info on small truck body

[kkottemann]

hey guys,
I am about to build a small chip truck. I am going to get a used F-350 or something of that sort...What I would really like it to put a southco dump body on it. I haven't talked with southco yet, but my question to all of you out there is where can I find a used body, like a southco? Is there a depot somewhere in the south where I can get just the chip body? any help would be nice. Thanks

 

[tomtrees58]

i have a southco on w4 gmc not cheap tom trees

 

[John464]

southco recommends their chip bodies only on an F550 and up. Something to do with GVW standards. I tried to buy one for an F450 4x4 SD and they would not sell it to me. I believe they also required the truck at their location and would not freight the body to my mechanic. I couldnt find the loophole. It also was upwards of $10,000 for the package.

I know the 450's will support a chip body. I dont see why a 350 wouldnt support one as well. What you need to do is find out what your wheelbase & axle length can support. You can not mount an 11ft Southco body on a truck that originally had an 8ft mason dump body on it. You will find a bunch of used Asplundh dumps in 11ft-12ft that are made by Southco, check tree trader

 

[kkottemann]

I have a hook up on some really cheap used F 350's. I know I have seen dump beds on 350's before. mabe not a southco though. But with that said, I will have to check into it a little more. I surely do not want to make something that is not rated for the work, and if southco will not sell for a 350 than that tells me something. thanks

 

[kennertree]

Just sent you a pm kkottemann.

 

[NORTREE]

G & A Equipment sells them used in Tenessee for $1800. http://www.gaeq.com/index.cfm?fa=equipment.detail&id=4447
I know a couple of people that have bought them and one of them has had one of these on an F350 for about 10 years. The weight distribution on the axles can be a concern.

 

[TexasTreemonkey]

F-350s dont have the boxed in frame like the 450 and 550s do. the axle itself will hold the weight but the springs need to be stiffened up. Trust me, i just put a flatbed with gin poles on my 350 and i dont like it.

 

[CLEARVIEW TREE]

All fords

All ford F series through f550 have the exact, same frame, only diff is the brakes, rear end, t-case, springs,and etc. But i repeat they've got the same frame and it is dam tuff too. My buddy has got an 04 f450 and i got the same frame on my 01 f250 except it's not a duall wheel vehicle!! He just put a rerall heavy 12 ft dump on the 450 and no problems to speak of. Now the f-650s and up are a totally different vehicle.

 

[Magnum783]

To make a 350 support any load you would like purchase a set of timbren spring rubbers. I bought a set of them for my 07 dodge so I could haul my encloased trialer with out a problem and they were superb. It took me all of 15min to install them and half of that was finding tools. They worked great under a load theyir is no more squating and still have an OK ride. Best part is they cost less than $160. I bought my from trucksprings.com.
Jared

 

[Greenstar]

Converting a normal wheelbase pickup to I-box & 7' dump.

Hello, I figured I'd ad to this column/thread, as I am about to convert a Dodge 3500 Cummins diesel into a small chipper truck. I currently roll with a F350 with standard mason dump bed with tall box built up on it. Surprisingly it holds a lot of chips! Obviously I would like a "real" chipper truck when if possible and we ever branch out, but for now most of our business is downtown, in Boston, Cambridge, small streets, etc.. We have a niche there, so the smaller wheelbase, smaller, more maneuverable truck serves us much better. We're not ready to covert to a topkick with arbor-body, or bucket rig yet, which of course I am torn, but not yet! We'd need a detail for most of our jobs.

Anyway,
MY QUESTION:
I'm going to take off the pick-up bed and sell it.
I want to put an I-box on, and then a slightly shorter 7' dump bed (I will have to extend the frame about 10 inches, I have already measured.) and then retrofit a shortened dump body/bed that is probably cut shorter (as most are probably at least 8').
SEE, I have read that when hauling weight safely in a truck, weight distribution must be centered over rear axle!
(And sure enough, if you measure the axle placement on a standard 8' long 1-ton dump, it lays at about 4' mark.) In otherwords, its about centered underneath the rear bed.

If I were to put the I-box in, and a 7' Bed, the bed would lay about 3 feet in front, and 4 feet behind rear axle! (I know the numbers don't totally matchup, but I'm telling you, it would be about like that on this truck w/ the 2' wide I-box!)
Do you guys think this is unsafe for the hauling of chips and chipper, or wood and chipper on occasion, as long as we are careful?
Also, at about cab-roof height, I want to extend the chipbox over the I-box some, to take advantage of some extra square-footage! I hope I can, or an experienced welder can engineer something stable and strong enough to pull off this design.
I want to build this compact rig so bad! Then convert it to grease!

PS. I seriously debated the option of buying the slightly longer wheelbase truck, which is better for the full bed + I/L-box, but drove them and they're much harder to turn, and u-turn, and back into driveways. I really do not want to go with a truck even 2' longer such as these..

Thanks,
Ben (in Boston)
'The Greenstar'

 

[woodchux]

Dont do it.... The D.O.T. will burn your ass!

 

[Greenstar]

Its not gonna look real shady or anything!, not to mention not a whole lot heavier! If anything it will be lighter than my current rig!
This is not a whole lot different than what I will be doing http://equipment.treetrader.com/index.php?a=2&b=1995 . And mine will be lighter, because it won't be made of steel like this.

How could they know to bust me?
And who are you anyway!?

 

[pdqdl]

If you put more bed behind the axle than in front of it, when the bed is full you will over-load the rear axle and lighten the front axle. Your truck will become unstable and dangerous to drive.

Adding to the front of the bed by overhanging the cab would be one way to equalize the load, but you will need to be careful not to overload the front axle on partial loads.

If you are going to extend the frame, you should be able to build it so that the load distribution is correct.

 

[woodchux]

How could they know to bust me?
And who are you anyway!?

They will pull out mobile scales and weigh you on the spot..
I'm just trying to help you avoid fines.... do what you want.
Once they pull you over you better have a fire extinguisher , safety triangles, current medical card, DOT annual inspection, and much more!

 

[Greenstar]

..., not to mention not a whole lot heavier! If anything it will be lighter than my current rig!
This is not a whole lot different than what I will be doing [here in this pic] http://equipment.treetrader.com/index.php?a=2&b=1995 . And mine will be lighter, because it won't be made of steel like this.
...

pdqdl.... do you mean overhanging the box? Yes, I intend on doing this. It would be much like the truck in the pic in the link above except lighter I'm sure, and the overhang greater I would like.

 

[pdqdl]

The overhang on the rear of the axle should not be greater than the overhang in front of the axle. Even 50:50 is a disaster waiting to happen.

I often see 8' salt spreaders mounted on one ton trucks with 12' beds. WAY too much weight on the rear axle, the only thing that saves them is the snow plow mounted on the front. Take off the plow, and the axle is lighter than an empty truck, with the front end high and the tail squatting from all the weight.

Don't do that to yourself if you can avoid it. You'll be cutting and welding, just make sure you do it in the right places. It's pretty easy to modify the frame to fit the box and cab just right. Then move the axle down the frame to where you need it to be. Those spring hangars are not that hard to move. Then lengthen the drive shaft, and you have a good job, instead of a waste of time.

Most driveline shops will cut out the tube and make the driveline fit for a fairly nominal price. Shucks, I've even done it myself, but you need to be pretty careful to not make one out of balance.

 

[Greenstar]

Ok, I hear ya.
Although I think I've measured 1 tons, and the bed is about centered over the rear axle 50/50, from what I can remember on my F350 mason dump, factory set-up.
But I hear ya.

So from the looks of that pic in the link above, it does kinda look like its too much for that truck, no??


And so you are saying to move the axle down the frame some, relocate spring mounts, extend drive shaft and brake lines, and extend the frame to fit new box? You've seen it done and its not too hard for a competent average welder? I am crafty dude, so if someone can do it, I can! I need to think about this.

BTW, sorry for all the questions, but is it true that those arborboxes (the ones on most Asplundh trucks that are for sale on Ebay) are made of steel and quite quite heavy! Too much for my truck, right!?
Much heavier than using wooden 2'x6' sides?
Or how about aluminum??
Have you seen Able's old truck he just sold, advertised on this site made of aluminum? Nice design!!

 

[bendtrees]

Greenstar,

I like your idea, I admit I am a bit smitten with the idea of everything getting smaller and "greener." I think a 1ton toyota dually on grease or bio with a smaller diesel chipper would be really cool. I don't know how feasible it is. I just keep thinking of an economic worst case scenario where all of a sudden everyone wants firewood over 6" diameter and I can leave it all at the curb. I always regret chipping big wood anyway.

 

[Greenstar]

I leave wood everywhere. People will take ANYTHING for free, as long as you provide the right outlet. ####, I carry cans of spray paint in the truck. I'll grab a scrap of wood, or cardboard box, and write "free wood -->" w/ and arrow pointed down the street, and put the sign up at the corner.
I also ran an ad on craigslist ONCE for free firewood. I got about 25 responses within 24hrs and had to pull my ad. Now I have a long list of people who will come get it. (of course you want to be a professional outfit, and liability issues tho, so u don't want random people walking on all your customers properties all the time.) But it works.
With the economy, and cost of fuel, at least out East in the city here. People want free firewood. You can give almost anything away for free. So we try not to lift a single log if we dont have to..
Wow, that was long!
My friends in Colorado have written right on their estimate sheets in fine print. "All good firewood will be cut into 4 foot lengths, or manageable sized pieces and piled in the vicinity of the tree." "Wood is a valuable natural resource, so we do not haul it to a landfills."

ANyway, I guess as a a smaller company, we can get away with that.
I guess it depends on the job, and the wood!
We roll try not to take wood , period!
Why truck it around, if its only going to get burnt anyway.
If you cut it up well enough for people to handle, and manage, and split themselves, they'll take it overnite if its out on the roadside.
Obviously sometimes its just easier to chip.
But depends on the situation.
I'm shooting for lowest possible overhead, because I'm also persuing a career in nursing! I cant do trees fulltime anymore dude! I'm going deaf in one ear. I have a bad rotator cuff, lower back, and getting arthritis in my hands from clenchin that rope so tight for 12 years!! Plus, I hate repeating myself to people, the same thing everyday. I could be content with 2-3 days of tree work per week.
Anyone else!?


Peace :greenchainsaw:

 

[ntsarborist]

did you try the junkyards? if your looking fr something just to get the job done then start calling around. take a ride thru the country too and alot of old farmers might have something that they would sell. if not its not really that hard to build one. they make these hydraulic pumps like what they use for lift gates on the back of trucks. those work great for domp boxes and are easy to hook up. hope things work out