New member with Kenworth Question

i would get a price on the cost to shorten it, thats going to be the expensive part.

 

yeah, old KW is very simple truck. to find air tanks is not a problem, you can use of other tucks, that fit your truck.

I do not think it is a good idea to shorten it. just install fifth wheel with slider! dump trucks are usually with day cabs.

It was popular to convert old soviet KRAZ dumpers to trucktors 10 years ago and it was enought place for additional sleeper, for dromedary deck, box, crane (palfinger was very popular)..... so I'd keep long frame

 

No, it would not be worth it. There are lots of good used trucks out there already build for highway use. Your KW has a HD dump truck suspension that really won't perform the best on the highway. Tri axle, so are you planning to turn this into a regular tandem? Big bucks. At the end of the day, it is still a 20 year old truck that probably had a hard life as a dump unit. I would pass.

 

I agree with Heavyd, not worth it, for the money you will spend on converting it you could put that same money into a decent used truck.

 

If your going to do end dump work with it I would take it. fuel and air tanks would be about 800 bucks used.

 

I would not cut the frame. If you decide to sell it later it might be difficult to find someone willing to buy it if they need to lengthen the frame. I would check to see what it would cost to get the parts needed to get it road worthy and then make the decision. Although the miles are low, dumps usually have a hard life. Still, if it is in good shape, it would be a good way to get started.

 

I would leave it as is with the drop axle PTO everything put a 5th wheel on it and roll, then it could be sold as a heavy haul truck.

 

Don't take this the wrong way, but this is a no brainer.

The truck is a 1991. It is now 20 years old. It is virtually WORTHLESS. I would not put up with that kind of crap for 1 second. Old equipment is still old, no matter what you do with it. It's a old interior, it's noisy, not comfortable in the least. Why do you want to do that to yourself?

The market is flooded with some very nice used trucks that can be had for the right price if you just shop around a little bit. Hell you could pick up a 2005 KW W900L with a studio sleeper for $40,000 pretty easily, hell even in the 30's range. You would spend almost that much in parts and time to convert this old piece of junk into a highway tractor.

If you ever need to sell that old 91, good luck. You might get a farmer who wants it for hauling bales, but it is getting increasingly harder to sell older trucks because there are so many rules against them now, and 90% of companies won't hire someone with a truck older than 5 years.

Trucks themselves have not ever been made better, engines today are a somewhat different story. When I had my 04 W900L, I loved that interior, I thought I would never want one of the newer style ones from 2006.5 to current. Now that I have been in one, all I want is the newer interior style. It is quiet, I have no wind coming into the cab from the doors ever, and it rides like a dream. I am warm in the winter and cool in the summer, with no dust. The new gauges with laser etched faces and LED back lighting are the best dash for night time, hands down. Very easy to read and doesn't hurt the eyes one bit.

Find something from 2002 to 2007 already set up for what you want to do, and you'll have yourself a great truck.