I try not to let folks get to me on forums, although of the dozen or so forums I have frequented over the years this has been the most hostile one yet. I have spent many years helping people out on truck and tractor forums so I know how much work it is and I know how easy it is to be tempted to berate the newbie. But there has been a lot of good posts and help here already so its worth putting up with the folks who enjoy degrading others. Most probably drive minivans and live in apartments.
Anyways thanks to all the nice people who have helped me so far and I promise I will do some of my own leg work and read up on this when I get time. Lately I have been so busy with work that I work from 6am to 6pm then do paperwork until near midnight so extracurricular activities like reading up on 5 tons have been put on the back burner.
The way I got into this is I was doing a job at the DRMO office and noticed all the big trucks driving out. Talking to the folks that worked there they said most all of them ran and had very low miles and were basically brand new just sat around for years. They claimed that these trucks were fine to buy then drive straight cross country. They also require appointments and are a bit of a headache to schedule previews, then you have to preview and bid on dozens of trucks before catching one cheap enough to win the bid so it didn't seem worth it.
I assumed it was like buying a good used car that has been meticulously serviced and maintained and I was assured they would be safe to drive the 6 miles to my buddies mechanics shop where I had scheduled them to get a complete going over and repair. You'd think that the government guys that do this for a living every day would have warned me or at least mentioned it if these things were unsafe to drive. Instead they assured me that it was in great condition, well maintained and ready to go.
As for the recovery, what the heck is that, terms like recovery aren't used in the normal world I come from. But I admit my truck and trailer were over loaded however at no point did it feel unsafe, The trailer is a 2010 30' gooseneck that is well built and rated for 23,000 pounds and has very good tires and brakes, the truck is a modified powerstroke and has a modified tranny and high end brake controller, in fact I had to turn the controller down a tad as it locked up the wheels during a test stop as I was leaving the lot. The truck has a 30k rated ball and hitch in it too. As for loading the truck, the DRMO guy on the big loader said park there and he shoved it on the trailer, there was no room to turn the rig around. He had to knock, and I mean knock several other trucks out of the way to make room to get in to it. Notice that I stopped the dumper as far back over the trailer axles as possible to distribute the load as even as I could under the conditions. Again, this was a 6 mile trip during a low traffic time at slow speeds straight to the mechanics shop. Oh, and the tag on the truck is a farm tag rated at 30,000 pounds, the trailer has a HD trailer tag. I got seven tractors, a backhoe, 6 trailers, and a 30' camper that I haul on a regular basis so I am no stranger to towing. The axle twisting on the one I drove made me far more nervous and thankful no one got hurt than the one I hauled.
So let the minivan and Subaru drivers fuss all they want I will still give the site and all the good helpful folks the benefit of the doubt and try and be a productive part of this community in the future. Hopefully work will slow down a bit in a few months and then I can take the time to learn the ins and outs of these beasts. Until then they will sit at the mechanics shop waiting for his and my time and TLC.
Nice dump truck though.
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<-- lets go get some if I'm ever in AL!
