I don't know anything about the hauling weight ability of these larger size trucks. I can rebuild one but I don't know what size I would need for a 1500 gallon water tank...that would weigh a little over 12,000 lbs. It only needs to be used to haul water about once a month for about a 30 mile round trip. Or I could mount a smaller tank, maybe something around 1000 gallons and bring the load down to about 8,000 lbs.

Any advice is appreciated

 

A trucks' load carrying capacity is it's GVW less the weight of the truck itself. An old F600 probably had a GVW of 15000-17000 lbs depending upon axles, etc. and I'd guess the truck weighs about 4000 lb. That might work for you or you could move up to an F700.

 

Are you going to mount the tank to the chassis like a real tanker, or are you going to haul a tank on a flatbed? Your water will be 12,518 lbs, give or take depending on the actual amount.

I think you would be better off with a 1000 gallon tank on an F600.

 

Right now I'm just trying to figure out if it will be cheaper to buy an ugly old F600 or F700 to mount a 1500 gallon tank on the chassis, or to mount about a 1000 gal tank on a flat bed trailer and then can I haul that with a 1 ton truck? The winters can get pretty mean sometimes here, so I would prefer to not have a trailer. I currently only have a couple of half ton trucks and I think they would be limited to about a 500 gal tank on a trailer.

The land I'm am going to buy, should go through this Friday, doesn't have a good water source. It would take about $30K for a well and then another $30K to filter that water. The land is fenced and already has two 1450 gal cistern tanks, electricity, and a septic system, but no buildings. For now we will just be putting up a small shop with a bathroom, planting some flowering plants and trees, and moving some bees out there. Later will come the house and as much livestock as water permits.

Thanks for all your help, I am just learning about heavy hauling

 

Well, owning a medium truck can become quite a bit of fussing. It's not that they inherently troublesome, it's that an "ugly old" one is going to need care and feeding in the tire and brake area pretty much right out of the gate. No one in their right mind is going to load 8 or 12,000 lbs on an "ugly old" truck without looking at the brakes first hand. And brakes on these are a pretty good undertaking, due to the tire and wheel weight, and massive* torque requirements for medium truck lugs.

(*nit pickers note "massive" as compared to 1/2 ton trucks)

And tires and wheels.....money money money, especially if you have to pay a truck shop to deal with split ring wheels.

I know you don't want to make 6 trips to fill the tank....

Any other options? Know someone with a construction water truck for example?

Maybe a retired fire truck? Usually low miles, and over-maintained.

 

You're going to need at least a 26,000 GVW truck to pull this off, and 12,000 lbs is going to be pushing it even at 26,000 GVW.

Another thing to be aware of is you will need to get a tanker endorsement on your drivers license, unless your state has an exemption for farm vehicles and you are considered to be using the truck for agricultural purposes.

 

1973 F-600. 330 HD V8, 4-speed tranny/2-speed rear. Hydrovac hydraulic brakes. 13 foot flat bed with hoist (former grain truck, grain sides removed). Now 2 x 12 side boards & headache rack on bed, and some tool boxes on each side of frame. Good body & tires, mechanically excellent. 19,200 GVWR on left door rating plate. In my state, under 26,000 GVWR, farm use or personal non-commercial use only, no CDL required.

A few years ago, went to get 4 tons of driveway gravel. Me in the unloaded truck scaled out right around 7,300 lbs., give or take a few. Legally then, could have got 11,900 lbs (5.95 tons) of gravel. Probably should have too (could have used it all), but didn't want to over-load my toy. Decided 4 tons of gravel would be enough, weight-wise. Well under the GVWR.

A little nerve-racking on the drive home. While the drum brakes are quite adequate when empty, they're only good for looks when loaded down. Downshifting the tranny did far more for slowing down than stepping on the brake pedal I had to start planning my turns and/or stops several blocks ahead of time ! So the moral of this story is: If the brakes are worthless with 4 tons, what's another ton or two gonna' hurt?

So in retrospect, my truck in your situation could probably go either way. Throw a 1500 gallon tank on the bed, and limit it to about 1400 gallons to keep it legal . But, since my truck is more of a fun toy for driving, I'd probably go with the 1000 gallon tank and make more trips .

That's my truck and my mileage. Your truck & mileage may vary.

Paul.

 

I did not research this at the OPs state level, but I found something about a 1000 gallon limit for the tanker endorsement. OP should check the state department of motor vehicles or equivalent for his state's regs.

 

Thanks for all the info!

I do plan on overhauling an old truck if I end up buying one. I would replace all the brakes and wheel bearings, tires, and have a good look at the differential.

But with all the knowledge yall are helping me with it looks like I should just go with a heavy trailer and a 1000 gal tank. I have forgotten what the towing capacity of my 2013 F150 FX4 is, but I hauled a '67 F100 on a car trailer across the country just fine. It has the trailering kit with the electric brake controller. So I'm guessing that the F100 on a car trailer must have been around 8K lbs...right?

 

As handy and worthwhile as an F600 with a hoist on it was on our farm, I think the trailer idea might could be a winner. Check that tanker endorsement thing before you buy a tank.

Tires alone for that F600 would probably be a good chunk of the cost of a trailer.

OT but I can't believe drilling a well costs that kind of money. What's up with the water that you need such an expensive filtering set up?

Good luck with it.

 

East of Laramie there is a good aquifer, but out west it isn't very good. I can only buy 5 acres on the east side (with lots of covenants) for the price I'm paying for 63 on the west side. The well is estimated at 600 ft and I have seen water analysis from two wells in the area. The analysis is very high bicarbonate and sulfate levels, like around 3500 mg/L(not exactly). That is too much for even a normal reverse osmosis system to handle. Both people who drilled those wells said they shouldn't have bothered.

Yes, I think it will end up on a trailer. Much cheaper and less to maintain. Would it be terrible to pull about 1000lbs more than my truck is rated for? There aren't any mountains to cross, just some easy rolling prairie land, and then a couple miles in town. Only about a 30 mile round trip.

 

I won't tell nobody.....

Low speeds, light traffic, no major hills....Just make sure your trailer brake set up is 110% and no one will ever notice.

 

Thanks...I think that's what I will do so that I don't need to sell off my 2013 F150 to get an F250 or F350. Now I just have to wait for the shop to get built so I can have a place to weld up a trailer.
Thanks again for all the info

 

What kind of tank are you thinking about getting? Plastic or steel? 1000 gal of just water weighs approx 8000lbs, then add weight of tank plus the weight of trailer to figure your gross trailer weight. you'll be surprised how quickly it adds up. If you can get one with baffles!! Never pull with it partially filled, that water sloshing around can and will push your F150 around. If it's full the water can't move as much and is much safer. Just a few other things to think about. Good luck with your new adventure.

 

A Ford F-650 wil do the job.