What happened to all the auctions?

[FDouglass]

I know this is a touchy subject, I read the rules, just hope I didn't miss anything.
So I'm new to the forum, and very new to Unimogs. I have research them to the point I decided to buy a FLU419 instead of a backhoe to do all the work on my property. ie: septic system, foundation, winter snow removal, etc. etc. I had to wait on the sale of my house before purchasing. As soon as my funds were available there are zero auctions out there with them for sale. The prior three months or so there were hundreds. Can anyone shed any light on this. Is it seasonal? Or just the way the cards fell?

Also, the price differences between auctions and private sellers is massive. 4 to 10 times more. Are these units that are sold at auction usable? Or do you have to drop 5k-10k or more into them before they are a reliable unit?

I hope I didn't cross any boundaries with the rules. Just trying to understand!

 

[NDT]

There are dozens of these waiting to be sold by Govplanet at Red River. They are all pitiful having been parked in the woods for years. That's before the GP people start handling them with a forklift, then the real damage begins.

 

[FDouglass]

NDT, so I guess that means you have to dump a ton of money into them before they are reliable. Along with why every single one of them has the exact same damage to the exhaust and rear suspension?

 

[NDT]

Read the FLU thread as to the frustrations people go through to fix these. If you need a machine to move dirt and not have to sink weeks of wrenching into, get a Case 580.

 

[FDouglass]

Ok. Will do. Thanks

 

[The FLU farm]

There are dozens of these waiting to be sold by Govplanet at Red River. They are all pitiful having been parked in the woods for years. That's before the GP people start handling them with a forklift, then the real damage begins.

That can be a blessing in disguise. My latest purchase, meant to be a parts car, is very nice due to having been shaded from the sun.
Hoses, paint, and such look like everything was put together only a few months ago. Aside from forklift damage, it's probably the nicest one I have.
Yes, it took a few hours to clean out the fuel lines and get it started, but I'm getting better at that procedure.

 

[quickfarms]

If you want equipment that is in working condition but do not want to pay retail then go the the commercial heavy equipment auctions and buy the rental equipment, this stuff is usually in good shape and was working until it went to the auction but it won't be cheap.

My advice is to take a heavy equipment mechanic with you to the preview.


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[General Hood]

Red River allows previews if you call ahead. If you go with the attitude everything will be less than pristine you won't be as disappointed . Some are close to being re-claimed by mother earth, others are like the one FLUFarm won. Non runners are a gamble though

 

[The FLU farm]

Non runners are a gamble though

I'd rather win a non-runner than one that GP has managed to start. Not only do they cost much more, but there's a good chance that the hydraulic cylinder seals are still in good condition if GP hasn't operated anything without cleaning the crud off the rods first.

 

[FDouglass]

Thanks for all the advice and help so far. I have been ripping motors apart since I was a child. Have been rebuilding my own motors and doing all my automotive work other than alignments and transmission/transfer case rebuilds for 30 years. Every day driver is a 92 Dodge ram W250 extended cab 1st gen Cummins. (A bad ass bitch) Which I also maintain/ repair completely myself. I am not saying I'm an expert by no means, but I definitely know my way around automobiles and equipment. Just don't want to pay 7K for one and then drop 20 K into repairs. When I could buy one for 20K already refurbished.

When it comes to finding parts for these FLU 419's, are they readily available? Or are they hard to find? I hear a lot of talk about buying an entire unit for Parts. Is that because parts are not available, or because it's just cheaper to buy a unit and pull parts off of it as needed?

 

[The FLU farm]

Just don't want to pay 7K for one and then drop 20 K into repairs. When I could buy one for 20K already refurbished.
When it comes to finding parts for these FLU 419's, are they readily available? Or are they hard to find? I hear a lot of talk about buying an entire unit for Parts. Is that because parts are not available, or because it's just cheaper to buy a unit and pull parts off of it as needed?

I can't say with any certainty, but I'd think that the "refurbished" 20K ones mostly have had the fluid levels checked, and given touch-ups or new paint. Plus, hopefully, any issues taken care of. All of which it sounds like you could handle yourself - and probably better, since you're not doing it for resale.

Parts, well some are near unobtainium it seems like, but mostly they're readily available from several sources. Finding the anti-freeze (alcohol) reservoir for a FLU is apparently not easy, but on the other hand, it would be painfully simple to make one.
As always, it's cheaper and more convenient to have a parts car if you need enough parts. Or, if you have two semi-crappy ones, with some luck you can make one good out of them.
Since you'll be using a SEE as the tool it is, and probably isn't worried about originality, I'd say go for it. You can buy an awful lot of parts for the price difference between a decent backhoe and a SEE.

 

[simp5782]

You can buy parts SEEs off GL for cheap. If you find one at auction at Red River i can look at it on monday. There are some good ones and some junk.

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[peakbagger]

Thanks for all the advice and help so far. I have been ripping motors apart since I was a child. Have been rebuilding my own motors and doing all my automotive work other than alignments and transmission/transfer case rebuilds for 30 years. Every day driver is a 92 Dodge ram W250 extended cab 1st gen Cummins. (A bad ass bitch) Which I also maintain/ repair completely myself. I am not saying I'm an expert by no means, but I definitely know my way around automobiles and equipment. Just don't want to pay 7K for one and then drop 20 K into repairs. When I could buy one for 20K already refurbished.

When it comes to finding parts for these FLU 419's, are they readily available? Or are they hard to find? I hear a lot of talk about buying an entire unit for Parts. Is that because parts are not available, or because it's just cheaper to buy a unit and pull parts off of it as needed?

I don't think anyone out there refurbishes them, they just buy one that was refurbished recently by the army at auction and then resells them as is. Others buy one and start rebuilding it but lose interest. I got one of those and the repairs he did were good but he obviously didn't use it lot and I had lots of bugs that I am still dealing with. Unless you get a recent refurbed rig, plan on a buying a set of replacement tires and expect that you need to replace the majority of the hydraulic hoses due to sun cracking. More than few of us have cylinder leaks. Seal kits are available but not a lot of folks have the tools required to rebuild cylinders at home. Apparently getting the caps unscrewed is major effort best left to shop with the right gear.

Your speculation on parts is spot on. Parts and shipping are expensive if they are available and buying a good parts rig will most likely save you in the long term but realize the parts vehicle may have the same bugs as your primary one. Several members bought SEEs for parts and decided they were too good for parts.

 

[FDouglass]

You can buy parts SEEs off GL for cheap. If you find one at auction at Red River i can look at it on monday. There are some good ones and some junk.

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I'm still trying to figure out how all this works. Correct me if I'm wrong. Red River is the US government maintenance facility that all of the SEE's are at. But GP does all of their auctions. I haven't seen one up for auction through GP in almost a month.

 

[simp5782]

SEEs can be at several places. And yes they have been dry. They got tired of relisting and not selling cause people did not want to spend the high price

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[FDouglass]

Got it, thanks for your help! I have spent hundreds and hundreds of hours searching for these things in the past six months. It just so happened that when I was ready to buy it dried up. I'll let you know when I find one, hopefully you're in the area.

 

[MWMULES]

This is how fast they can go, this is an areal pic of hundreds and at one time there were thousands of M939 series cargo trucks and photo is less than 2 years old. They were stored out there to be rebuilt funding was cut, there are zero there as of last Tuesday. A lot were sold via auction and over 3K+ were sold off in large lots to scrappers. Those lots are now empty except for a few MV's that are waiting for GP to put them up for auction, with most being a 3 axle bulk trailers maybe 20 of them. https://www.google.com/maps/place/R...dd89d558fdaa01!8m2!3d39.0608483!4d-96.7655749

 

[General Hood]

This is how fast they can go, this is an areal pic of hundreds and at one time there were thousands of M939 series cargo trucks and photo is less than 2 years old. They were stored out there to be rebuilt funding was cut, there are zero there as of last Tuesday. A lot were sold via auction and over 3K+ were sold off in large lots to scrappers. Those lots are now empty except for a few MV's that are waiting for GP to put them up for auction, with most being a 3 axle bulk trailers maybe 20 of them. https://www.google.com/maps/place/R...dd89d558fdaa01!8m2!3d39.0608483!4d-96.7655749

If you drive 1-30 between Texarkana and New Boston, GP has an off post storage field with an assortment of 5 tons and SEEs, you can kinda see it from the highway if you're looking. I took the service road a while back to have a looky lou drive by, and those vehicles are overtaken by briars and saplings, and most likely infested with rats. One day they will be dragged out and placed for auction

 

[NDT]

If you drive 1-30 between Texarkana and New Boston, GP has an off post storage field with an assortment of 5 tons and SEEs, you can kinda see it from the highway if you're looking. I took the service road a while back to have a looky lou drive by, and those vehicles are overtaken by briars and saplings, and most likely infested with rats. One day they will be dragged out and placed for auction

The yard on the I-30 feeder road in New Boston is Red River Parts and Equipment, unaffiliated with GP. GP has a new yard on US 82 near the main entrance of RRAD.

 

[porkysplace]

I don't think anyone out there refurbishes them, they just buy one that was refurbished recently by the army at auction and then resells them as is. Others buy one and start rebuilding it but lose interest. I got one of those and the repairs he did were good but he obviously didn't use it lot and I had lots of bugs that I am still dealing with. Unless you get a recent refurbed rig, plan on a buying a set of replacement tires and expect that you need to replace the majority of the hydraulic hoses due to sun cracking. More than few of us have cylinder leaks. Seal kits are available but not a lot of folks have the tools required to rebuild cylinders at home. Apparently getting the caps unscrewed is major effort best left to shop with the right gear.

Your speculation on parts is spot on. Parts and shipping are expensive if they are available and buying a good parts rig will most likely save you in the long term but realize the parts vehicle may have the same bugs as your primary one. Several members bought SEEs for parts and decided they were too good for parts.

The only "special tool" you need to rebuild the cylinders are the spanner wrenchs to get the end of the cylinder out. They are available at your local case dealer and not all that expensive . I don't know how many sizes there are on the SEE but my 580 SK only has 2 or 3 different sizes .

edit : It looks like you can get a universal size spanner wrench for $73 . It will pay for itself after rebuilding 1 cylinder compared to labor costs at a hydraulic shop.
http://www.epsstore.com/index.php/cas1456.html