truck is used for is an insurance industry rip off.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Commercial insurance can get quite expensive. Farm insurance if you have it can be very reasonable. In PA, I used Farm Family. My dually was around 300 a year with everything on it. I also had my trailers as well as all of my farm equipment on the policy. It was Farm Family's policy that if you had any equipment of the property at all even an off road dump, it had to be listed but the costs were never prohibitive. I had a one million dollar umbrella policy too.

I now have my dually as well as my trailers on with Farm Bureau now. A bit more than Farm Family but still not bad.

From what I know, most automotive policies cover trailers for liability but not theft, etc. That is light duty trailers not something heavy duty. Don't think that you can play dumb with your agent about that ~12k trailer.