# 1 ton chip truck



## palmersfirewood (Jan 24, 2006)

Is a 1 ton flatbed heavy enough to use as a chip truck temporarily? My dad has a 1 ton ford with a 10 foot bed I can use? It is a 2wd gas burner but I think I can make it work. suggestions


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## clearance (Jan 24, 2006)

Yes it will work, just don't get too carried away. My old boss had a Ford from the early 80s with a scumy old plywood box and a hoist. It was scary to drive because the steering was bogus and the box was too big. Make sure it is o.k. mech. wise, towing a chipper really can change how it brakes and steers.


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## 04ultra (Jan 24, 2006)

why dont you just use the 89 ford f350 that you have listed and make box in the back..Then when you can find one with dump buy it..


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## SilentElk (Jan 24, 2006)

I used a F-350 86' for years doing trees. Still have the truck actually. 9' flatbed. hada 6' box on it and filled it to the brim very often. A touch over the legal limit but the truck handled it just fine.


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## Newfie (Jan 24, 2006)

It should work fine. I wouldn't make the box any taller than 6 feet of the bed or you get top heavy. Dual rear wheels I assume?


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## gage52 (Jan 24, 2006)

doesn't matter if its burning alot of fuel as long as your making money with it. thats how i see it.


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## SilentElk (Jan 24, 2006)

Newfie said:


> It should work fine. I wouldn't make the box any taller than 6 feet of the bed or you get top heavy. Dual rear wheels I assume?



These are actually great points! At 6' tall when full to the brim it was extremely top heavy. I would not exceeded that height and not go near it if you didnt have dual wheels.

My first truck for trees was a 78' ford F-250 reg bed that I stuck 4' sides on. Fairly skinny but worked. That 3/4 ton with single tires and maybe 2000 lbs worth a of chips was much more unstable than the 4000 lbs of chips in my F-350 dually. Single wheeled and dually are nigth and day. I doubt I would ever get a truck that wasnt a dually for any work purposes ever.


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## pbtree (Jan 25, 2006)

TreeCo said:


> Here was a lucky Ebay find. A 1987 one ton 4x4 6.9L diesel 4speed with 100k miles.
> 
> A one ton will do lots of trim jobs but if big removals are your thing they fill with chips fast. If you have close dump sites that would not be a problem.
> 
> ...



Nice rig!


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## clearance (Jan 25, 2006)

Dana 60 front, 4spd., 6.9 enginethat will run forever, nice boxes. Killer truck, all it needs is a big steel bush bumper.


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## PTS (Jan 25, 2006)

thats all we use for chip trucks. Advantages is that you can drive it into the back yard and it isn't to heavy or tall and it saves a lot of leg work from dragging the brush from back to front of house. Large Dumps will hit other trees on the way in and out, leave ruts and are too long to maneuver in a yard. IMO one tons are the way to go. With a 12 foot bed and 6 foot sides you can put an entire tree of chips in it.


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## palmersfirewood (Jan 25, 2006)

04 ultra: the f350 I have listed is a reg bed, dad's is a flatbed and it has a 5 spd so it is better for creeping.

I can buy a 3/4 ton 4x4 but don't think it will be heavy enough


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## Koa Man (Jan 25, 2006)

A 12 X 6 X 7.5 ft. bed will be 20 cu. yds., a bit heavy for a 1 ton. I have a 9L X 5H X 7.5W ft. aluminum box on my 1 ton Dodge with 2 leafs added to the springs and you feel the weight when loaded. I once carried a payload of 13,800 lbs of roof material in it, grossly overloaded.

A friend of mine just bought a 2005 GMC 4500 (15K gvw) and he is putting a 16L X 6H X 8W box on it. I told him to cut the box to 12 ft., but he is looking for big chip carrying capacity. He should have bought a bigger truck, his bed will be bigger than the 14 footer I have on my 25500 GVW International. I estimate his payload will be between 14-15K full, grossly overloaded and trucks over 10K have to stop at weigh stations here. Oahu has only 1 stationary weigh station, all others are mobile that DOT puts up on the different highways every now and then.

A 1 ton will work, but I would spend the $2500 or so to put a dump hoist on it. The time it will save will pay for it in no time. Unloading a box load of chips or other debris by hand will take at least an hour of hard work. If you do it once a day it will pay for itself in less than 2 months. Even quicker if you have a crew waiting around for the truck to get back to pick up another load.


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## Komitet (Jan 25, 2006)

we just got a new new truck at work this week, it's a 2002 GMC T7500 Cabover, has a Caterpiller diesel in it, box measures 14' X 8' X 6', 8' at the peak with the roof we added, not sure of the payload it holds but it's almost triple what our boom trucks can handle.

Boss was smart and got a Mobark, sp.? 20" drum chipper to go with it, very nice setup and extremely maneuverable truck.


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## DDM (Jan 25, 2006)

We used these 2 trucks for a few yr's one on the left for wood and the one on the right for chips.Actually the one on the left is still a wood hauler for smaller jobs. The chip truck worked fine hauled okay just wouldnt hold quite enough.


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## TreeJunkie (Jan 25, 2006)

I'm using an F450 10x8x5 Seems to be doing fine w/ the weight. Wish i'd gone a little higher, might have made it easier to fll to the top....But when we did calculation theis size would soppossedly max out he payload when full....


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## Koa Man (Jan 25, 2006)

I have also found that a 5 ft. high box is too low. I ended up with about 8 inches of wasted space on the top. With a 6 ft. high box, the chipper fills it to the top very nicely. It is better to make bed a little shorter and go 6 ft., then longer and go 5 ft. Having a shorter bed will make the truck a little easier in tight spaces as well. That extra foot in lenght might make all the difference in being able to get in someplace or not.


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## lumberjach (Jan 25, 2006)

I have a one ton 77 chevrolet dump with an oak chipbox that is for sale if anyone is interested. It leaks oil and the engine could use an overhaul within the next year but it runs good. Dump works great also. I only want $1000. If anyone is interested. I can post some pics.


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## skwerl (Jan 25, 2006)

Yup, 6' is the height for a chip bed. Many times you're up in there loading logs by hand or scraping out stuck chips, whatever. The 5' height is tough to work in. and with only 5' height, it's tough keeping the chipper chute low enough to not overshoot yet still fill the box.


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## palmersfirewood (Jan 26, 2006)

lumberjach I might be interested in that truck if I could get financing to buy it. could you post pics and more info about it.


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## TreeJunkie (Jan 26, 2006)

financing for 1000?????


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## 04ultra (Jan 27, 2006)

TreeJunkie he's only 16 years old..


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## TreeJunkie (Jan 27, 2006)

then save your pennies, go back to school and get an education. The last thing a 16 yr old needs to be thinking about is getting into this business. 

Not to mention if you need a loan on 1000 i'd say you are undercapitalized to be trying to start a small business.


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## okietreedude1 (Jan 27, 2006)

Id go 6' too. that way if you need to take a leak and the nearest store is 15 minutes, you dont have to kneel to P.


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## dshackle3 (Jan 27, 2006)

I agree with treejuckie get an education. I do admire your ambition at 16. good luck


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## palmersfirewood (Jan 27, 2006)

I really can't come up with 1000 cash since I pay my own truck and insurance payments on a 2 day a week groundman job and part time firewood sales. I would like to finance because I cant come up with cash and it will also build my credit rating for later on when I bujy bigger stuff (equipment, house, etc)

TreeCo: at work i drive a loaded f450 with a chipper, I have driven 2ton spreader trucks for a year, and I drive a 1 ton daily. I don't think I am an above average driver but I think I can handle a loaded 1 ton.


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## palmersfirewood (Jan 27, 2006)

I live in clarkesville just north of gainesville


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## palmersfirewood (Jan 27, 2006)

I would be possibly be interested in working this summer if you could use me.


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