If you could buy a truck for a Dump business what would you buy?

It all depends on how you are being paid on what you need. Where I'm at most haulers are paid by the ton so most poeple hear go with peterbilts because they are lighter then most Macks. As specs go it all depends on your location. If you are going to be pulling a lot of weight up hill all day long you need lower gears in the rears and a trans that you can split the top gears so either a 13 or 18 speed should do it. If youre hauling on relatively flat ground you can get away with 3.55's and a 10 speed. As it goes for frames with peterbilts I know you can quarter frame them over the drives to handle the extra stress and not have to worry about the extra weight that a full double has like Mack has. When it comes to suspension its up to you I have have many trucks here with just 40k rears do just fine with handling the weight.(88,400) is the legal highway load with a triaxle trailer and 83,800 is the legal interstate) I would stay away from Mack's camelback unless you hate your back. I was in a Mack with Camelback and the ride was bad. So its really a matter of personal preferrence on what you want. The older R and RD model macks are almost indestructable and with pull like a freight train but the ride will not be as good as Peterbilt, and peterbilts are completely customiziable you can have a truck built with any and every option.

 

Out here in California, we get away with old Safeway tractors, Fruehauf trailers from the 60's and several illegal aliens behind the wheel...

 

Didn't say much but you got it all right!! (sure you are not talking about south

Texas?)

 

On a serious note concerning what truck to buy....


It has taken me years to understand what I was told by my banker " it is all about the numbers".
What does it cost to operate and what is the resale value when you are done with it.
You may think it is the best truck for the job but if it cost a lot to operate and you take a hit on the resale value you have not done yourself right. Certain units seem to always sell for more simply because of the name on the hood.
Take a little time and see what the resale value of used units are in your area, it won't take long to find a pattern for what brands yield the best price on the used truck lot.
If none of this makes sense to you just keep driving and getting older because it will one day, I hope sooner than later for you.

 

I'm happy with the 379's, 388 and 389 I've owned/own. Get a good tare weight and seem to handle the vocation just fine.

 

What's with the Mack hate?

Here's a good exercise: count up the number of log trucks and what brand they are. They are off road alot. See which ones are out there being bush buggers. Then, count up the number of work trucks, cement trucks and such and what kind they are.

You'll probably begin to see a pattern...

 

i have a 89 379 short hood w/b model 250''w/b 4.11 gears 13-sp w/air locker day cab and tug side dump and belly dump . this set up works great on the fill and at the dump site, but not on the long runs. the pete is easy on the body for 12hrs.



i have a 00 w900l c-15 270'' w/b w/ 18-sp for the long runs for long runs,it depends on what you do i guess, i'm only driver so i drive whats best for the job.

 

I'm guessing you are talking about end dumps and not dump trucks but I'll give opinions for both.

Dump trucks proper (tandems, tri axles, quad axles): Mack all the way. I've driven a ton of dumps and nothing stands up to the Bulldogs, plain and simple. If you're doing nothing but asphalt or stockpiling then it doesn't really matter as much so just get whatever you like.

Tractors for End Dumps: Meh, anything will do to be honest. The biggest end dump outfit around here (Beelman) runs Freightliner Century's, Pete 378's and 376's. The other big outfit that is no longer in business ran CH model Macks.

Just depends on what ya like and what weight limit you want to stay under.

 

well i would say to make it easier you would want anything with a short nose, im not sure where your going with your loads or if your running highway, but if you have to get into tight spots, backyards, around a lot of obstacles then your gonna want the turning radius. from my point of view and my favorite dump that i have driven was a a kw t800. it had the power gear and ride i wanted. ive driven a lot of macks but the only problem i had with them was i didnt have the power of the kw or petes that i was driving and the macks were camel back suspension so whenever i would get into soft soil i would start to get wheel hop and if you push it to much you could snap an axle. the kw was air ride and would go right through that stuff. even though i liked the kw the most i do think the mack granite was the most ideal for doing local work.

 

I am a mechanic for a company that runs 46 belly dumps. We have several types/brands of trucks and out of all of them the kw t800 and pete 379's hold up better than others. We have a few international 9400's that dont do too bad, we had some macks that were good trucks but really expensive parts. I would recomend something around 3.70 rears with a 13 or 18 speed, our mxs c15s seem to be pretty bulletproof, not sure if it has anything to do with being off road or not but vva's are the main problem we have with them. All of the freightliners we have bought have fallen apart. Just my .02