Looking To Buy Small Dump

[jgbanshee]

I am looking to buy a small 1 ton dump. I have been seen a few newer Chevy/GMC 3500HD with the 6.0L gas motors. What, if any, downfalls are there with the 6.0L gas in this size truck? I plan on pulling a 12K trailer with this dump from time to time.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I am looking to buy a small 1 ton dump. I have been seen a few newer Chevy/GMC 3500HD with the 6.0L gas motors. What, if any, downfalls are there with the 6.0L gas in this size truck? I plan on pulling a 12K trailer with this dump from time to time.

The main down fall is the payload. You will be lucky to get one yard of gravel on it and still be under the GVWR. Do your homework, find out the GVWR, and then weigh any trucks you are looking at and do the math.

Other issue is tow rating with the 6L motor. Its not a power house by any means but will get the job done.

If it were me I would look at a real dump truck. Something like a 600-800 series. On these you can haul 6 to 8 yards of material or about 7 tons compared to the 1 to 2 tons on a 3500 series. They are cheaper also to buy. I see them all the time in my area. Late 70's start at about $1200 and late 90's are $7500. They can tow 3 times more than a 3500 legally also.

If you do not want to get into this class of truck get a Dually pickup and a 14,000# dump trailer. You can legally haul 5 tons in them or 5 yards and most that size also have ramps to load a tractor or Bobcat in. My uncle has one and its super handy and cost $4200 new.

Chris

 

[schoolsout]

With gas, you will be limited to electric dump

 

[mj007]

With gas, you will be limited to electric dump

Or a PTO pump off a manual tranny

 

[SLHawkins]

Are you getting a 'dump body' or a 'landscape/materials' body? Eventhough your actual weight is still limited, you cubic (volume) capacity is much higher with a 'landscape/materials' body. Whereas, you will only get 1 yd or gravel, sand, or topsil, you can get maybe 8 -12 yds of mulch and lighter materials. However, I agree with diamond and recommend consideration of a 14k dump. I pulled at 6x14 7ton texas bragg dump behind my f350 dualie. I routinely hauled 5-6 yards of topsoil and gravel without issue. When not hauling material, I could haul my tractor in the trailer (with FLE and rear implements) to and from the jobsite. The only drawback is I could not haul material and equipment at the same time. Which meant, sometimes I was making two trips. I have a few videos on youtube if you want to see the setup.

Hawk

 

[BoFuller]

I was looking at a 350 originally, but I need to haul enough gravel for a 1/4 mile drive. Then I changed my search to F800, but considering I have to drive 70 miles to the gravel yard one way, even that wasn't economical for me. A few days ago I got a F8000. Yes I will have to get my class A CDL, but so what. It's something I wanted to do anyway.

First figure out how much you need to haul and how far. then decide what to get.

 

[SLHawkins]

I was looking at a 350 originally, but I need to haul enough gravel for a 1/4 mile drive. Then I changed my search to F800, but considering I have to drive 70 miles to the gravel yard one way, even that wasn't economical for me. A few days ago I got a F8000. Yes I will have to get my class A CDL, but so what. It's something I wanted to do anyway.

First figure out how much you need to haul and how far. then decide what to get.

Bo,
That's an option too. Though the dump trailer handled the loads and the tractor, it was still a bit cumbersome not being able to haul my equipment and material at the same time. I looked for a decent, cheap F350/450 dump as well. I eventually came across a old diamond reo dump truck that was in decent enough shape and runs great. Of course, I had upgraded to a much larger tractor as well, otherwise I would not been able to load the dumptruck with my other tractor. Which brings up another consideration. The sides on the truck are much higher than those of the trailer. Through they work great with dump trailers, many compact tractors are not able to load trucks. And, anything over 6' wide will not fit inside the dump trailer, unless it is the over-the-wheel type.
Hawk

 

[SLHawkins]

Or a PTO pump off a manual tranny

You can run a PTO off of an auto trans as well. I have an old F700 with a gas motor, automatic trans, and mechanical PTO that runs a knuckleboom and dump bed.

 

[schoolsout]

Newer gas trucks will not have PTO provision on transmission, to my knowledge. OP stated he has been looking at some newer GM products.

 

[crashz]

... Or the Holy Grail: Central Hydraulics!