F550?

[Midniteoyl]

Since Cummins are six cylinders I assume you mean seventh injector.

Whats a few extra cylinders among friends?

 

[Fields_mj]

If they do that with farm plates, thats pretty dumb.
Who wants to have a DMV handing out farm plates to everyone who asks for them, even when they don’t farm?
It’s a slap in the face to farmers that are entitled to them because of their occupation

Explain to me exactly WHY farmers are ENTITLED to plates that allow them to circumvent pretty much EVERY requirement but a guy who owns and operates a small construction company is not? I'm not against them, but the idea of someone getting their panties in a bunch because they don't like they fact that someone else was given the same brakes they did, well that tends to rub me the wrong way. If the state is willing to give a person a farm plate for a vehicle, good for that person. The only reason for me to get upset about it is because I don't think that person is paying their fair share and the solution to that is to do away with farm plates all together. I don't think anyone wants that except maybe the government who's collecting the fees.

 

[Fields_mj]

One thing to note on the newer diesels.
It seems only on Ram do they inject extra fuel for DPF regeneration through post-injection into the engine cylinders during the exhaust stroke. There have been some complaints about engine oil fuel dilution.

Not a concern for me. I refuse to own an engine that requires DEF. I'd go with a gasser before dealing with DEF. For my purposes, it just wouldn't make sense.

 

[dodge man]

I know someone who has farm plates on their grain truck. He also installs field tile. He was towing a piece of equipment to put field tile in for someone and got busted and got a pretty healthy fine. He might have been able to lie but he told the truth that he was going to someone else’s farm. He ended up getting correct plates and they cost more of course.

In Illinois farmers don’t pay any sales tax on farm items. Of course this can be a pretty large sum on expensive farm equipment.

 

[Fields_mj]

I know someone who has farm plates on their grain truck. He also installs field tile. He was towing a piece of equipment to put field tile in for someone and got busted and got a pretty healthy fine. He might have been able to lie but he told the truth that he was going to someone else’s farm. He ended up getting correct plates and they cost more of course.

In Illinois farmers don’t pay any sales tax on farm items. Of course this can be a pretty large sum on expensive farm equipment.

If a person is going to knowingly break the rules, they assume the risk. Personally, I would have probably had a different answer for the officer, but to each their own.

 

[4570Man]

If a person is going to knowingly break the rules, they assume the risk. Personally, I would have probably had a different answer for the officer, but to each their own.

I’m pretty sure farmers expect to get paid for their produce and aren’t operating 501c3 non profits. I’m not sure why they expect different rules from literally every other business.

 

[4570Man]

Not a concern for me. I refuse to own an engine that requires DEF. I'd go with a gasser before dealing with DEF. For my purposes, it just wouldn't make sense.

I can understand that opinion but a wide front end 6.7 F-550 is a leaps and bounds better truck than the older models. If you’re set on the older models I’d look at the F-650s that came stock with a Cummins. A 650 has double the payload as a 550 and basically the same CDL requirements. I’ve seen the older model 6.7s selling for not much difference in price compared to a 7.3 that’s not totally clapped out.

 

[Fields_mj]

I can understand that opinion but a wide front end 6.7 F-550 is a leaps and bounds better truck than the older models. If you’re set on the older models I’d look at the F-650s that came stock with a Cummins. A 650 has double the payload as a 550 and basically the same CDL requirements. I’ve seen the older model 6.7s selling for not much difference in price compared to a 7.3 that’s not totally clapped out.

I'm not planning on getting a CDL at this point, and a F650 is a noticeably larger footprint than a 550. My budget will be around $10k. I put about 5,000 miles a year on my 350. When I replace my current daily driver, I expect to decrease the mileage on the truck by quite a bit. There are some hills around here that I would drive through, but they are full of 35mh curves. So, while I am actually concerned that a 7.3L PSD is gong to be a little on the week side for the job, I'm more concerned about being able to go down hill SLOWLY than uphill quickly. For 40-45 miles each way, if it takes me an extra 15 min each way to make the trip its not a big deal.

As mentioned, this really isn't going to be for business use. Its primary use will be transporting logs for firewood, and hauling equipment (tractor and loader) to and from the farm to either load logs, mow pasture and lanes, or do some other kind of work on that property. Occasionally it may get used to haul equipment and volunteers to disaster sites. All told, it will likely get used 8-10 times per year. Anything else is just going to be an opportunity to start it up and let it run so that its not just sitting there. If it weren't for the fact that the F550s I'm finding are in the same price range as a 250 and 350, and are often in slightly better condition because some punk hasn't tried to hot rod it (yet), I wouldn't even consider anything bigger than what I already have. I have no expectation of being able to replace my current salary with it. If it does a couple of jobs a year to pay for part of its insurance and plates, great. If I can step away from this rat race in a few years, it may be useful for generating some supplemental income. My life style doesn't require a vehicle this size, but it does occasionally require something bigger than a 1/2 ton. If I'm spending pretty close to the same money either way, I THINK (but could be wrong) that it makes more sense to spend the money on the bigger vehicle because it allows me to complete my work in fewer trips and with less physical effort on my part. Much easier (and faster) to dump logs from a dump bed than to climb on and off a tractor/loader to hook up and skid them off a trailer 1 or 2 at a time, and much easier and faster to load them with a loader than winching them onto the trailer one at a time so long as I can tow the tractor/loader back home on the same trip. If I could upgrade the payload of a 450 dump truck to handle 10k and still pull a 10k or 14k trailer, that would be even better. Problem is that even if I could upgrade a 450, by the time I do, I would be money ahead to just start with the 550.

As I start phasing out of my day job eventually, if it looks like transporting material a few days a week would be worth the investment, I'd be open to getting a CDL (if I had not yet already), and consider upgrading to a 650 with a CAT or Cummins depending on what kind of work is available at the time. Or I may decide that the increased cost of the plates, insurance, and tires just isn't worth it and go back to a 1 ton. Either way, before I started digging too deep on the subject, I thought it might be best to check with folks who actually use trucks of various sizes to accomplish work in a pretty regular basis and make sure I hadn't missed something important, and see if my thinking was off in left field or not.

 

[Hay Dude]

Explain to me exactly WHY farmers are ENTITLED to plates that allow them to circumvent pretty much EVERY requirement but a guy who owns and operates a small construction company is not? I'm not against them, but the idea of someone getting their panties in a bunch because they don't like they fact that someone else was given the same brakes they did, well that tends to rub me the wrong way. If the state is willing to give a person a farm plate for a vehicle, good for that person. The only reason for me to get upset about it is because I don't think that person is paying their fair share and the solution to that is to do away with farm plates all together. I don't think anyone wants that except maybe the government who's collecting the fees.

Cry me a river.
I have no idea “why”, but I can assure you farming is a lot more difficult than owning a construction company. I know. I did both. If anyone is entitled to a small break, it’s farmers. All of us but the big corporate farmers are pretty much hangin on for dear life.

 

[Hay Dude]

I'm not planning on getting a CDL at this point, and a F650 is a noticeably larger footprint than a 550. My budget will be around $10k. I put about 5,000 miles a year on my 350. When I replace my current daily driver, I expect to decrease the mileage on the truck by quite a bit. There are some hills around here that I would drive through, but they are full of 35mh curves. So, while I am actually concerned that a 7.3L PSD is gong to be a little on the week side for the job, I'm more concerned about being able to go down hill SLOWLY than uphill quickly. For 40-45 miles each way, if it takes me an extra 15 min each way to make the trip its not a big deal.

As mentioned, this really isn't going to be for business use. Its primary use will be transporting logs for firewood, and hauling equipment (tractor and loader) to and from the farm to either load logs, mow pasture and lanes, or do some other kind of work on that property. Occasionally it may get used to haul equipment and volunteers to disaster sites. All told, it will likely get used 8-10 times per year. Anything else is just going to be an opportunity to start it up and let it run so that its not just sitting there. If it weren't for the fact that the F550s I'm finding are in the same price range as a 250 and 350, and are often in slightly better condition because some punk hasn't tried to hot rod it (yet), I wouldn't even consider anything bigger than what I already have. I have no expectation of being able to replace my current salary with it. If it does a couple of jobs a year to pay for part of its insurance and plates, great. If I can step away from this rat race in a few years, it may be useful for generating some supplemental income. My life style doesn't require a vehicle this size, but it does occasionally require something bigger than a 1/2 ton. If I'm spending pretty close to the same money either way, I THINK (but could be wrong) that it makes more sense to spend the money on the bigger vehicle because it allows me to complete my work in fewer trips and with less physical effort on my part. Much easier (and faster) to dump logs from a dump bed than to climb on and off a tractor/loader to hook up and skid them off a trailer 1 or 2 at a time, and much easier and faster to load them with a loader than winching them onto the trailer one at a time so long as I can tow the tractor/loader back home on the same trip. If I could upgrade the payload of a 450 dump truck to handle 10k and still pull a 10k or 14k trailer, that would be even better.

You’d be way over on rear axle weight.

Problem is that even if I could upgrade a 450, by the time I do, I would be money ahead to just start with the 550.

As I start phasing out of my day job eventually, if it looks like transporting material a few days a week would be worth the investment, I'd be open to getting a CDL (if I had not yet already), and consider upgrading to a 650 with a CAT or Cummins depending on what kind of work is available at the time.

Have you seen what CDL licensing & training costs today? Hope your new adventure pays a lot.

Or I may decide that the increased cost of the plates, insurance, and tires just isn't worth it and go back to a 1 ton. Either way, before I started digging too deep on the subject, I thought it might be best to check with folks who actually use trucks of various sizes to accomplish work in a pretty regular basis and make sure I hadn't missed something important, and see if my thinking was off in left field or not.

Oh, I thought you said no CDL, but either way, I’d do a 1 ton with a beefy dump trailer that will also haul your equipment. That way when you are done dumping or towing, you can use the truck for ordinary driving, errands, etc.

I own a CDL Class 8 dump truck and it’s not cheap by any means to own/operate. I might even buy a 30K GN dump trailer and pull it behind my Ram. So much cheaper than a dump truck.