Tractor hauler? Goofy Idea

I have a 2002 Chevy 2500HD and a 27' tri axle gooseneck with a 5 ' beaver tale. 10,000# tractor is a big load for it. I need a bigger truck. I have looked at 1 ton dually pickups, but almost all are extended cab long boxes that I have no desire to own or use. I have been to shows and occasionally see a mid 60's 2 ton ( Chevy C60 or Ford F600) with short wheel base and a 5th wheel or gooseneck hitch pulling a trailer. I like the looks of them and am thinking of going that route. Why couldn't you take a single axle dump truck and take dump box off and mount gooseneck hitch on it and use that? I'm not worried about speed, if I get on the 4 lanes, if I run 60, that's fast enough for me. Highly doubt that I would ever get more than 150 miles from home. Once in a while I see a older 1 ton with a rock box that would probably do what I want. Any thoughts??? While we are at it, I have a 354 Perkins out of a MF 550 combine that I think would be good for powering the truck. More issues?? Chris

short box dumps, and old school boom wreckers are perfect for this, they usually are the shortest frame truck in this class. Just watch your weight rating on the dumps, lots of those were over 26,000 rated and depending on where you are could bring on DOT requirements

That's a fine idea.You could even shorten the frame,put an 8' flatbed on.Add twin stacks,a bigger engine,higher speed rearend....Ive often thought of the same,only with an older(40s/50s) truck.Go for it

You will likely find your insurance company will sock you with extra high rates for a set up like that and foil your plans ! At least mine did.

You see them at the stock yard pulling some of the 30'+ gooseneck livestock trailers. Single axle Internationals seem to be the most popular.

Here in NY there used to be some breaks for single axle tractors, no sales tax or something, Don't know if that is still in effect. You may want to look into that. I was hoping to use this one but who has time to make it run?

Progressive use to be very reasonable rates on trucks. Problem is they ( like any insurance company) may try to weasel their way out if you ever need them. I have a 1968 Pete I use to insure.

A couple things to keep in mind. I have a Chevy grain truck, 1972. I love the thing. Manual choke is a useful thing. It's a tank with split differential and goes just about anywhere. The couple things I will mention are, one, my insurance company hits me for $70+ a month to keep it on the road and it only goes three miles to the pit and 5-10 miles to the elevator. It leaves the farm only 20-25 times a year and they know that. I cancel the road insurance after harvest and only reinstate the first time I hit the road to the pit the following summer. Second, you should be aware that this is not a cushy modern truck. The trucks they make today are pretty comfortable to ride in and drive. Not so much back in the day. Metal dash, rubber mats, rough bench seat. I'm 6'4" and I can't stretch out. It's loud in there when you get moving. Flies down the road empty. Loaded is a little different. Plenty of power but driving with a load is definitely a partnership and you do your share. I could go on....but you get the idea.

150 miles will seem like a long trip.

I have been thinking of doing same thing to haul my antique tractors to pulls and shows and if insured as farm it is not bad. Matter a fact its just a little higher than I pay on my pickup now.

A local guy here has a mid fifties IH cab on a mid ninties ford diesel F350 chassis. It is really neat I think. An old truck with modern rod manners.

That's a neat old Jimmy, SMS.

Dean

First ? are you going to cross state lines? As someone else mentioned, you are getting into DOT territory. Have no idea what state you are in and their intrastate rules. From an interstate standpoint, if you want to do this and not have to deal with the commercial rules and regs, it must be for personal use only, be registered in your personal name (not the farm, LLC, etc.), and not claimed as an expense on your taxes.

I have been looking into doing his with a newer highway tractor as I could get into one for less than a pickup of the same age, and am really starting to push the limit on what I should haul with a 1 ton. I checked with my insurance agent, and it would be similar to what I am paying on my pickup now.

I know you would like the classic look, but you can get a relatively late model daycab tractor for $10000.

If I was wanting a "vintage" towing truck, I would definitely just transplant the cab of a vintage truck onto a modern running gear.
That way you get the look you want without the headaches involved of trying to get a vintage truck road worthy AND safe.

Picked this one up for 5600$ the long bed regular cab is nice for maneuvering and gets good mileage

(quoted from post at 07:17:12 12/28/17) I have a 2002 Chevy 2500HD and a 27' tri axle gooseneck with a 5 ' beaver tale. 10,000# tractor is a big load for it. I need a bigger truck. I have looked at 1 ton dually pickups, but almost all are extended cab long boxes that I have no desire to own or use. I have been to shows and occasionally see a mid 60's 2 ton ( Chevy C60 or Ford F600) with short wheel base and a 5th wheel or gooseneck hitch pulling a trailer. I like the looks of them and am thinking of going that route. Why couldn't you take a single axle dump truck and take dump box off and mount gooseneck hitch on it and use that? I'm not worried about speed, if I get on the 4 lanes, if I run 60, that's fast enough for me. Highly doubt that I would ever get more than 150 miles from home. Once in a while I see a older 1 ton with a rock box that would probably do what I want. Any thoughts??? While we are at it, I have a 354 Perkins out of a MF 550 combine that I think would be good for powering the truck. More issues?? Chris

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Do you really need that big of a trailer if you are hauling just a tractor.

Kenworth t 300 single axle would already have 5th wheel plate plus they have air brakes

I am building one now,,I have a 1998 F-800,non electronic 5.9 Cummings with a 6spd. Allison automatic, factory cab air cond.,,Hydraulic brakes .. a 20ft. flat bed,,I am going to marry a shuttle van body to it, the one I have is a 14ft. body,,I am going to shorten it up to 10ft.then put a 6ft flat bed behind that and move the rear axle to where ever it needs to be,,going to put an awning on the passenger side..planning it as I go...It will be like a mini RV,,this will be to haul show tractors, or search for Barn finds.. I can haul my little Street Gator with me for side trips...

When I needed the trailer, this was the only used one I could find. I can load the golf cart on the front and tractor on the back or 2 small tractors and the golf cart. Nice having extra length for load and haul, PITA driving and backing up. Chris

(quoted from post at 17:56:16 12/28/17) I am building one now,,I have a 1998 F-800,non electronic 5.9 Cummings with a 6spd. Allison automatic, factory cab air cond.,,Hydraulic brakes .. a 20ft. flat bed,,I am going to marry a shuttle van body to it, the one I have is a 14ft. body,,I am going to shorten it up to 10ft.then put a 6ft flat bed behind that and move the rear axle to where ever it needs to be,,going to put an awning on the passenger side..planning it as I go...It will be like a mini RV,,this will be to haul show tractors, or search for Barn finds.. I can haul my little Street Gator with me for side trips...

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Looks like it would be easier to make your own box with square tubing, and skin the outside with aluminum. Then you could insulate it, and build the inside of it to your liking.

It's a good thought, but I have drove those old trucks back when they were new, for a living. I don't think you will be happy with one. Just find a newer f350 dually. My friend who has hauled two of us and our tractors plus his to pulls. Has a Dodge dually. Pulls the tongue out of a 35 foot. Hyd ramp gooseneck. Rides like a car.

I went the route you are thinking about a couple of years back. I ended up with a 1991 Chevy Kodiac (C70) for less than half the money that a 1 ton pickup truck would have cost me. It is a former fuel delivery company fleet maintained truck. They kept the fuel delivery tank, and we put a 12 foot long flatbed on it. I have both a pintle hitch, which I use to pull a 20,000 pound trailer, and a gooseneck hitch for stock trailers. If I were to shorten the bed a bit, I could also have a 5th wheel. It has a 427 gas motor, 6.50 rear axle ratio, 5 and 2 transmission, 21,000 pound rear axle and 11R22.5 semi-truck wheels and tires. It pulls the 20,000 pound trailer at 70 MPH loaded or empty. which is the governed top speed. It has enough power to keep up with the semi-trucks, loaded or empty. It has the frame and suspension to handle any load I might put on it. It drives and handles pretty much like an older 1 ton pickup with a 12 foot bed.

The only downside is it rides rough, especially empty, and fuel economy isn't great. However, for the few times a year it gets used, these things aren't a significant factor for me. The ability to easily handle any load I am likely to put on it is. I've hauled a couple of my 12,000 pound tractors a few times and the truck and trailer barely knows they are back there. Full coverage insurance costs me $205 per year. Farm tags.

It does technically put me in a gray area of the DOT's sights as being a CDL class truck. With the farm tags, I haven't ever been challenged on it. They don't pay much attention to it. I do have a CDL if it ever comes up.

You are in Michigan so rulls may be different but here in Ohio as long as it has good tags on wheather it is in use or not (could be totalled in a wreck) but as long as the tags are good you have to have the insurance on it. You cannot only insure for part of a year. And if you drop the tags for a part of the year when you go to get them again you pay a penalty for not having them so cheaper just to get them on time and keep licenced full time and to do that you MUST keep the insurance up full time as well. They random check valid plates to see if you have insurance and you have to have proof or there goes your drivers licence. I had that random check several years ago. All I had to do was go to the insurance agency and get a copy of my policy and send it in. And this was on my car.