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trucker40
12-13-2007 12:24:00
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Re: Dump Truck Suggestions in reply to Kentucky36, 12-13-2007 09:09:06
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You can look in the Truck Paper its online.Takes a little to figure out how to use it but its not hard.They have picture ads.For $12,000 my guess is an older model like in the 80s Ford Louisville or International,Freightliner,Volvo/White with a Cummins motor.You might find one for $12,000 you can use. You might have to get a truck with a L10 Cummins,then put a bed on it.If you can do the work yourself,cutting and welding,maybe you can build one for 12,000. I will try and describe what you want,you can find trucks that are cheap with 2 stroke Detroits in them,they will work but get about 3 miles to the gallon,make lots of noise,leak lots of oil,cost a bunch to fix.Thats if you can find somebody that knows how to fix it.They are a little hard to adjust the governor among other things,head gaskets blow easy because they dont really have a head gasket just grommets. There are old Caterpillar diesels that are good motors,but they more than likely were wore out when they were turned into a dump truck.You can probly buy a truck for what it costs to overhaul a Cat motor and its not easy to do if you didnt do it before.I seem to remember torque values of turn as tight as 180 foot pounds then turn 3 flats on a bolt head.That gets tight for a kid with a 6 foot pipe on a 3/4 drive breakover bar on your back underneath in a pool of oil. There are Volvo motors,Ford motors,and I dont know what all kinds of motors there are.Yeah they might have been good motors when they came out,but its hard to find parts for them,and hard to find people that can fix them. Then there are Cummins motors.Not real sure where they start,but I had a 220 Cummins in a Dodge cabover,no turbo,I think it was a 270 Cummins that had a turbo on it.The difference is the old 220s didnt have the oil rail drilled in the block for piston oilers,270,280,290,300,310,330,350,365,400,and 444 have turbos.Thats also the horsepower of the motor. 270,280 is way back there in trucks,probly late 60s,early 70s.Parts on outside of motor may be a problem if these motors arent used for something else like tractors or generator sets.Im sure if you have one of them,you can find the parts,it might be hard.Also all of the Cummins made up to I think the late 70s were the small cam design.More common motors that were small cams were 290,330,350,400.Those Cummins motors can still be found on the road,probly just 290,350,400.330 while good for its time,had a tapered nose crank that they quit making long ago,plus other stuff you want to avoid.There is a difference in the harmonic balancer on the old motors,I think its like the balancers on gas engines where it has a metal ring pressed on with a rubber piece separating the ring from the hub.Thats about the best way to tell what motor it is,2 piece harmonic balancer=old taper nose crank,small cam,harder to find parts,including crank,still could use one of these for a long time on a farm if maintained good. Then you have big cam motors in the late 70s that are the same basic motor as the 220-400 small cam,but are cast with a larger cam opening,I think an inch bigger,like the small cam was 2 in diameter,the big cam is 3 inch.All big cam blocks that I remember have a flat nose crank,and a oil damper for a harmonic balancer.The big cam went on,I have a 96 KW with a N-14 and the block is nearly the same. Big Cam motors were in series like Big Cam I,II,III,IV.Dont know about nowdays,but you could upgrade a 290 Big Cam I (meaning big cam one)to a 400 Big CamIII(or big cam 3) for about $2000.00 maybe less.Thats pistons,rings,sleeves,(wet)injectors,pump,turbo,exchange heads.I started on one of these on a Monday morning,it was out the door Wednesday after lunch.Did it all by myself,only worked 8 hours a day.That was 20 years ago though. Anyway thats the one you want,a Cummins with the big cam,its cast into the block says big cam on it.That is the 855 cubic inch block,which has had only minor changes since the 220 horsepower motor. There are other Cummins motors,a 903 v8,another small v8,a L-10. The only one you might want is the L-10.While they arent as durable as the 855 cu in,they could last a farmer a long time.They dont have as much power as the bigger 855,not much if anything will interchange,parts are higher than for 855.Way to recognize a L-10 is the valve cover is wedge shaped,made out of fiberglass or plastic or something. Drawbacks on these motors is that the older ones dont get as good fuel mileage,like about 4 miles to the gallon,then you can probly get a Big Cam III up to 6 miles a gallon,maybe more.A Big Cam IV(OR 4) has a lot of different bolt on features,one that I remember was a more efficient oil cooler thats square looking,low pressure water system,and the main bolts arent as big around.Never worked on those much,mostly in cabovers and got replaced with N-14 where I worked,which is an electronic engine.You dont want an electronic engine unless you can afford a new one.A N-14 can be converted to a non electronic motor but fuel mileage suffers,it drops from 7mpg to 4.5 mpg. Big Cam IV motors are real good,possibly capable of running a million miles without overhaul.So can N-14.Big Cam III motors not a million miles,but with a good maintenance program,and water filter changed when it needed it 6-700,000 back in the 80s.They can be upgraded to a low pressure water flow and run further nowdays. I remember that 444 motors,(Cummins answer to the 425 Cat in the late 80s) had some problem with heads cracking,but I dont know much about them,never worked on one except to adjust the valves on it.They were a lot like a N-14.They had different heads than a 400 Big Cam IV.I dont know but they may have close to the same heads as a N-14.Not sure about that,I dont think the first ones were electronic. The best,most dependable ones are 290,300,350,400 Big Cam engines made in the late 70s to mid 80s.They can be upgraded to near Big Cam IV specs,and get from 5-6 mpg.Might be better on a dump truck,depends on how many hills,how much wind,how fast you can get up to speed,aerodynamics,(old KW T600s are about as god as you can get for aerodynamics)how much air pressure in your tires,rolling resistance of your tires,overdrive transmission in high gear.All this adds up to money in your pocket. Other things to consider,you could get a truck that was real hard to work on,like a White Road Boss.Half the motor is in the cab,other half smashed btween frame rails and radiator.Looks hard to work on,but after you spend half a day removing stuff to get to the motor,not as bad as a Louisville Ford with a 855 Cummins.Then the hardest job of all that I remember is to change a clutch in a White Road Boss.Back motor mounts are on the transmission,you have to loosen the radiator,jack up motor after you get bolts out of mounts,and a lot more just to get the transmission out.I have seen guys quit after working on one of these. Easier trucks to work on are Freightliner,Kw,International,Ford(not so easy on the motor on Louisville with Cummins)Mack,Marmon,WesternStar. Gas burners might be found for less,but they dont have the power,arent made to take the big loads,dont have the brakes unless they have air brakes.Gas motors dont last as long,and dont get very good fuel mileage when you work them hard.Hauling rock,unless you have air brakes,you dont have much of a dump truck,which means its dangerous to have your non stopping gas burner on the highway.Also even tuned up as good as you can get it,souped up,whatever,you can haul more loads a day with a diesel.Thats more money in your pocket,less danger to you and the public. Even with a heavy duty diesel hauling rock is not easy,takes a lot of maintenance.The best thing you can do is look your truck over all the time.If you have a broken spring,fix it,bad tire change it.The DOT likes looking at dump trucks it seems.The environment dump trucks live in calls for a lot of broken springs,torn up tires,you name it.Another thing that helps is wash your truck when you can.That stuff there is money in your pocket.If the DOT stops you and sees that you keep up your truck they ease up on you.May even help you when you buy your insurance if you have a good rating with the DOT.
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