knuckle boom question

Good evening folks,some of you may remember about a month ago,i posted about my IH S1600 I am planning on turning into a welding truck,well some of you suggested a knuckle boom,which before that I just figured I had my head in the clouds.Anyhow there is a guy a couple miles down the road that has an old chevy c60 flatbed with a hiab knuckle boom that is complete,and I had almost bought the truck before the current owner did when it was for sale,but I wasn't crazy about the truck itself since it is only a straight six,but now that I have my truck which is diesel,i would like to make that fit my needs by installing that crane on my truck.now here is my question,i know the guy bought the whole truck for less than $1500. and I drove by and noticed that the he took the crane off the truck,so tomorrow I am going to see if its for sale but what should I offer.when I first checked out the truck before he bought it,the crane worked great,but even if it needs a little work,it will still be a lot cheaper than any other ones I have seen.also,what is the best/cost effective way to run a hydraulic pump for the crane?i appreciate any help,thanks

Rock

I can?t give an opinion on what it?s worth.But I can tell you whatever you install on your truck,keep it simple.electronic remotes and electronic pto activation gives us nothing but trouble on our railroad trucks.air or mechanical pto activation is pretty much trouble free.if he sells you the crane he might also let the gear box and pump go with it.if the flatbed doesn?t dump he shouldn?t need it.

Never a fan of the IH 1600 frame. Had a bunch of them in a utility fleet with buckets mounted on them. Rivets popped, spring hangers cracking, several frames buckled. Theses were double frames from the factory. That said it could work okay if the frame is properly reinforced for both the static load on the frame (it's a concentrated load) and the twisting load when in operation. Would be a neat project, good luck.

See what he wants for it and if you think it's a fair price, buy it.

I kind of get the feeling from your post that your thought process might be that because he got the truck for $1500, that you should be able to get the knuckle boom for something less than $1500. That may be a bit optimistic. When people buy a truck like that then take the valuable bits off, it's usually their intent to sell the parts at a profit.

Depending on what you've seen other cranes priced for, even if you pay the whole $1500 it might not be too much.

Of course it would be just my luck he bought it for the knuckle boom and only the truck is for sale.

If the boom is in good working order (not worn out at the pivots, leaking) it's probably worth much more than $1500, depending on it's age and size. There are Hiabs from the 60's still working well. Our 070 (~ton@17') was listed as worth 2/3 of it's ~$25,000 price new when it was 20 ys old in 2007. It would've been even more, had it had dual hydraulic extensions, instead of just one with manual extensions from there out. It was manual control, no remotes. The 26 yr old C70 chassis was worth next to nothing. Hoses are easy to replace, it's the bottom of the main post that's an expensive repair, if it's worn. Important to be in transport position (folded) when the truck is moving for that reason. I agree, best to ask what he wants first. Google will probably help you get an idea for the value of it and maybe he won't know. Will it need to be re-certified yearly to be eligible to work commercially like they are in Ontario (similar to trucks safeties)?

He probably bought the truck figuring the crane was worth more than the truck. He can make money and get a truck for free.

hey guys,thank you for all the quick replies.not tgat it matters,but it has been over a year since he bought it,so i am hoping he took it off for another reason.i am gonna swing by his place and let him come up with the price as you guys suggested.thanks i will keep you posted.

My rule on buying. If he wants to sell it let him price it. I may have lost things wanted, however when I price their item someone is ------ or paid too much. I Will Not price someone else's property. Will not bore you with real story. Just say once when I did It went wrong. My Dad just retired was riding with me. Gave me above advice and has proven true.