Considering the purchase of a small dump truck (Advice?)

Hello everyone,
I am considering purchasing a small dump truck, 1ton Ford or Chevy. I would love a diesel but they seem a little more rare and somewhat precious. I was thinking about this as I have a small construction trailer that needs to be moved from job to job and my 4 cylinder Toyota struggles with it at times and I am slowly burning out the clutch. I was also thinking I could use it for coal pick up if needed as well as stone for my two driveways. My nephew is in need of a job so I thought I would run an ad for him for doing yard clean up and misc. other odd jobs. There seems to be a market for that sort of thing in my area. So any advice on what to look for and to avoid would be greatly appreciated. As always thanks for your input. NWB

I have a 1998 Dodge Ram work truck that keeps on running flawlessly. If I were to get another Dodge, it would be after 2001 when they replaced the front end with a better, more durable unit.

What's your budget?

Coal & stone hauling will be a few trips per year at most...How much income do you think your nephew can generate? Be realistic.

I'm not trying to talk you out of a truck, but a 1-ton dump in decent shape is not going to be just a couple grand...and the registration, maintenance, and insurance costs aren't peanuts either. A 1-ton cargo van might be another option to consider. Handy for your line of work, and great for towing a modest trailer.

With that said, I have a '99 F350 with a V10 and an automatic transmission. It has been a very rugged truck, but the annual cost of ownership far surpasses any coal delivery fees I am saving. It is one of those cases of needs vs. wants. I WANTED to be able to plow my driveway or haul something whenever I wanted...so I bought a truck.

The first thing is, spend some time under the truck, make sure the brake and fuel lines are in decent shape. I don't know what that liquid is that they spray all over the roads, but it eats steel like candy. Check everything, shocks, driveshaft(s), fuel tank mounts, frame, etc. Unless you plan on making a ton of money with it, stay away from a diesel. The cost of diesel is out of sight, they require frequent maintenance and are not forgiving like a gas job when you skip it. It adds a considerable cost to the truck too. It will also have to go to a pro if it needs work. Keep in mind, a one ton dump generally will not carry any more than a one ton pickup as a rule, that's why most have a mason body on them. Typically about 3-3,500#, that isn't going to haul much coal and even less stone. It will also require a commercial insurance policy so check with your agent to avoid a nasty surprise before you make a purchase and the registration is based on weight. Avoid off brand bodies and electric hoists if you can.
If you do this, get one with four wheel drive and a Fisher plow, that will keep him busy at both ends of the spectrum.

You probably won't make enough money to justify it. Having said that, if you really want a 1 ton dump truck, I'd look for a '99-2003 ford superduty. On the 4x4's you have to keep the front brakes in good shape - a warped or irregular front rotor or break caliper that's not applying uniform force to the rotor will take out your front unit bearings in a hurry, but other than that, they're great trucks - diesel or gas.

Hauling a load or hauling itself, the 7.3 diesel will get between 16-20 MPG in decent shape. Stay away from the 6.0, 6.4, or 6.7 unless you like poor fuel economy, high maintenance costs and poor reliability.

Having a number of diesels I disagree with coaledsweat. I've had an early 7.3 idi non-turbo and I have a '99 7.3 powerstroke and the diesel engine hasn't cost me anything additional in repairs over the life of the truck, with the exception of a blown turbo at 200,000 which was my own fault (truck pulling and overboosting stock turbo), the only things I've had to replace that were engine related in almost 300,000 miles is an o ring on the fuel filter bowl (ULSD created) and two or three cps's which is now fixed by an updated (and cheaper) part. My 7.3 IDI was super reliable, simple and parts were dirt cheap. My 7.3 powerstroke hasn't let me down at all and I know guys with the 5.4 and v-10 gassers who've had FAR more problems in less miles as well as having the engine worn out and tired before 200,000 when worked hard. My father is aproaching 500,000 miles on his '99 7.3 powerstroke and has original injectors, turbo, everything- only the IDM and the fuel filter bowl o ring has been replaced. Both my father and I are on our second transmissions (4r100 auto) and opted for HD rebuilds that should last for many hundreds of thousands of miles; we each got slightly over 200,000 miles out of the stock one - even though both our trucks were chipped with 80hp min and occasionally hauled heavy loads (air bags and truck+ trailer occasionally grossed 24,000lbs).

My nephew runs an oilfield services company in east texas/louisiana and they ran a number of diesel trucks, now, after heeding my advice and having many problems with other makes/ models, years of trucks, they run 99-03 7.3 powerstrokes exclusively and have greater reliablility. Those trucks are regularly hauling over 30,000lbs and are worked HARD. With EGT gauges, air bags, and a built 4r100 (BTS Arkansas) they have yet to have any major problems.

Berlin wrote:Having a number of diesels I disagree with coaledsweat.

I wasn't knocking the diesels, I just don't think it is a good application for what he wants to do. I just got rid of a '88 7.3 F450 with a reading dump body. The motor never had a wrench to it except tightening the belts and routine maintenance. That said, it was a heavy beast and more often than not, left deep ruts whenever it went over a yard.
I gave up with the small dump thing and went with a Kodiak @ 26,000# GVW. A years worth of coal in one trip. Note to Berlin: 3116 Caterpillar.
Make sure the kid knows exactly where the septic is before an adventure into someone's yard.

Thanks for the input guys as usual you all brought up things I may not have considered or didn't think it would be a big deal. I will check with insurance carrier before I pull the trigger on anything. I may shift gears and just go with a full sized pick up if the costs get out of hand. I was looking to spend less then $5,000.00. There was a 93 f 350 diesel with an almost new plow for sale about 2 weeks ago but that got snapped up very quickly. It looked mint from a short distance. I didn't stop as I was too tempted without any research having been done. I have also been waiting on my accountant to tell me the good news about last years tax situation. I have since found several gas models in the $3,000.00 range that look decent enough on Craig's list. An 88 Chevy and a 96 Chevy, both have mason dump bodies and plows. The older one has been on an Estate all its life and has 50k miles on it. Might be worth a look?

I'm not looking to make a ton of money off truck but it would be good if it would make enough to pay for itself. I have commercial lawn equipment as well and I could pick up a small landscape trailer and send my nephew out with that to turn a buck or two. He is a great kid and I was just thinking this might be a way of getting him started in an independent direction. Thanks again, I will keep you posted. NWB

Find the best bang for the buck--deisel, gas,ford, chevy, dodge--who gives a crap--PS--watch for overhead wires--ALWAYS

And big tree limbs, & arched bridges, if you running up this way.

It' soooo much fun running a commercial vehicle in the northeast!

HEHEHE Thanks for the words of wisdom freetown and Smitty!! Will do!