Talk to me about owning a Dump Truck

[rustydollar]

Registering less than the rated GVW , just means you cant carry the trucks rated weight , you havent paid the gov . But that doesnt change the fact that the truck is a 36,000 lb truck .

CDL Classifications | DMV.org

The key phrase is " rated weight "

here is some more interesting facts straight from the feds

Regulations Section | Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration


Before you spend the money and buy a truck with a GVW over 26,000 lbs , call your local DOT office and explain to them what you want to do . See what they say .

But its illogical that I could buy a tandem dump truck and tag it for 26,000 lbs and drive it with a regular license .

Some states even require a CDL to drive a motorhome or 5 th wheel camper , depending on the gvw . ( maryland is one of them ) .

I have a class B , and got busted once driving a tree bucket truck that required a CDL , I was pulling a 12K dump trailer that was empty . With a B license I am limited to a 10K trailer Now , I can pull the trailer behind my pickup fully loaded and be legal . The DOT cop was cool , I explained to him I thought it was the weight loaded . He gave me a warning . He explained to me they look at the gvw on the plates of the vehicles , not the registration , they only check the weights on the registration when they scale you .


A driver needs a CDL if the vehicle meets one of the following definitions of a CMV:


Class A truck
Any combination of vehicles with a GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) of 26,001 or more pounds (11,793 kg) provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds (4536 kg).


Class B truck
Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds (11,793 kg), or any such vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of 10,000 pounds (4536 kg) GVWR.


Class C truck
Any single vehicle, or combination of vehicles, that does not meet the definition of Class A or Class B, but is either designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the driver, or is placarded for hazardous materials.


Fines can run in the thousands

Contest the ticket, you might find out the DOT guy is a no show. The government has found that most people pay those tickets voluntarily rather than go to court.

There's more money for the government keeping that DOT actively writing tickets than having that officer spend hours in court scratching his ***.

 

[Sprinklerman]

Contest the ticket, you might find out the DOT guy is a no show. The government has found that most people pay those tickets voluntarily rather than go to court.

There's more money for the government keeping that DOT actively writing tickets than having that officer spend hours in court scratching his ***.

I got a warning , but the cop educated me on what is and isnt legal . Having a spotless driving record helped too .

 

[1stDeuce]

A nice $3000 dump is exactly what I'd like but since our money isn't worth a crap, that is now a $6000 dump...

 

[STx]

A NICE $3000 dump truck doesn't exist. There are $3000 dump trucks but, they aren't nice. I spent months looking for mine all over Texas, including auctions.

 

[Michael Aos]

I recently purchased a Load Trail 5x10 dump trailer.

7000lb gross weight, which I think pairs well with the 7000lb towing capacity of my 2003 Tundra.

Hauls 2 yards of dirt or 3 yards of lighter-weight material. The landscape supply place is about 5 miles away. I made 8 trips last Saturday and another 8 today.

I retrospect, I probably should have gone with the ~10K lb version, just in case I ever got a bigger truck.
--

 

[Dirthog]

You can TRY and go the cheap license for 26,000 but be assured once they stop you once every time you are on the road and seen you will be stopped and find something wrong. I have run trucks for years and have saw this from day one do what you need to get legal and stay that way also the better shape you keep your equipment the better off you are.

 

[1stDeuce]

Thanks Dirthog. If I somehow end up with a truck, I'll probably register it sub-26k to stay in the cheaper registration zone, but I'll likely get my CDL back anyway, which will allow me to occasionally haul a full 5 yards by pulling an overweight permit for the day, or to tow a trailer for whatever reason. (Overweight permits are pretty cheap compared to registering for over 26k and paying the mileage fee...)

I think it's getting less and less likely that I'll find something that works for me. I really need a farm plated truck, but it's not possible for me, so I fall into commercial territory, which brings with it a LOT of hassle for a private dump truck that won't seem much use at all...

I'm actually back to thinking about making a dedicated dump bed for my 3/4 ton shop truck. I thought of turning my flatbed into a dump, but it's heavy. A dedicated bed would let me keep the weight down, so I could haul more... That would work for hauling dirt around the property, or getting material for smaller projects. I'll just have to pay to have larger loads hauled, but $100 haul charge for 12 yards is honestly not a lot more expensive than doing it with my own dump 4 or 5 yards at a time, after you figure in registration, inspections, CDL, maintenance, fuel, etc...

I think the only way it makes sense for me at this time is if I use it in the winter to plow our sub and make a little money, but talking with one of the road committee guys last weekend, I think they're not excited about taking the business from the current guy, even if it saved them 50%... We'll see...

I appreciate all your inputs, and I'm sure others gained some knowledge from this thread too!!

 

[City Farmer]

I was in the same position as you until last weekend.
1) Buy a dump truck
2) buy a dump trailer.
I went with option #2.
2015---7'x16' PJ dump with 14k axles for $4900. Pay an outfit if your hauling any significant amount of fill or driveway stone. It will take forever with a 5yrd dump truck or trailer. In the end, I didn't want the hassle of plating, ins., cdl or maintaining another machine.

 

[BarnStangz]

Some real good talk on here. I like the idea of a dump trailer myself. Less hassle and they hold their value well if you decide to launch it on craigslist one day. Having said that, I too was in your position. I didn't want to mess with a CDL and I was looking at fairly large dumps, F800's 4600 Internationals, etc. and I ended up finding a small cabover Mitsubishi Fuso FG 4x4 dump. Yeah the thing is small and only has a 4 banger diesel but it flies under the radar when I get stone or move dirt. I can pretty much haul whatever I can put in it, but there are times when I can't full 5th gear since the little POS doesn't have the grunt of a beefy straight 6. The insurance is super cheap, $100 a year and it's Japanese so the engine is mint all the time. It's basically like an old tractor. It's ugly, but reliable and being 4wd I almost never get stuck and use the shiz out of low range. Have you looked for something smaller? Might take you more time to get things done, but you wouldn't have to worry about getting nailed for being overweight and smaller is easier to fix. I looked at an F800 a while back. Had that goofy Brazilian 7.8, thing was an outright beast for sure, but super spensive! Plates, tags, weight... I guess it all depends on how much time you have... Good luck, look forward to hearing what you end up doing. CL is a good place to look and test things out!

 

[Shaneard]

Dump trailer, the pros-no engine to keep up, less money for tags/insurance, great resell value etc. if your only gonna use a dump truck while building then not use it much it makes more sense to get a dump trailer. Good luck finding a used one, not many at all for sell around me. My dad and I bought an old F-600 for $300, the clutch came out of it and we hauled it to the crusher and got $600 for it. We were constantly working on it and only used it on the farm.