Self Loader - Need Opinions Please

[rocketnorton]

I cannot find a truck to haul my logs. Period. I can't cut if I can't get it hauled. Without the truck I am out of business. With the truck I have to feed and water the danged thing. Truck insurance is $600 per month if I am hauling for someone else. If I haul exclusively for myself insurance is $110 per month. Registration is $2000 per year. The payment would be $547.00 per month for 2 years. Fuel? Tires? Repairs? PIA factor?

I have three jobs that I can't even start on due to a lack of trucking. I am stuck cutting for someone else on an hourly basis which ain't worth the rate. My skidder has been sitting idle since the end of August.

A smaller truck might not make sense either since distances are typically 1-2 hours one way to whatever mill. At rates of between $26 and $30 per ton for dried out dead pine I doubt I can haul enough wood on a smaller truck to make it pay.

Without a truck I am done, but I don't think I can afford the truck.

Fug!

cant like that, but like yer sig line.

 

[troutbum]

Sounds like I'm pretty close to you, and we are having a hell of a time getting our logs hauled from the site in Grand Co. To our yard in Summit.

 

[nk14zp]

Who would be driving the truck?

 

[bnmc98]

How much wood are you putting out? Are you by yourself?

Sounds like somebody could make a business starting a trucking company.

Those aren't real good rates, you need a truck and a pup.

 

[SliverPicker]

Who would be driving the truck?

Me.

 

[SliverPicker]

If someone came here with three self loaders and six drivers I think they could run 24/7 if the mills would open the scales at all hours.

 

[SliverPicker]

How much wood are you putting out? Are you by yourself?

Sounds like somebody could make a business starting a trucking company.

Those aren't real good rates, you need a truck and a pup.

I'm by myself. I can put out a load every 1-3 days depending on the size of the timber. I am cutting and limbing by hand.

This is truck-length cutting.

 

[Skeans]

Has Colorado started to adopt the newer CARB emissions if they are talking about it, I'd stay clear of trucks because you'll need a 2010 or newer truck to comply

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[SliverPicker]

Not that I know of.

 

[Skeans]

I know Oregon and Washington have talked about doing it here

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[troutbum]

Sounds like somebody could make a business starting a trucking company.

A couple of my guys have talked about it, but i don't think they're quite smart enough to pull it off

 

[SliverPicker]

Who do you work for tb?

 

[troutbum]

Alpine tree, we do mostly residential work, but we are picking up more big (for us) jobs each season

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Depending on how the truck is setup and how you place the logs, it may work out that most of the weight is on the drives.
300k on a 15 yr log truck is quite a bit of miles though.

I'm not up to speed on Macks but I spent a while reading up online and I didn't see any talk about cam bearing being a normal problem for that series.

In any case, 16k is really cheap if everything else is fine. This is a normal 18 wheel setup long log setup right?

 

[SliverPicker]

Yeah. Its a normal 18 wheeled long logger. It seems to run great other than the Jake missing and not holding back like it should.

 

[northmanlogging]

to toss in my 2 cents, most of the self loaders I've seen without the drop axle have the bunks centered between the drive axles, more or less putting any weight on the drives and the loader being the only load on the steer axle, with a drop axle they move the bunk a few inches forward but not much say centered over the forward drive axle.

Anyway, a wonky jake and a goofy bearing my be expensive but from the sounds of it you may just need to go that route to stay working.

 

[northmanlogging]

Also there be several Self loaders for sale around here, some cheap, some not so cheap. A buddy sort of, just flew to Florida and picked up a loader truck and drove it home, took him 4 days, but now he can load his own logs.

 

[SliverPicker]

If only I had a crystal ball...

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I don't see how you could lose out at 16k for a pretty new truck. Heck if it was near here and we didn't already have 2 I'd be looking at it.

The ones I've seen come up for sale around that new were in the 60-100k area, depending on condition and setup.

 

[bnmc98]

At rates of between $26 and $30 per ton for dried out dead pine I doubt I can haul enough wood on a smaller truck to make it pay.
Fug!

Is that the rate the mill pays you? For Saw logs? Do you have to pay trucking out of that?