So I mentioned in a previous post that I own a dump
truck.
I find that owning a dump truck has many advantages when you
live outside of the urban center, where you’ve got to do a lot of the things
that your local municipality would normally do for you.
For instance, the private road I live on is about a mile
long to my driveway, and my driveway is 1,850 feet long. That’s over a third of a mile of road that I
have to maintain all by myself, and another mile that me and my four neighbors
maintain between us. There is a gravel
pit 3 miles from my place, that charges 11.50 a ton for 5/8 minus gravel. Or, if you pick it up yourself in your own
dump truck, it’s 6 bucks a ton. That’s a
5.50 per ton savings for a six mile round trip.
Also, as the construction projects proceed, I find myself in
need of a dumpster to pick up all the non-compostable scraps. Drywall, plastic tarps, strapping, nails, etc
all add up. Instead of paying for a
dumpster, you just park your dump truck close to the site and use it for a
dumpster. The local transfer station
charges $60 a ton for garbage. Generally
I can fill the truck and go dump the load up there for $20 a pop. Just pull this lever right here…
It’s also very efficient for moving dirt around on my 25
acres. A ¼ yard tractor bucket at a time
for the length of the property takes years.
A 6 yard dump load at a time takes hours.
Now, about my truck.
She needs some help. Restoration
projects will commence sometime next year, but in the meantime, she’s going to
stay rusty and ugly. She’s a 1964
International Loadstar 1700. 27,500
pounds gross weight, and about a 6 yard capacity.
She’s got some rust, and she was 16 years old before I was
even born, but she runs good, works hard, and gets the job done. This truck is 52 years old, has ten speeds (5
speed transmission with a 2 speed rear end), and 180 blistering
horsepower. It’s a 345 cubic inch
gasoline engine, meaning my wife’s Tahoe has a bigger, more powerful engine in
it. She ain’t fast, but she gets the job
done.
I call her Mater, after the rusty old tow truck in the movie
“Cars.” You know, like “TO-mater” only
without the “Tow”.
Love it! Love the 5+2, I cut my teeth driving grain trucks and roofing trucks on that setup. If I had anywhere to put it, I've a line on a '56 International 6/4 ton. A little smaller than that, it'd be good for 20k gross, and needs a box.
ReplyDeleteAs for yours, she ain't real pretty, but looks damn functional. I know I'm plenty happy if people could say that about me.
Sit in that 56 before you get too excited. Unless your 90 pounds soaking wet those old trucks were not built for modern men. I think they either trained monkeys or hired midgets back then to drive their trucks.
ReplyDeleteI've got many a mile on it already, but I was younger at the time. My grandad bought it from the original owner, and we sold it at farm auction in 2000. Went to a guy in the valley that hasn't used it for years, and he only wants his money back out of it. Even that one is a little better in the cab than the one my dad kept- a 1947 Dodge D600, with a 14' wooden box. He hauled grain in it up to the last time he raised any- fill it as much as you want or as little, you'll get 48 mph at the governor. The '47 doesn't even have synchronizers in the tranny- now THAT separates the operators from the pretenders! The '56 has a factory 5 speed, an electric rear end, and the 256 straight six in it. I'm not 90lbs in my work clothes any more, but I bet I can remember how to drive it. I just have to convince Pop to go pick it up, then convince My Lovely Wife that we have a) need, and b) somewhere to put it.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to figure out how to get into classic car hauling, that'd be a good excuse...
What isn't sexy about a dirty dump truck? Even saying those words kinda sounds hot! I love trucks, in fact, the bigger the better. That old baby has still got plenty of life in her, and I can imagine what it feels like to be riding in the passenger seat barreling down the highway with a heavy load in the back.
ReplyDeleteElna Avery @ Hansen & Adkins Auto Transport
ReplyDeleteThis is really a very good blog and thanks for sharing it with the community! Keep Posting Many Blogs Like this.
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