Some shots of my baby dump...
This was actually 4000lbs of road base gravel... I wanted 5k, but the lady running the loader said my springs were too flat, and she wouldn't put more on. (I've easily had 6000lbs on it around our sub, cleaning ditches. The springs flatten, but it isn't on the stops, and they aren't going to break...) Then she charged me for 6000lbs, which is their "minimum" truck charge. The gravel yard is only 4 miles from our community, but I won't be going to that one anymore, at least not with this truck...
The strap across the tailgate is to allow me to tailgate spread the gravel. It worked really well, actually. No need for chains rattling around, no more than I'll be doing this...
This little truck has been so useful that I'll probably not get rid of it for a long while. That said, I have not stopped thinking about a larger truck...
And the other day I bought one.
The business next door retired their very first truck. I had mentioned being interested in it a long time ago, but getting their body off it took longer than they thought.
It's a '81 GMC 7000, and has been well cared for. GVW 23,160lb, 366 gasser, 5+2, dual tanks, no rust at all. It also came a lot of parts, including good traction tires, a freshly rebuilt 366 long block, several PTO's and pumps, alternator, brake booster... The engine in it now only has 20-30k miles on it. If plugs and wires cure the slight miss that it has, I'll probably sell off the rebuilt longblock. It's proably worth almost what I paid for the truck... I'll find a PTO and pump that works for my needs, and sell off the rest of those too.
I found a 14' bed with drop sides off a 5-ton military truck that I'll be mounting as a dump.
I also found a killer deal on a 10' belly scraper blade. Needs two cylinders, but otherwise new.
The plow is in excellent condition, but missing all truckside stuff. I can make the mount, and a controller and harness aren't that much. Doubt I'll bother with lights, since they end up at the same height as the ones on the truck, or a little lower...
I checked insurance, and it is ~$500/year commercial through Progressive. As the empty weight of the truck is under 16,000lb, I can register it as a standard truck, rather than having to register it as a commercial vehicle, where you pay based on weight and mileage. $280/year vs. $500+, so that's nice.
Without selling anything, I'll have about $3500 into the dump truck. I paid $2k for the scraper, and $1500 for the plow. I'll probably have another $1k into getting them mounted and working. I'll sell off the extra stuff that I don't need.
I'll probably do a build-up thread of some sort here...
I've had 9k in the back of that poor truck and it handles it pretty good. 6k is no problem.
