Hey guys, been a while, unfortunately it kind of hit the fan back around Christmas, and I haven't had much time since to get here.

Few updates since then, I'm now separated (sorry, that's good news, not the bad news.) Truck wise I haven't changed much, but, the bad news is that my old dually may have finally bit the dust. Using it a couple weeks ago on a job site, slipped off the side of a bank into a drop off of about 3' with a full load on it. The impact and twist then bent and cracked the frame at the back of the cab to a point where it's not really fixable. Fortunately the subframe for the dumpbed and hoist stayed straight, so I'll likely move it onto another truck.

Guess I'll have to get going on a truck overhaul soon.

 

Sorry to hear about your truck, man.

Got any pics of the carnage?

 

No pics of the break. Just even with the cross member that the rear cab mounts sit on, there's an oval slot in the side of the frame. Broke the bottom flange, up to that hole, and bent the section from there up to the top flange. Have about a a 4-6" droop in the driver's side of the frame from front to back.

It tore the cab mounts out of the driver's side of the cab too, so the entire cab has dropped now, and the gap between the driver's door and fender is screwed up. Doesn't surprise me when the fenders are totally rotted out though.

 

Ouch Mark that sucks!


Glad to hear from ya!

 

Been a busy winter, lots of snow at times to push, and in the midst of a large dirt (well, mostly mud) job too. On top of that wifey and I parted ways back at new years, so that has added onto the pile, as I've kept the hobby farm and junior is still living here with me for now.

 

oh tough times.sorry to hear.
that dually was a c&c too right? so you've got no dually parts to get right over to a srw.can you find a dually rear quick and which truck will you setup for heavy hauling now?
on the bright side,a least all the other rigs are 4x4,so you'll soon have a 4wd dually setup,but that'll mean you'll need to score some d60 4wd drw hubs too.

 

Nope, the dually was a factory pickup that I took the box off and switched to the flatbed dump. I have an extra dually rear end here, with 3.55 gearing, to match at least two of the SRW trucks here. The truck it will go into is the F350 SRW truck with the plow on it, and it'll get a cab swap while I'm at it.

I've also found another dually, it is a c&c, with a gasser in it, but it has a ZF5 with a PTO pump on it, and a flatbed dump, with the matching hoist that my current setup has. (My current hoist was a PTO pump setup, that I converted to run off an electric hydraulic pump by taking the valve off, and machining a block for ports.)

When you use a hoist designed for a 10-12' bed on an 8-9' bed, it gives a much steeper dump angle, ideal for some of the sticky clay soils around here. I think the floor will get replaced with a smooth steel floor this round too.

The current job I'm on should last another 2-3 weeks, then I'm hoping that I can devote most of April to doing truck work. The existing dually will likely get stripped for parts, and the balance scrapped out, the project truck will get the current sheetmetal scrapped out, and replaced, and the parts (gasser) truck with the other bed will also be brought home and stripped of what I want off it.

Guess I better get the excavator home for that to use it for the lifting!

To add to it all, I may be buying another small business that will require a mostly full time truck for it for the summer, so I really need to get trucks up and ready to go.

 

The good news is the wife is gone, so you can go back to rebuilding parts on the dining room table, and cleaning them in the kitchen sink!

 

sounds like a busy April planned and it doesn't involve no fooling around!
good luck.

 

Planning and what actually happens often differ though unfortunately.

Take a recent example.

A week and a half ago, I was told I was going to be taken off a job. Fair enough, it happens. Another, much larger contractor was given the balance of the job. That was Wed. By Monday, I get called to bring one machine back on site, as the contractor couldn't figure a way to do the job I had been doing with it. Told them I could work Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, the balance of the week I was booked. Saturday morning I get a call, could I work two machines, asap, on the same job. I could have worked all weekend if I wanted to. Said screw it, it can wait. Issue is that access to the site is VERY limited, and the other company is still onsite doing a portion of it. I can't work while they are, and vice versa. So, I'm basically going to run my stuff like a night shift, and start tonight around 9-10pm. Haven't told the customer yet, but they will be paying a premium for that part of it.

So, two weeks (last week and this) that should have been free for other things are now totally booked again.

 

Beats being bored, right?

 

Toss in a snowfall so I get to do an all nighter plowing and it starts to get interesting.

 

Hoping to fire up the tools Sunday and start stripping parts off the dually. The excavator will be coming home the first of the week, so when that happens I'll have an easy way to pick the bed and hoist off the back.

Hmmm, thinking some more. I may start working on the truck that is going to be the replacement, that way I can start adding the parts to it that come off the dually, and I don't need to handle them twice.