I need to replace our current dump truck which is well past it’s time to retire.
I’ve been looking at larger 2 ton trucks with a dump bed, however this little Isuzu caught my eye. Anybody know anything about them? The capacity is less then what we are used to. I think we could adapt well enough and at worst I’d buy a dump trailer.
Smaller truck is easier to bring onto job sites and it might be nice to have both the truck and trailer anyway.
The truck I’m looking at is a 1990 with 240k on the clock, motor was rebuilt 5k ago and the bed and hoist are 2 years old. It needs tires and the AC/Heat fan makes a horrible noise when it’s running, I’d also need to build up the sides but other then that it seems to be in very good shape. Asking price is 6k. Money for it isn’t a problem but I don’t know what the value of these trucks is. Price seems to be inline with what I can find online.
Any thoughts?
Replies
NPR 12-14k GVW?
Our first truck was that class. Only had it about 3-4 years. Because everything was wearing out. Clutches every year. Etc. We were loading about 1 ton.
Don't know how much you are planning (or what) to load. Definately would not pull a trailer at that GVW. We went up to the 18-20k GVW. Just drove our oldest today. It has a few "unique" idiosyncracies. But sounds just like the day we picked it up. And handles really well. It's a UD though.
Price is in the ballpark. I might offer 4500 if the bed isn't built up yet. That era goes around 5-7k. One of my drivers was going to buy that UD from us for $7500. It's a 93.
That 12-14k GVW is used by landscapers a lot.
It has a 12k GVWR, we will haul trash in it. In our old grain truck, the bed was 8' x 16', so basically 1/3 more capacity we average between 3/4 to 1 1/4 tons every time we go to the dump. This truck wouldn't have the capacity in the bed to hold that much. One thing I never looked into was the weight of the actual vehicle....
I have other trucks that could pull the dump trailer, I think the advantage would be an easier time getting around or up to homes and the ability to have a trash receptacle at two different places. We typically run between 4 and 6 projects at any point in time.
It is a down-side the bed is not built up however the bed itself and the hoist is only 2 years old and the motor was just rebuilt.
The truck needs a little work but doesn't appear to be major, I'll have our mechanic look at it before we purchase it.
I'm still going back and forth but it's definately in better shape then what we have and for the price it's not bad, otherwise I'm looking at spending closer to 15-20k which is doable but a lot of money to have wrapped up in a trash truck.
If I can get 4-5 years out of it I'm happy at the price, I imagine it would be around a bit longer then that.
FWIW I got rid of our 2 trash trucks and went to dump trailers. I got tired of maintaining powertrains and high plate and insurance costs for trucks that were driven less that 5k miles per year. Also whenever I needed to deliver one to a job, it took an extra person. Most of my trucks can pull a dump trailer. No looking back....John
J.R. Lazaro Builders, Inc.
Indianapolis, In.
I've considered going completely to dump trailer(s), the dump trucks for us have almost been ingrained to be necessary simply because we've had them for so long.
Here the insurance isn't terrible for liability and the plates/fee's have been less then 100 per year.
To be honest thinking about I can't think of a situation where the truck has done something the trailer couldn't.
I'm leaning towards the smaller dump truck and a seperate trailer, equal capacity to what we have but more versatility.
i'm not in the same setting as you,but i used to have a 2 ton grain bed truck. i thought it was the greatest thing ever. then i bought a dump trailer,didn't take long and i sold the truck.
main reason was,with the truck there was always maintanace.nothing major,battery,tires,radaitor cleaning,had kids break out the windows once,just stuff like that.
dump trailer,in 6 yrs i bought 1 battery. but my trailer is ugly,i would love to have a new one.but the big downside to that is,if you leave it on a jobsite overnight be sure it is full of trash,that way when they steal it they will at least have to dump it!!!! so i'm stuck with ugly. larryif a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
We use a dump trailer. I researched it 5 years ago and found I could buy a new one for the price of a well used (like the one you describe) truck.
Best move I have made in that area. No drive train issues, tags are cheap, no insurance (the pulling vehical handles it) and we can pull it loaded with trash (1/2-1 1/2 tons) with a half ton pick up although a 3/4 has an easier time.
And you can park it more places as it is smaller physically and lighter so it doesn't sink as easy. Just my 2 cents. DanT
What size dump trailer do you have?
You guys have me at least giving it more serious thought, we would need either one fairly large or two smaller for capacity.
Our dump truck is mostly parked at our shop and the guys bring their trash/debris to the shop at the end of the day. If it's a larger demo project the truck goes to the job.
Problem with the larger size ones I've seen is they're goose neck hitches.
Either option is still cheaper then roll offs by my calculations and when we've used roll off's in the past it seams everyone in the neighborhood and the homeowners take advantage of them.
I'm on the trailer band wagon as well. I've got a 12' tandem tagalong (7000lb load) that I bought new 3-4 years ago for about $3500. I've had to replace a tire and a light bulb. No other maintenance than that.
I also fitted it with a ladder rack. We use it to haul scaffold and pump jacks and picks. Our normal operation to is load all the stuff we're bringing to the job on it. Unhook it and unload it and then start filling it with debris. Dump it when it's full and reload and move to the next job. It seldom comes back to the shop.View Image
I have a 6x10, 10000# gvw U-Dump brand trailer. Bought used in 95 for $1500, have done tires ,lights, and some welding repairs, but the overall expences in 13 years have been less than what maintaining a dump truck was costing me per year.
If your sites are tight(mine are) get a trailer with the body over the wheels rather than outboard, much easier to negotiate when the width is the same as a pickup.
get a trailer with the body over the wheels rather than outboard, much easier to negotiate when the width is the same as a pickup.
Yeah - I second that. That was a main reason I bought the trailer I did. View Image
I'm a long time owner and a big fan of folding utility trailers so ya'll have got me real interested in dump trailers now too.
How's about some more brand names and/or links?
Here's what I've got:
http://appalachiantrailers.com/cg-deckover-dump-trailers.phpView Image
Thanks for the link.
I found out the other day that if I loan my trailer out it is covered but if I am pulling it myself it would not have been.
Insurance is only 40$ a year and it covers the theft of the trailer with a 500$ deductible.
Maintenance is tires and jacks and electric brakes.
Tires are constantly picking up nails at the dump.
I pull the leaking tire and put it in a wheelbarrow full of water to find the leaks then plug.
My trailer is 12'x6'x 3'tall or 8yards.
I haul up to 4 yards of gravel and 8 yards of mulch.
The best advantage to a dump trailer is the customer doesn't have to manuever around it like a dumpster and I can haul off the trash every night.
ANDYSZ2
WHY DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT BEING A SOLE PROPRIETOR IS A REAL JOB?
REMODELER/PUNCHOUT SPECIALIST
Edited 10/2/2008 10:21 pm by ANDYSZ2
You can compare that one with others on http://www.trucktrader.com
Honestly, you have to get a feel for how the trucks perform. When hauling a working load, the NPR version might seem to pull to the left. I say might - if you don't notice it, don't worry about it. If you do notice it, you may want to look at the Isuzu FOX Truck. It's a slightly different drivetrain, and people say that it might pull to the right. Isuzu will tell you both lineups drive straight down the middle of the road, favoring neither the left nor the right side of the road.
Obviously it can be hard to see the bias.
;)
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
I don't feel it's healthy to keep your faults bottled up inside me.
National Champ Guy...
I'm just curious, do you have a dump in Larrytown? Don't know if the Deffenbaugh operation extends to Lawrence but we just got cut back to to six bags or regular trash and 6 bags of yard waste a week here in Opie. Talking about ending the yard waste thingie by the end of the year. I ain't paying to recycle tho....6.00 bucks a month no way jose.
My father in law did buy one of the Isuzu's a few years ago to use in his gravestone setting business. Had a nice flatbed and a hoist and could haul some weight. Used to be a mail truck in upstate New York. We lives out in Bob Dole country and can't find anyone to service it well there so that's been a problem. I've driven it several times and not been impressed but I'm not big on sitting on top of the engine....
We do have a local dump, it's a 1 hour to 1 1/2 hour round trip for me to send someone to the dump, it depends on how busy the dump is at the time. Actual drive time back and forth is probably 30 min or so.
What is it you didn't/don't like about the Isuzu? I test drove it but only for 10 -15 minutes. I loved the turning radius, it had working A/C, heat, wipers, and lights, something our old '59 dump bed grain truck doesn't ;)
seriously though anything is an improvement over our last/current truck, we're in a situation where the cost is not much of a factor so it makes sense to update and get something a little "nicer" and less costly from a maintanence perspective.
It drove ok, you just have to get used to being in front and on top of things. Kind of hard to get used to if you have driven anything with any kind of hood.
It is kind of cool to being able to see the squirrels almost all the way to the wheel when they get mushed.
The one I drove had over 300,000 miles on it so it rattled a lot.
Sorry for the delayed response. I didn't see this thread was still going.
I have a 12' also and mine has 2' sides that we added another 1' to. It has a 10k capacity but when hauling stone one time I found 8-9k is really about it in terms of the hydralics.
The only thing I would look at different is i believe some have a power down as well as power up cylinder set. Mine is power up and in cold weather it takes a while to drift down after emptying.
Mine is 5 years old. I bought a tire once after I backed it over a piece of steel and tore out the sidewall. A battery and a put the battery box back on after my son jackknifed while backing up. That is the only maintenance I have performed.
Mine does what yours does. Sits in the shop and gets filled. Originally I bought it because it was cheaper than a dumpster. But as you said during bigger jobs we set it at the sit, put a ball hitch lock on it and off we go.
I have had a dump truck and now a trailer. I would never consider a truck again for what we do. Makes no sense to add another drive train to the worry meter. DanT
I did own a 7000 GVW dump trailer. The deck over versions are narrow and easy to jocky into tight locations but are more prone to fish-tailing from improper loading.
As for a cabover (aka cab forward) truck.............I love my Isuzu FRR (19,500GVW) ! For us, a detachable body system was the best choice. One chassis two refuse containers and one flatbed. It has worked well for us.
Here is a video of our truck and me demonstrating the system.
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=k65cCLquIrs
I saw one on e-bay similiar to your configuration, it came with 2 containers, was fairly new. It looks slik but the $50k price point stopped me pretty quick.
Did you buy your's new or used and how much do you have invested in the system?
I purchased the hoist system, containers and flat bed new. I purchased the 2001 Isuzu FRR chassis used, one owner, with 85K miles. All together I spent $38,000 on the entire system.
I installed the hoist system on the chassis myself.TT