# one ton dump or bigger????



## gilraine (Mar 15, 2010)

I'm in the market for a dump truck and am on the fence as to whether a 1 ton dump truck will be enough for me... I had a 78 C60 for a few months last year, but it was involved in a accident and totaled...I'm not looking at CDL trucks at all.. but if you had one dump truck for farm and tree service use, what would it be???the tree care would be a part time gig, but I would need the truck on the farm I'm getting willed in the near future.


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## ropensaddle (Mar 15, 2010)

here is mine















I really like it one it is easy to get into back yards,two it is paid for,three it is easy to work on!


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## ropensaddle (Mar 15, 2010)

I like it but also have a grapple truck for the big jobs I however loaded it down today with chips and it chipped over half the grapple load I brought home I lost some washers in the load and decided to chip and see how much of the load I could eliminate! I plan to put those air bags in my rear springs so I can stiffin it up. I ordered new king pins pivot bushings and radius bushings so it will be like new driving this week. I have been driving it daily but want the front end rebuilt.


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## lxt (Mar 15, 2010)

I agree with ropes, a 1-ton is nice, Im thinking about selling the 5-ton Int. its a nice truck but......the way the economy is right now??? Im thinking low overhead & put the cash away for the rainy days ahead.

you can always sell a 1-ton if its not what you want, anything over that & selling it gets harder.

good luck!!


LXT.....................


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## HorseShoeInFork (Mar 15, 2010)

Depends on how much you are going to be using it and how much you can spend. You can pick up a bigger truck (over 1ton) but under CDL for less money than a 1 ton in most cases. If the one ton dumps are worth having they usually go for good $$$.


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## 48"BAR PINCHER (Mar 15, 2010)

C70, F750 etc..... 7 - 8 ton payload is the only way to go. Ive had the 3500HD Chevys (15KGVW) and F550's (19K GVW). 3-3.5 tons max legal payload on them. You would be suprised how little a 3 ton load is. It hard to justify charging a customer what you need to get with those little trucks. And the payload of a bigger one offsets a good bit of that. THe other things to consider is maybe a GN dump trailer on a flatbed truck or do what I did for a few years and find a local guy with a truck and throw him all your hauling and get him to cut you a break. Dumps are expensive to insure and run if you really don't need one often


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## gilraine (Mar 15, 2010)

48"BAR PINCHER said:


> C70, F750 etc..... 7 - 8 ton payload is the only way to go. Ive had the 3500HD Chevys (15KGVW) and F550's (19K GVW). 3-3.5 tons max legal payload on them. You would be suprised how little a 3 ton load is. It hard to justify charging a customer what you need to get with those little trucks. And the payload of a bigger one offsets a good bit of that. THe other things to consider is maybe a GN dump trailer on a flatbed truck or do what I did for a few years and find a local guy with a truck and throw him all your hauling and get him to cut you a break. Dumps are expensive to insure and run if you really don't need one often



my 78 C60 was cheaper to insure than my 94 k1500 was, maybe thats a state to state thing?


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## flushcut (Mar 15, 2010)

A one ton will be okay, but at times you will wish you had a larger one. Wood weight adds up really quick. If you are pulling a chipper as well and have a full load of chips your tranny won't last long. I have a f450 and it's alright for now as I do mostly prunings and rarely have a full load of chips. It's fine for firewood.


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## ropensaddle (Mar 15, 2010)

Really it matters what you do ,or expect to do. Truck craft makes a nice insert But if your expecting to chip all day without going to the dump a larger truck would be necessary. In the same token if your in many tight spots with sodded yards the appeal of a lighter yet capable truck would be a plus.


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## Bigus Termitius (Mar 16, 2010)

I'm with rope...the one ton is the way to go if you only have one choice. Which is what the tread is about. 

I have a 71 c60 w/tag axle, but i'm thinking about getting rid of it. It was only purchased to get me through one contract and that is over with. It has too many issues.

I have a 75 chevy, but i'm wanting to upgrade to a newer 4x4 crew with a diesel, I prefer a Ford nowadays. I'll keep the old '75, it is easy to work on and it paid for itself over and over, though I might get an older ford instead, if I can find a 4x4 in similar condition to rope's truck. I've pulled a Vermeer 1400xl with a load and the 350/sag3spd did fine. Howbeit, it is fairly flat here.

Plenty of one ton dumps on ebay this week to choose from.


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## highpointtree (Mar 16, 2010)

The bigger the better.


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## gwiley (Mar 16, 2010)

Although I voted heavier, I second the "lighter" paperwork required for the 1-ton trucks. My 1-ton is under the radar - keeps insurance and registration lower. Another benefit of the 1-ton trucks is that they are a lot more common than the heavier ones which translates to easier to get/cheaper parts. You will have better luck at both the parts store and the junk yard when you need it.

On the other hand, there are times when I really wish I had a bit more punch under the hood. Hauling a 16' tandem trailer loaded with logs through some of the hills around here with the 1-ton gets dicey. I am pretty sure that my F-350 is going to breathe its last gasp next year dragging logs.

If you expect to have to move logs or something like skid steers very often then you will be happier with the heavier trucks.


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## Oldtimer (Mar 16, 2010)

Love my F550 4x4 PSD. Better brakes, better payload, still a pickup cab.


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## ropensaddle (Mar 16, 2010)

highpointtree said:


> The bigger the better.



Lol lets see it go in back yards bro?! Nice truck though if I am going heavywork load I am in old ugly


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## Finn1 (Mar 16, 2010)

I've got a '99 F450 4X4 with a V10. It weighs just under 10000 lbs empty with an 8' steel electric over hydraulic dump with drop down sides and has a max chassis GVW of 15500.

Unfortunately, with a load of road gravel in the 8 foot dump bed it scales at ~18500 if I'm not careful.

Mi commercial plates allow for 24000lb before the price break, so I think something like an F650 would be a better deal for any real hauling. Anything above an F350 requires commercial plates and insurance (at least through State Farm) in Michigan.

The F450 4X4 does make a relatively maneuverable plow rig with a 9' Boss plow, but a pickup with narrow tires would be a lot better for plowing. A F650 would be too large for my plowing situation.

The F450 is sort of a "one size fits all" compromise, but isn't optimum for any one given task. An F350 would be useless as far as cargo weight capacity goes, as the empty weight with a steel dump is too close to the loaded GVW specification.

Mine is a V10. Mileage sucks (10 mpg empty, 6-7 mpg loaded, and 1 1/2 mpg plowing). I only paid $4800, including the plow, a year and a half ago with 70000 mi. The V10 works out cheaper than a diesel for my use, even with the poor mpg and realizing that gas will eventually return to $5.00/gal, considering I'll probably put fewer than 3000 miles / year on the truck.


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## crashagn (Mar 16, 2010)

Ive been also in the same boat.. Been using a 1/2ton Chevy and a3/4ton pickup box trailor. I was looking at 1ton dualy flatbeds and the ole father stepped in tellin me the way i overload the halfton to not even look at a 1ton and ill end up breakin the studs off the axles. Been keepin an eye out for a cheep C60 or IH loadstar with dump bed... Heck, i was even gandered at a dodge d500 but for some reason the 318 wideblock made me have a bad feeling on availability and costs. I think youll just have to decide on what you want, what your going to be hauling and the "what ifs" along with the costs per year for license, registration and maintenance


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## bullseye13 (Mar 16, 2010)

The 78 c60 sounds like it would have been perfect. The tags and registration and insurance gets funny though. I did a quote through state farm im pa for one of these, and the insurance was like 400 a year. It greatly depends on your location of storage though. Registration is about 350 a year in pa. Ouch! Overall, its not really that bad, you just cant piggyback the insurance policy on you other vehicles because it will likely have to be a commercial policy.


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## Mikecutstrees (Mar 16, 2010)

gilraine said:


> I'm in the market for a dump truck and am on the fence as to whether a 1 ton dump truck will be enough for me... I had a 78 C60 for a few months last year, but it was involved in a accident and totaled...I'm not looking at CDL trucks at all.. but if you had one dump truck for farm and tree service use, what would it be???the tree care would be a part time gig, but I would need the truck on the farm I'm getting willed in the near future.



It depends on what you do. If you do alot of big softwood takedowns then I'd say go big. It also depends on the chipper you have if you have one. An 18" chipper needs a big truck but a 6" you could chip into a ford ranger. Depends on how many guys are working too. 4 guys and you better have a big truck or a close dump. good luck..... Mike


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## SchafferLoaders (Apr 7, 2010)

*Buy bigger - easier life on your vehicle*



highpointtree said:


> The bigger the better.
> 
> Hi Guys,
> 
> ...


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## arbor pro (Apr 7, 2010)

Mikecutstrees said:


> It depends on what you do. If you do alot of big softwood takedowns then I'd say go big. It also depends on the chipper you have if you have one. An 18" chipper needs a big truck but a 6" you could chip into a ford ranger. Depends on how many guys are working too. 4 guys and you better have a big truck or a close dump. good luck..... Mike



Mike hit the nail on the head - it depends entirely on what other equipment you use and what type of tree work you do. My one ton (see attachment) worked great when I used it as a flatbed dump with 2' sides. I could either haul logs or stump grindings in it while pulling a 14' bumper-hitch trailer pulling my sc252 and bobcat mini skid. It also worked great as a chip truck for my 12" bandit chipper after I built a chip box on it. I would haul my mini skid between the chip box and cab of the truck.

However, now I have an 18" chipper. The truck is inadequate for two reasons: 1) too small of chip holding capacity, 2) has plenty of power to pull the chipper (even when fully loaded with chips) but, is not quite heavy enough to handle the payload and really squats the rear of the truck. That and I know I'm way over the rear axle gvw when fully loaded. 

this one-ton has served me well and I think is a great all-around truck but, there are times when a bigger truck is absolutely necessary and having an 18" chipper is one of those instances.


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## catbuster (Apr 9, 2010)

F750 with dump. Overkill? Probably. Will it work faster,and more effiecently? Yes. But you'd be amazed with some of the stuff I've done with a class 3 (F350)/7.3 PSD... I've moved a 20,000 lb track loader on a tag and hauled 6000 lbs of hickory... But, the drive had a class A CDL when we did that too tho. The 7.3 is a monster for a 3/4 ton truck... I't work about perfect for a one ton,and an 8.3C is nice with a big truck (F650 or 750) 

But to answer your question, Yes a you should have moe than a 1 ton,but it will work.


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## amscontr (Aug 15, 2010)

We had a 1 ton dump w/pto that would dump anything you put in the bed it just didn't have the braking power to stop in emergency situations.
The GMC 7000's/Chevy c-65/70s are pretty simple to work on and lots of them are sitting around on farms and junkyards.
They're a PTA if you're loading by hand unless you have an old grain truck or flatbed that dumps. But you can be creative as wel to ease labor pains.
I prefer the dump and using a loader to load and you have the versatility of hauling dirt, rock,etc. to help pay for the higher plates and insurance.
Plus the bigger trucks set up properly can pull larger trailers/equipment another benefit.
On the older trucks just inspect the braking system for rust and leaks. I have a CDL and prefer air brakes over hydraulic or vacuum type.


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