Best Flatbed Truck for Lumber Yard

I remember delivering to that place before you bought it. Needing to back in to unload from US-93. This was in the 90's with alot less traffic than now.

Good question. I would rather run a tandem axle truck just because of the snow and ice in the winter, but I think a single axle truck would be plenty for the job most of the time. I don't see your drive axle going over 20k often for local delivery's. Even if it does I don't think anyone will notice.

 

One thing I would make sure to have if hanging a moffet off the back is 46,000 pound rears, I would also spec it with full lockers if delivering to locations that did not have equipment available on sight to get you out of a bind, which I assume you will be doing, hence the moffet.

 

There is a few type of moffets, some can go sideways, some has a nice reach that can offload a trailer on one side, some are small and go inside garages, and then there's regular moffets.

Over here in the city of Chicago, most jobsite want material thru the alley, which is about 12ft wide. So a sideway or spyder moffett would be nice for any lumber over 12ft. Usually for me, since i don't have anything fancy, i leave it on the front lawn or take it back and get the special moffet to do it.





just some jobs that needed a sideway moffetts.

It depends on you if you need it

 

lumber may be different then building stone delivery’s but I can count on one hand the times I unloaded on a job site. It was almost always done from the street. I guess on more commercial job sites that’s on option but residential lots were always way to small to get a truck into and have room to unload.

 

Cat is out of the heavy truck engine business. (Emissions killed it, choked the Kitty. If wishes were horses beggars ride.)

Detriot is what you want. Reliability.

Grab a 35 footer. Room for the moffat in the back. Farm tractor type weights in the front of trailer for empty driving with moffat. If you can balance that trailer a little bit you toss 30 foot wood on there and get going. Weights take care of itself. Double lockers, 200 gallons fuel (100 per tank) Ford 9000 type tractor because you are getting into tight places.

Tractor I built it on website. Overview in general. Engine is a compromise and truck is made to withstand off road where possible, tight spaces where possible but retain up to 52000 pound capacity on drives.

Dash is no nonsense tan on basic charcoal. No brushed aluminum or chrome wanted, sun has a habit of reflecting off it too much at certain times of day. It's not exactly a OTR truck but it's not a pure off road bruiser either. Everything is a compromise. Dual side airhorns with cover is one indulgence. Sometimes traffic is a mess and sometimes Job Boss is far away. None of that basic tweet honk bs. If you are going to call Mama...

West coast mirrors with convex seperate. Keep it simple dummy. Especially if you scrape a tree and break it. Easy fix. Also you can see everything looking into those things on the job.

Batteries kept to right side behind cab air tanks are protected by fuel tank none of that underframe ground scraping allowed.

That frame should be room for enclosed headache rack so that whatever you put into them with chains, binders etc out of the weather and locked up against urban theft. Easier to keep clean.

Tractor should be around 68K retail set up this way, maybe closer to 75K with the maintance stuff upfront and taken care of. The last thing you want to deal with is shop stuff. It's all there. Records too. Eventually she will accumulate a life time of records under your care. (Or not)

I stayed away from automatics, I stayed away from no clutch options because you are going off road. Call it a 13 speed double under for same. It's not terribly fast 75 or so max. but you can pull the planet earth the other way if need be. But not too dumbed down like the 9's or 10's and certainly not overkill like the 18's not too many drivers can handle a 18. (I can and some here on TTR can, but most people looking for your store will not expect something like that nor can they appreciate it or take care of it.

Double lockers for sure. Anything less is asking for trouble. And you want a trolley valve in that cab under the steering wheel as a addition, not on the dash way over there. Plus a old school gauge for everything. I do not want to see a computer dumbed down cab interior with just 4 big crayon sized coloring gauges for morons.

There is a possibility you can have walking beams under the drive tandems. If that is still offered at factory TAKE IT. Because again you are going off road. Those walking beams will serve you well.

Mack Trucks Studio

 

Agreed.
That’s what the moffett is for- if the job site is sketchy, lot easier for a 3 wheel drive with hydraulic lift, push and self lifting capacity that weighs 6-7k lbs to get unstuck than a big straight truck.

 

Wow, just wow. You can barely buy a diesel pickup for 68K

 

Thank you.

I don't spend 68K on a DEF desiel truck. Here in the south we can get anything that is 2006 or older gas 5.9 hemi or big 6.6 desiel manual for 7000 or less cash and they have everything you could want in a pickup. The modern new stuff is too overstuffed, overpriced and over BS on the outrageous stuff I hate to say it.

My Tahoe with it's 350 has the back seat removed and sold off even for the cost to remove seat in labor. It's strictly a cargo truck now. Same as a long bed. I can stick a 4x8 plywood sheeting into the back of that thing with the back gate down and secured with straps. Or a 7 foot refridgerator. If you can fit it through a common doorway, you can load and fit into my tahoe out of the weather more or less with a bit of securement and tarping. There is hardly any technology in that thing. Someday when the current 3rd 350 v8 burns up, I drop a crate engine into it for a few thousand and keep going with it. It's got 260,000 miles on it and is focusing on all fluid replacement and transmission servicing this spring time. Axles and transfer fluids will be pulled and replaced as well as the differentals, splines etc all inspected by eye to see if there are missing tooth etc in them. Next up is the tires followed by brake work including ABS fault. We will fix that too.

It is alot of shop work, but it is idiot proof shop work. eventually the rust will be removed and repainted. The steel underbody is still good. we will take advantage of that. as long as Arkansas does not ban fossil fuel cars and pickups we will still have it 10, 15 years into the future.

It is a direct expression against all the fancy modern computer crap our retail vehicles have become. It's unnecessary. You can put antique tags on it now and bypass all emissions and inspections. But we are still a free state. No need for that just yet.