Expanding 2005 and need Truck

[scraper69]

Thinkin of expanding a current 3 man crew that does 3 days of lawn and 3 days of landscape. to 2 crews with 2 men ea. one does lawns and one does landsc. Have a 3 yd -would use for mainly lawn crew. thinkin of buying a 6yd Kodiak6500 or F650 ^=6yd for landscape end. What are your views on the expansion as well as type of truck for the job? thanks

[ToroMaster]

you should give more info. What kind of landscaping do you do the most of? Why does your lawn crew need anything more than a regular cab 3/4 ton? Those kodiaks will set you back alot of cash. You should look at other ways to spend that 40 grand

[scraper69]

Well we do everything landscape. Pavers, walls, sod, irrig, concrete(some), plantings and so on. The reason the lawn crew would us a 3yd dump is because that is what i currently own. And besides, its much easier to use a dump truck for lawn maint, raking the grass out of a p/u is a pita. Thus i need a truck for landscape work. 6yd because in the past we use my 3yd and make too many trips,since it is limited in its trucking capacity. I have thought about ezdump trailers, although not too fond. I have been contemplating this expansion for some time, because as you may or may not know. you can only make $XX with 3 men. all on one crew, trying to do everthing. I think its more efficient, provided the work is there, to split up.and have 2men/crew, doing different work. *plus im gettin tierd of doin lawns. My foreman can handle that

[LLandscaping]

I think that having two separate crews is a good idea. It will allow each crew to be specialized and perform what they do best. As for a truck I would get a Chevy or GMC Kodiak 4500 or maybe 5500. What will you be using this truck to haul? If most of your suppliers will deliver your stone, sod, etc. you will not need a large truck a 4500 would be just right. Will you be towing a skid steer (if so what size)? These question will help determine what size truck you need.

[scraper69]

yes deliveries can be brought by supplier. but haul away still need to get done

[D Felix]

If you are not needing to pull a heavy trailer, then I'd look pretty hard at a cabover. The Isuzu's have pretty much dominated the market, and used ones in decent shape for little money are hard to find. You can get a longer bed on a shorter wheelbase than you can on a normal truck chassis/cab. The N-series Isuzu's (medium duty) have GVWR around 20k, so they are comparable to the F-450/550. The only downfall that I've been able to find is they don't have much for towing capacity when full. With the heaviest Isuzu/Chevy/GMC cabover (they are all the same truck), you have a payload capacity that is a couple of tons more than with the same GVWR Ford/Chevy.

Just a little food for thought. We're looking into them, but the towing ability is a major concern.


Dan

[scraper69]

yes need to pull a trailer with skid steer. i thought about those cabovers, but no towing capability(weak). I like the c6500 . tough and can do the work of 2 three yard dumps. Plus we do a few concrete break outs/haul every month.

[scraper69]

getting more confused, each thread?????

[scraper69]

??????where to start????

[Randy Scott]

??????where to start????


First, quit wasting time on Lawnsite with useless replies to nothing. Start going to your dealers and comparing specs and prices. Sit in the trucks, drive the trucks, look them over. Not too hard to figure this one out.

Just like everything else, people will have their preferences on which one they like.

[General Grounds]

:blob3: i have a 2001 f450 and a 03- f350 with PSD and love them both. i also have 2 chevies, and a gmc, and the ford blows them away.

[bushtrimmer]

Life got so easy when we got our International. It makes mulch jobs a whole lot easier. We have a liftgate on our 3500HD for the cleanup work and the International will hold 16 yards of mulch. Also works well in winter, load up with 7 or 8 tons of salt and only reload once.
It's only a 26000 GVW, we tend to overload it often.

[Rollacosta]

If you are not needing to pull a heavy trailer, then I'd look pretty hard at a cabover. The Isuzu's have pretty much dominated the market, and used ones in decent shape for little money are hard to find. You can get a longer bed on a shorter wheelbase than you can on a normal truck chassis/cab. The N-series Isuzu's (medium duty) have GVWR around 20k, so they are comparable to the F-450/550. The only downfall that I've been able to find is they don't have much for towing capacity when full. With the heaviest Isuzu/Chevy/GMC cabover (they are all the same truck), you have a payload capacity that is a couple of tons more than with the same GVWR Ford/Chevy.

Just a little food for thought. We're looking into them, but the towing ability is a major concern.


Dan


Dan i have an ISUZU NKR , she'sonly a little 3.ltr deisel engine ,but she is rated to pull 3.5 ton ,i pull a large trailer 10x6x4 loaded with wood chip ,i would say the trailer is at or near 3.5 ton gross ,my truck pull's it with ease ,i don't think it makes a lot of differance for towing if a truck is cab over or not,iv'e had cab over truck's for nearly 6 years i love them.,here's a pic of our ISUZU and nissan

[Rollacosta]

nissan with stump cutter/trailer after a hard day lol

[D Felix]

RC- when you say 3.5 tons, is that in pounds or kilograms? There's a big difference.:)

I've known for a long time that what is available here in the states isn't exactly what is available elsewhere in the world. We could get an Isuzu here that would easily pull a 10,000 pound trailer, but you could have no load in the truck itself. Or, we could jump up to the F-series Isuzu's (add another $10k though) and get all that we wanted...

What we'll probably do is get a new F-550 Ford, undecided on whether to get a 189" or a 201" wheelbase. I think we may go and try to drive the 201" and see how much of a bear it is to turn. We drove a 176" crew cab the other day, they REALLY improved the turning radius on the new ones!


Dan

[Rollacosta]

Dan isn't a 'ton' the same whether your in Timbuktu or Tennessee ???..a ton over here =1000 kg or 2240 lbs [AHH HA I NOTICED OUR METRIC TON IS A LITTLE HEAVIER THAN YOUR SHORT TON]..my little nissan can carry a ton and pull 3 at the same time ,my ISUZU is plated at 7 ton's gross train weight..ie it can carry 1.8 ton and pull a loaded trailer weighing 3.5 tons gross at the same time :)

[D Felix]

So your Isuzu can carry roughly 12,000 pounds, combined. That's not enough for what we do/want to be able to do.

We'll probably have a skidsteer or other piece of heavy equipment (6-8000 lbs) in the next couple of years. Combine that with a 2000 pound trailer (probably on the high side), and you are looking at pulling a trailer around 8-10k. Now, put 12-14 cubic yards of mulch on the bed (~550 lbs/yard), and you add 6600-8800 lbs. So a total of 14-19k between the payload and trailer. That's more than a medium-duty cabover is capable of. Not to mention the body wieght that we are looking at. By the time we get the truck ready for use, we are probably going to add 3,000+ pounds to the chassis..... Which will cut down on the payload capacity!


Dan

[Rollacosta]

15,400 pounds combined weight for my little isuzu. nkr..i too could do with a bigger truck at time's, a NPR ISUZU could carry and tow a combined weight of 24,200 legaly overhere

[D Felix]

Which is about what the NPR is rated for here. We need to have GCWR up around 30k.