Welding Rig Pictures

[Rvannatta]

Thank you MAC702. I weighed the intire truck on a scale that a rock crushing outfit had. It weighed just over 10,000 lbs. As for the stopping distance I don't know, but its not very good. I might do a little test with it just to see.
I had a trailer that I had everything on before and I did not like that to much. For the jobs that I was at for a long time is was nice, but for the quick or smaller ones it was more of a paine than it was worth. I hope to step up into a one ton, but that might be awhile.

I guess the passion in the industry for using chronicly undersized trucks for
service and welding rigs escapes me. For anyone with a Ford mindset
Ford makes the F650 and F750 models which aren't that much more expensive
than a gussied up pickup, and for those not married to Ford, there are GMC's IH's and imported models as well.

Never the less, I frequent used equipment auctions and there is always a collection of Ford Superduties hanging around there, and they all have one thing in c ommon -- they are all used--- as in used up.

If you drive a F350 around empty most of the time, keep them on good roads, and maybe just pull the boat on saturday. they (and the chevy and dodge competitors will do just fine, but if you throw a ton of crap in the back of it and haul *** down a bad road every day they will flat out come apart.

I don'dt see the economics of using a truck that is going to tear itself apart in a year or two.

[chaikwa]

I guess the passion in the industry for using chronicly undersized trucks for service and welding rigs escapes me.

If you drive a F350 around empty most of the time, keep them on good roads, and maybe just pull the boat on saturday. they (and the chevy and dodge competitors will do just fine, but if you throw a ton of crap in the back of it and haul *** down a bad road every day they will flat out come apart.

I don'dt see the economics of using a truck that is going to tear itself apart in a year or two.

Well, with all due respect, let me enlighten you as to why some of us use these "chronicly undersized trucks".

In MY case, it is what I had and can afford. I'm trying to support a 160 acre farm, in part, with the income derived from my portable welding business, and I simply cannot afford to buy ANYTHING other than what I've been using since 1993. I would LOVE to have a 4700 series International, but I also need to have 4WD to get into some of the places my logging customers demand I go. To do that, I would need to spend at least 20 grand just for an International cab and chassis that would meet that requirement, and that's for something used, IF I could find one. New, I'd imagine it would run upwards of 50 grand. Then I'd need to build a body for it. And spend MORE money I don't have.

My 1993 Dodge weighs around 14,000 lbs with all my equipment on it, and it's been set up the way it is since it was new. (It's the only truck I've ever bought new!) It has served me quite well with over 660,000 miles on the original motor and drivetrain, and I don't think it's doing too badly. There's a lot to be said for regular routine maintenance!

Now, if you'd like to contribute to the 'New Truck Fund', I'd be more than willing to accept a donation!

chaikwa.

[Bulldog]

Rvannatta,
I'm not sure how to take your comments. I understand how nice it would be to have a larger truck some times but I'm very happy using a pickup truck. I for one like the way my truck moves down the road. I am especially happy when I'm coming out of N.Y.C. and there is bumper to bumper traffic and I have a 3-4000 lb block mold on the back and I have no trouble weaving my way through traffic. As far as trucks falling apart I can tell ya that my 98 Is a long way from being used up. As far as nice roads go I haven't seen many of thoughs up here. This time of year and over the next couple of months the plants and stone quarries that I work at will be full of tire sucking mud. Did ya notice the tires on my trucks. They aren't for looks. When my truck is loaded it's around 10 -11,000 lbs and when it gets stuck up to the bumpers it usually gets yanked out by a loader or something big. I still have to open a window on my side so my son can close the door on his side. At over 300,000 of very hard use the truck is still rattle free. Of coarse I'm not sure I could hear the rattles with the straight pipes. I'll stick with my pickup. Oh yea what does one of thoughs F 650s get for fuel mileage did I mention that my old Dodge gets 18-20 mpg loaded!
See ya,
(In my rear view mirrors)!
Bulldog

[J hall]

RV,
I think the answer to how long a truck will last depends on if it is driven by it's owner, or is it a company truck driven by an employee?
I too, have seen used up trucks at auctions, but I have seen old trucks with a lot of miles that were going strong. Providing that someone gives a crap about them.
Jeff

[trevwelder]

I guess the passion in the industry for using chronicly undersized trucks for
service and welding rigs escapes me. For anyone with a Ford mindset
Ford makes the F650 and F750 models which aren't that much more expensive
than a gussied up pickup, and for those not married to Ford, there are GMC's IH's and imported models as well.

Never the less, I frequent used equipment auctions and there is always a collection of Ford Superduties hanging around there, and they all have one thing in c ommon -- they are all used--- as in used up.

If you drive a F350 around empty most of the time, keep them on good roads, and maybe just pull the boat on saturday. they (and the chevy and dodge competitors will do just fine, but if you throw a ton of crap in the back of it and haul *** down a bad road every day they will flat out come apart.

I don'dt see the economics of using a truck that is going to tear itself apart in a year or two.

Hello. I would love to have F650 or F750, but I just can't afford that right know. Some day yes. I use the 3/4 ton because its what I got and its paid for. When I bought it it had 60,000 miles, now it has over 200,000 and still going stong. I do pull a camp trailer and a boat. Trailer is a 30' long Jayco and I pull a 16' water skiing boat behind that. In Idaho from bumper to bumper you can be 75' long. I pull 73' long. The 3/4 does does ok. I do wish it had a deisel, but it has a 460 and it is not good on gas.
But my welding business is growing all the time, so so maybe a better truck is in the future. Untill then the 3/4 will have to work.

[MAC702]

Hello. I would love to have F650 or F750, but I just can't afford that right know. Some day yes. I use the 3/4 ton because its what I got and its paid for.

The 3/4 does does ok. I do wish it had a deisel, but it has a 460 and it is not good on gas.
But my welding business is growing all the time, so so maybe a better truck is in the future. Untill then the 3/4 will have to work.

Ditto, ditto, and ditto.

Trust me, an F-550 is ON THE LIST. Meanwhile, I load and unload a bunch a crap every week, keeping my weight down for most jobs.

When I finally do get the bigger truck, I will sure miss the get-up-and-go of the big block 460 in traffic...

[JTMcC]

I guess the passion in the industry for using chronicly undersized trucks for
service and welding rigs escapes me.
If you drive a F350 around empty most of the time, keep them on good roads, and maybe just pull the boat on saturday. they (and the chevy and dodge competitors will do just fine, but if you throw a ton of crap in the back of it and haul *** down a bad road every day they will flat out come apart.

I don'dt see the economics of using a truck that is going to tear itself apart in a year or two.

Well I won't speak for the service truck/mechanics truck crowd, but I can speak for the pure d welding rig bunch. Pipeline welding rigs work on a right of way with limited space, putting a tire track outside the right of way in some cases results in getting run off, so most one tons get a foot or so bobbed off the rear of the frame just to improve manuverability. I don't think a welder in a F-650 size truck would even get a welding test, theres just no room on site for such a thing. A pipeline welding rig won't overload a one ton, all that's carried is welding gear, no iron, nuts, bolts, drills, chain falls, and all that other junk the average service truck accumulates.
As far as a F-350 tearing itself apart in a couple of years with a ton of stuff in the back, I drove a '83 F-350/6.9 all over the country with several tons on the back, the truck usually weighed right at 10,000 lbs. (and towed my travel trailer as well). On right of ways that require a tractor to haul the welders up the mountains, or thru the sand, or out of the mud. And after I retired it from the welding world it ran around here empty as a daily driver for several more years and when I sold it last year the doors still shut like a new truck, it didn't rattle or squeak, and was still a solid old work horse. On it's second diesel engine, I don't have any idea how many miles are on it but I'm guessing over 500,000. It's trucking around in the flagstone quarry's down the road from me now with a couple of tons of tools and a little Miller machine.
My '91 Dodge/Cummins was still chugging along when it went down the road in '02 with over 300,000 on it, it weighed around 11,500 on average. Almost every body I know drives a one ton welding rig and I've seen mid 80's Chevy/454's go 300,000 + miles. All fully loaded of course. So I disagree with your take on the longevity of one tons under hard use. Like someone already said, these are cases of the guy driving the truck being the guy paying for the truck so that makes a difference.
A friend of nime has a Peterbilt, bought new, with two Lincoln 500 amp machines, two LN-25's, an LN-9, track torch, the regular assortment of rigging and hand tools, one inch impacts, a 10,000 boom, about 20 bottles of every gas available and line boring tooling. It weighs around 33,000 on a daily basis. So it just depends on what you need for the work you do.

JTMcC.

[fun4now]

well i dont know about the rest of ya but my lil 3/4 ton gave me almost 20 of its 50 years and is doing fine still, although retired not it used to haual well over 1000lbs all over arizons building custom homes that didnt always have roads and some times couldnt even be reached if it rained as for taking care of it yep did the service regularly but used her hard, got a nasty 12inch crease in the hood from pushing ober a full house set of trusses will the were still banded togather. probly would have been better to unband them and move 1 at a time , but we all know time is $$$$ and it's called a work truck for a reason

her's a pic of her unloaded for a weekend trip to ???? it was shortly after i repainted her, she got about 3 days off to let the paint dry

she is not looking quite as prity now took the bed off to get some real restoration work done on her. miles ??????? who knows any more but they are waaaaayyy up there.

perhaps a used 2 1/2 ton from the military would be a good option if $$$ was a big consern, but the fuel milage realy bad

[TNredneck]

well rv, i paid more for my TB than i did for my truck.but she's paid for herself 4 or 5 times over.as you can see in my pic most of my work is done in the mountains and logging sites.i needed a truck that i could beat the **** out of and depend on ,so far she hadnt let me down.so far the only thing i have broken is one spring.but im gonna retire the ol'girl this year and move up to a newer truck, im going from a 1978 f150 to a 1979 f350 . i hope it gives me the service that the smaller truck did.

[TNredneck]

here's a pic of the future welding rig.

[Coalsmoke]

rv, you got what was coming to ya, so I'll play nice. While I joke about the Peterbilt dream rig, it simply wouldn't fit. About 2 times a year my 3/4t truck makes it through a spot that a dually just wouldn't have, I can only imagine the fun I'd have up here with a 3-5 ton, and dually tires in the mud makes for a picnic when it rains 11 months of the year. That said, I think my next truck will be a dually 1 ton just out of necessity. I don't like being overloaded. Although I've had this truck heavier before, this weight is constant. No problems braking, just take a bit more time and keep the hand close to the air horns. 375,000 and still going plenty strong. Once it hits 500,000 I'll invite you up for a slice of cake

[Rvannatta]

rv, you got what was coming to ya, so I'll play nice. While I joke about the Peterbilt dream rig, it simply wouldn't fit. About 2 times a year my 3/4t truck makes it through a spot that a dually just wouldn't have, I can only imagine the fun I'd have up here with a 3-5 ton, and dually tires in the mud makes for a picnic when it rains 11 months of the year. That said, I think my next truck will be a dually 1 ton just out of necessity. I don't like being overloaded. Although I've had this truck heavier before, this weight is constant. No problems braking, just take a bit more time and keep the hand close to the air horns. 375,000 and still going plenty strong. Once it hits 500,000 I'll invite you up for a slice of cake

Well, I am well flamed. I think I will go eat two 5 lb fire extuingishers and sleep in the bottom of the creek for the night.

[arcalaska]

You can see my rig here http://groups.msn.com/ArcAlaskaWelding it is a work in progress.

[Coalsmoke]

Well, I am well flamed. I think I will go eat two 5 lb fire extuingishers and sleep in the bottom of the creek for the night.

RV, sorry, i don't think most people meant any more harm than some tongue-in-cheek, I certainly didn't. Most of us are just doing the best we can with what little funds and resources we have. When I was working with the decent sized clearing company, it was easy to spend 50K on a truck when that was the equivalent of the company fuel bills for a couple months. But now on my own, I'm scraping pennies some months to make minimum payments on my visa and insurance, and I own the truck and equipment outright. There's probably others here that are doing much better than I and will have better market/business-to-business infrastructure and thus more healthy bottom lines, but for the most part many of us are just doing the best we can. A major repair could mean the end of a company, so dropping $70,000 on a fancy rig is out of the question.

[fun4now]

TNredneck

strap a dynasty and a small generator an that lil yelow thing and you should have no problems getting around on the logging trails.i supose you will have to fab up some racks for it but that shouldnt be too much truble. i think the TD will likely have to stay home.