Is this truck sufficient as a chipper truck?

[Apachedesert]

I have 2 3500 chevys as chip trucks,had them for years. What does the chipper weigh?

Sorry, forgot to reply re. chipper weight. I do not have a chipper yet. My eyes are on constant red alert for the right truck and chipper situation. I may be putting the cart before the horse by looking at trucks first. I just don't know. I am just trying to buy when the right situation is staring me in the face.

 

[lone wolf]

Sorry, forgot to reply re. chipper weight. I do not have a chipper yet. My eyes are on constant red alert for the right truck and chipper situation. I may be putting the cart before the horse by looking at trucks first. I just don't know. I am just trying to buy when the right situation is staring me in the face.

Well you best figure out the chipper weight first. A3500 with gas power wont be good for towing a 10,ooo lb chipper I can tell you that! More like 5 or 6 thousand pounds.

 

[fordf150]

as much as i hate to say it....buy the chevy. that old ford will be a turd unless someone has done some work to it plus it has a weak transmission. realistically you can probably load them the same and they would pull the same. they should be very close in GVW....they have made some big strides in what they rate trucks for and that old ford is rated pretty low by today's standards

front end maintenance will be less on the ford if your going to put any serious miles on it though since it should be a solid axle/leaf spring

 

[firmwood]

I have the exact same truck. Bought it with a smoked auto gearbox. So I sold the big block junk so it would finish paying off the truck it came out of, stuffed in a fresh and tight 350 with a nv4500 behind it. Added a pto so it dumps and drives auxiliary snap couplers for my other hydraulic goodies I pull.

I do everything in overdrive for past 10 years, and still do. Still the same engine, gearbox and , same junkyard clutch I stuffed in it. Flywheel I found laying in the dirt was nasty rusty, so I sandblasted first.


It's all how you run it, not what you put in it.

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[ChoppyChoppy]

Well you best figure out the chipper weight first. A3500 with gas power wont be good for towing a 10,ooo lb chipper I can tell you that! More like 5 or 6 thousand pounds.

Why not? I've towed my ~14,000lb trailer (skid steer loaded on it) with my C30, had 2 cords of wood on the truck too. Truck only has a 160hp 5.7L. Wasn't going to win a race, but still did the job.
The 8.1L is easily twice the motor as my old worn out small block.

 

[lone wolf]

Why not? I've towed my ~14,000lb trailer (skid steer loaded on it) with my C30, had 2 cords of wood on the truck too. Truck only has a 160hp 5.7L. Wasn't going to win a race, but still did the job.
The 8.1L is easily twice the motor as my old worn out small block.

Because it beats on the transmission and overheats the brakes IMOHO. The Chipper should not weigh more than the truck. What does your C30 weigh?

 

[lone wolf]

http://www.trailerlife.com/trailer-towing-guides/

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Because it beats on the transmission and overheats the brakes IMOHO. The Chipper should not weigh more than the truck. What does your C30 weigh?

About 7000lbs I believe. I have some weigh slips somewhere from when it was used to haul gravel. (haul 3 yards of gravel at a time, 5 yards topsoil).

Going to be pretty rare that the truck will weigh more than the trailer though. I'm not too familar with small chippers, only one I've been around was a Morbark that needed a semi truck to tow.

 

[firmwood]

Yeah,. A few years I pulled a mobark tub grinder with a v12 cat.

Semi was like a quarter of the trailer in weight.

Bitch pulled hard. I remember breaking loose on dry pavement trying to make an intersection


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[nwmo_aggie]

Because it beats on the transmission and overheats the brakes IMOHO. The Chipper should not weigh more than the truck. What does your C30 weigh?

I run a 8.1 + Allison, you'll win the race, as long as it's not very long, heavy pull gets me down around 8, long easy runs up to 12mpg...a long race and I'd need to budget a pit stop for fuel. My pickup tare is about 7000# and regularly pull a flatbed with skid loader or tractor putting me up around 18-20k. Hp is not an issue, traction can be occasionally when I'm out in a field.

That Allison will hold it, same trans guys are running behind 500+ hp duramax.

You will find most likely that the 8.1 has a tick, most do, and if you run the light oil the mfg suggests, it will use a little. I'm running Rotella synthetic 5w-40 and both have gone away. Like most GM of that vintage, budget a fuel pump if it hasn't, which would be easy with a dump bed.

I can't speak for your specific use, but that's a solid chassis.

 

[birddogsrule]

What 12 inch chipper? I have a Morbark slide boom 12 with a 903 Cummins that in itself is too much for a one ton to pull

 

[firmwood]

Bah. Get it heavy enough then there's no need to worry about stopping, as no need to stop if you can't get going!

I just hauled 4 trailers from Ohio to Michigan with my '91 3500 srw. Nice and tight 1960s flat top pistons 350 with 4barrel with a nv4500.

Once in high gear, the next down shift is into a gas station. Hahaha.

1st trailer is a 5th wheel with a Reese, that's the trick! And a controller good enough for 6 axles if needed, which I did.


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[birddogsrule]

Whats the gross weight of that setup? My chippers 18K empty, No one tons ment for that. I'll stick with using my 10 wheel Mack DM 685,I'm not going to jail for an over weight accident. Have a friend who was towing a backhoe on a 9 ton trailer with an F600,got in an accident ,a 7yr old girl died and he did 2 yrs in jail.Trucks are designed for specific weigh ratings,just cause you can doesn't mean you should! Then again Americas a free country ….do what ya want.

 

[firmwood]

Yet my vw is rated for 3500 over in the UK, but only 1k# in the US.

Same boat different oar.

I made sure all 6 axles had functional brakes.

We both know there's individuals that's done my disaster without trailer brakes.

And I honestly am not sure what I was rolling around for weight.

Probably less then when I hauled 2 trucks up from Florida doing the same ordeal. Left with an empty truck, scored 2 trailers and 2 trucks, ended up back in Michigan empty.

With a jb welded head I botched up in an auto zone, on a miserable hot parking lot, with tools I bought and returned.

I made it though, and $4k in the pocket.



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[Ted Jenkins]

If your truck is a little small do not fill it up all the way. Also if you are chipping a green Oak it will be super heavy compared to a dry Fir. Thanks