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West Union, Illinois | In 2008 we had 3 gas engine trucks: a 76 Chevy with a 16 ft bed, a 95 GMC (on propane) with a 14 ft bed, and an 80 Chevy with an 18 ft bed. I could keep up with the 2166 and 6 row head by myself. The BUG (Big Ugly Green) combine has a lot more capacity. Last fall running 3 10 wheelers and a single axle semi with 2 drivers we could barely stay ahead. So w have upgraded our fleet this winter. We have 2-99 Freightliner FD112 twin screw tractors, a 97 IH 8100 single axle tractor, and 22 ft Jet, 34 ft Jet, and 38 ft Maurer trailers ... and the 1980 Chevy C70 wth an 18 ft bed. I have way more capacity then I probably need. Everything is paid for. To my knowledge everything is in good shape. If we had adequate grain handling facilities one semi is about all I would need. But I don't have and am not willing to invest in an adequate system at this time. What I am trying to decide is do I need both smaller trucks? The 22 ft trailer holds a little more than the 18 ft bed, but not a lot more. Do I sell the single axle rig, or the 10 wheeler, or both, or neither ? I know, everyone has an opinion. But back it up with a reason.
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SW Indiana | I absolutely think you should sell the single axle rig! Drop it by tomorrow and I'll write you a check. Better yet I'll trade you my 10 wheeler for it. (grin)
Oh.........my reason......I need another single axle!
Edited by abordone 2/11/2012 03:16
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Northern Indiana | From what I can figure the 1980 Chevy is gas. I would unload that in a heartbeat (no pun intended Chevy Fans!) in favor of the Diesel single axle. I would bet that truck is as handy as a shirt pocket around the farm.
If you need a flat bed then pick up a trailer for the single axle.
Of all the trucks I have the gasoline powered ones require the most maintenance. |
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| In our operations it always seems that we can never have enough trucks. If its paid for its nice to have it sitting around just in case you need it or a neighbor might need to borrow it too. |
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Virginia | Keep the 18' flatbed dump. Even if you don't need it for grain it's got many more uses. We have a gooseneck for the pickup and a lowboy for hauling heavy stuff. But the 20' flatbed dump still has it's place. No way I'll ever part with mine.
As for the single axle rig, it would be the first to go. |
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West Union, Illinois | MSR - In our operations it always seems that we can never have enough trucks. If its paid for its nice to have it sitting around just in case you need it or a neighbor might need to borrow it too. I know the feeling. But license and liability insurance will cost $1000 or so a year just to be setting around. Plus any maintenance. |
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West Union, Illinois | HT67 - We have a gooseneck for the pickup ... that's something I didn't mention, we have an F-550 and a gooseneck dovetail. The 550 has a 12 ft steel floor bed with a hoist. |
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Virginia | Think I would let it go since you have the 550. Plus the $1000 insurance and maintenance costs can add up pretty quick. |
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| If you're already set up to unload hopper bottoms and you have other means of hauling the other "stuff" then the only benefit the straight truck has over the short tractor trailer is that it might get around in less than ideal conditions a little better. Other than that the IH and Jet will haul more, haul more legally, unload faster, likely go faster down the road, use less fuel, be nicer to drive and safer to drive. |
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Saronville NE | Four your situation, you may not need the older gas burner, and the semis are pry better. Im kinda oppisite here, Id rather have the older straight trucks around, my reasoning is I can use em for more things, I can hauls silage, haul my own distillers, and could haul manure to other fields, besides using for grain. I really like my semi but Im limited with it, I know I would get the answer that you could buy a sidedump for those uses, but a good sidedump is more pricey to buy then a couple older tandem trucks. Mines different but those old tandem trucks are kinda handy, you can haul scrap iron to town with em, can haul rock and dirt with em, put tanks on em, when paid for still cheaper then buying a good flatbed to pull with the semi. Good luck! |
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Croswell, Michigan | The nice thing about keeping a truck around like your old Chevy is that if you ever need to haul some sand/gravel/stone etc. you have a truck that can do it.
Another plus with the smaller truck is that it's easier to put someone new in a smaller truck than a semi if thay don't have alot of truck driving experience.
Edited by John e.c.MI 2/11/2012 08:31
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| ahay68979 - 2/11/2012 07:28 I know I would get the answer that you could buy a sidedump for those uses, but a good sidedump is more pricey to buy then a couple older tandem trucks. when paid for still cheaper then buying a good flatbed to pull with the semi. Good luck! Other than the purchase price being higher the side dump and flatbed trailer will be much cheaper to own than a couple old tandem trucks. I'm sure a decent sidedump costs a fair amount but there are decent flatbeds out there for not much money, less than a decent straight truck. |
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Brookston, IN | Based on our experience I would sell/ trade both and get another 38ft outfit. We have found things go much smoother when the grain hauling trucks are all very close in capacity. It makes getting the trucks rolling in a rotation at harvest go smoother. We have 3 semi's now a 34ft Drake a 37ft Wilson and a 40ft Tempte. When get going in corn one is at the field, one is at the grain set up dumping and one is on the road in between. Before we got the 40ft we had a Chevy C70 w/ 21 ft bed and it just didn't work well. With the 3 trailers we have we try to keep the 40ft in behind the 34ft so those 2 average out aboy the same as teh 37. |
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Rock County, MN | "Another plus with the smaller truck is that it's easier to put someone new in a smaller truck than a semi if thay don't have alot of truck driving experience."
Anyone that can drive a PU with trailer can drive a semi fine better even...you don't need folks who are afraid of equipment |
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| Mike, you don't say whether you have a grain cart ot not. I would sell both smaller trucks and get a decent sized grain cart, depending what tractor you have that can pull it. There is no cost for licensing it, insurance on it would be cheap, and there is very little maintenance when compared to the two trucks. Even if it just sits at the end of the field, you can have a load ready for a semi when it get there between cart and combine, keeping the semis moving. |
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So. IL | 2 semis, one driver and a nice grain cart works for us. It will keep the driver moving pretty good, and we dump all of it at home so there is no elevator wait time. |
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Eastern North Carolina | Looks like tou are going to be stuck with keeping all of those trucks...LOL!!
Edited by retento 2/11/2012 09:33
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West Union, Illinois | John e.c.MI - it's easier to put someone new in a smaller truck than a semi if thay don't have alot of truck driving experience. That is a consideration. We are a 2 man operation. However this fall I had a friend out of work who drove a truck for us a few days just so he didn't go stir crazy. He was not comfortable in the "new stuff" (new means 9 speed transmission. He has a lot of experience with 5 x 2, so I drove the 2 trucks with "new" tranny's and he drove the 2 with "old".It is a consideration, but seasonal help is so scarce around here it doesn't make much difference. |
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West Union, Illinois | RyanD - I would sell/ trade both and get another 38ft outfit. We have found things go much smoother when the grain hauling trucks are all very close in capacity. I had not considered that possibility. The keeping sizes close does make sense. If I had a 4WD with a PTO I would entertain the idea of replacing the 2 small trucks and our 550 grain cart with a bigger one. But I am not comfortable with a cart any bigger than what we have on the Magnums.This is the problem with trying to deal cash as much as possible. The ideal solution would be get rid of 2 trucks, a small 4WD tractor and a grain cart for a bigger cart and a 4WD tractor. And in a strategc sense that is the thing to do. But down here in the higher risk part of Illinois it isn't very prudent to stick your neck out much farther than the checkbook covers it. |
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MN |
I'd start with a second big truck.. why spend all the money on that many trucks? here 2 big semi's and a cart are common with a class 7 machine with 8r head.. two alike trucks seems to keep things in sync alot better.. 2nd thing I'd look hard at a grain cart.. like having another truck w/o license, insurance and dot.. another bonus with a cart is you can use like an overhead load out when unloading bins.. makes sweeping bins go alot faster as you not stopping and starting sweeps when switching trucks.. |
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NW IL | If you are a 2 man operation, how does having all those trucks help? Are they your wet holding bin? I think you'll find that the tandem and single axle sit. You'll be alot more efficient with the 34' and 38' trailers. |
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South central IL | If you don't trade the rest of the guys for a 10 wheeler , I have one I will trade you. It needs updated. I could really put that single axle to good use on my farm. |
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MN | We had a similar situation as you a couple of years ago. 3-4 old gas trucks, upgraded to 2 tri-ax diesels and had 2 gassers, then got 1 semi and the happiest(one of em) day of my life when the last gas truck went down the road. Last year I bought a second semi which leaves us with 2 semis & 2 tri-ax rigs. When we were able to get unloaded, 2 drivers in each semi kept up with an 8 row combine running 5+ non-stop. We usually haul no more than 7 miles and occasionally had 1 tri-ax helping.
My thoughts given only what you told us would be to sell the gas before harvest(good sales time) keep the 2 big rigs and the small one and try it out that way. Like other said if you don't have a cart, you may want to consider getting one, maybe not if you don't have the drivers, also like someone said maybe you will find you need 3 like-size rigs to keep the flow moving. This will be a factor especially if a truck is parked in the field while 1 driver is emptying the other. We found that if you have different capacity rigs it really only works smoothly if there is a driver in each one. Everythign will be based on your harvest capacity, your travel time to unload, your unload capacity, and how many drivers you have.
One thing is for sure, you will be amazed at how much easier 2 full size semis make life at harvest time. It's like the movie Matrix where everything slows down, each rig is like 2+ 10 wheelers. |
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Iowa | Do you need the extra truck(s) to get done timely, or is it just convenient?
Are the newer trucks on a preventative maintenance program?
Do you have a grain cart? (If not, I'd sell the extra truck and buy one).
Anything setting around costs $$, even if just the opportunity cost of the sales price. Then there's upkeep, license, insurance, etc.
$$ saved is PURE PROFIT.
If your other trucks are good and have a check-up each summer, and you have a cart, and you aren't picking corn until the snow flies, I'd definitely get rid of the extras. The investment isn't all that great, but the ROI is terrible.
There is always another school of thought-- I know a guy that has an astronomical machinery investment, but he makes good $$, can afford it, and has no costly hobbies. He gets miffed when his investment per acre is benchmarked against someone with a much leaner investment, especially if that person has a boat, cabin on the lake, and/or other toys. He says, "I LIKE to have machinery, it's my business. If I had the extra $$ in a boat, cabin, etc, I'd still have the same amt of total dollar investment and my numbers would look much better. What's the difference?" If you are in that camp, good for you, do as you please. But since you asked, you appear to have excessive truck capacity. |
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Jackson County, AL | Here we like the tandem straight trucks for getting in and out of places but we don't have a semi. We also use a straight truck or two with nurse tanks to haul water and N. Again easier to tend a sprayer with those as lots of times there's no where to turn a trailer around. In the fall at least you could circle in the field lots of times. We still have a couple old single axle straight that barely run. Insurance is cheap enough that we can keep around for extra capacity and for extra winter storage. When most elevators shut down for the weekend here, an extra truck or two can make a difference when the trucks can haul again Monday morning. They can make an extra load pretty quick. If we have to shut down and change over and cut beans on the weekends, we can load the small trucks and save a tandem or two to cut beans on. Again, if its paid for and you spend less than $1500/year to keep it around you can find a use for it. Again with the nurse tanks in the spring and summer and extra capacity in the fall. We have some trucks that get taken to the field and only get loaded when we change farms, then they go home when we quit. Or we take them to the field and load them first and they sit until the next morning when we unload from the day before. That makes the first load or two go quicker since the driver just has to swap trucks at the shed rather than unload a load. Again, cheap capacity. |
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West Union, Illinois | Tommy - you appear to have excessive truck capacity. Yes, we do. Especially with just a 2 man show not traveling very far. Our grain handling was state of the art ... in 1970. We have 6 bins of under 5,000 bushel capacity filled with augers, a couple bigger ones at a different location and a couple more on a farm we rent for the landowner's part.Right now I can put more on wheels than 3 of our bins hold. The long term solution is build storage. But that isn't going to happen for a year or two. Last year was an unusual situation. Most of the corn and all the soybeans went to the elevator stright out of the field. As DixieDeere says below an extra truck or two can keep you going when the elevator is shut down. This thinking stuff is hard on me. Life was a lot simpler when all I had to do was keep the cultivator out of the row. |
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Arva, Ontario | Mike,
A little over a decade ago, we were in the same boat w/ 3 gasser tandems. Two were twin screws with newer steel bodies and hoists, the 3rd was a '75 Chebby single axle w/ an air lift tag and older steel stake & plywood body that we'd built in the 70's. We'd also used the trucks to tender dry fert to the planter and water and/or UAN to the sprayer with tanks we slid in.
We upgraded to a pair of 40' hoppers and tractors, and let the two twin screws go. We also found an old 48' flatbed, cut 8' off the rear and built a sprayer tender trailer to replace the functions of the tandems in the spring. The Chebby had less appeal for a buyer, so we kept it, and it has been handy as a seed tender, dry fert tender, toss a 1500 gal tank in the back to move a little water or liquid fert. In short, there is some versatility that a dump body has that a hopper trailer just plain doesn't.
Another observation - we cycle trailers that are of identical size, and it works well. Throw an odd size in there, and it throws everything off. Small load - same time on the road, almost same time over pit, get back and wait for the trailer to finish loading. Leave with a trailer, and hardly out of site before the smaller vessel is full.
So - these are the reasons that I would suggest - ditch the single-single trailer deal, and keep the straight truck for the versatility. When running serious, take the straight truck to the field as a surge. Try to keep everything going on the two trailers, and only when a trailer is full and the combine isn't empty, drop into the straight truck. As soon as a trailer is back, do not complete the loading of the straight truck, go back to loading the trailer, and keep the straight as your backup. The two main mandates are to use the gasser tandem sparingly, but more important to keep the combine moving.
My opinion.
Ever notice on here if you ask for an opinion, the thread is 100 posts long. Ask for a FACT, and it is much shorter...
Luke |
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West Union, Illinois | Luke Skywalker - Ever notice on here if you ask for an opinion, the thread is 100 posts long. Ask for a FACT, and it is much shorter... yeah, but what I'm wanting are opinions. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience here if we can tap it. Just discussing it helps me get my mind around it.
20 years ago after we put the tractors up we'd kind of lean over the back of the pickup while drinking Pepsi out of a glass bottle and discuss things. Pepsi doesn't (normally) come in a glass bottle, I can't drink sugar drinks any more, and Dad and brother aren't here to talk with. AgTalk has sort of taken its place, at least for me. |
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Leeds, North Dakota | Mike, what I am seeing from the outside, you have issues with storage, got room for semi's to dump? keep single axle diesel, get rid of gas burners, bring good money up here and invest in bins, when money allows, semi's don't require that much maintenance, Scott. |
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Iowa | I think you have a way with words and a nice disposition. Another free opinion.
I picked 175,000 bu for many years on 2-500 bu Chevy gas hyd brake trucks and a 500 bu cart. About half in bins and half to close (less than 10 miles away) elevators. Got done the same time as the rest of the neighborhood. Made land payments with the $$ saved on trucks. When one truck went down we limped along with the cart, but eventually went to a third truck so we didn't have to "limp" when one had as little as a flat tire, we had been cutting it awfully close. You can have a very small (weight)license on them until harvest and at that time up the tonnage for fall and then drop back down again.
Everyone does it differently, that's for sure. I view machinery as a necessary evil, any penny more than that is wasted (for me). Machinery cost per tillable acre per year (Includes all expenses and opportunity cost on the $$) of $70/A. 100% corn here.
There are hidden costs. Hidden, but you pay them--hard to break out unless you sharpen your pencil. You can figure 25% of market value/yr if not too old (up to 45% on 20+ yr-old stuff) to cover all costs and you'll be really close, so that stuff sitting around is very costly. |
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Texas | Mike, I would suggest that you sell the tandem, the IH single axle & trailer, and trade the grain cart for a larger cart. I would go with a 1000+ bu. cart and a roll-over tarp. You only need to fill it partially full and have it for overflow capacity on the field edge if the truck doesn't get back in time. If field conditions don't allow you to fill a 1000 bu. cart, you can partially fill it and still have more flotation than with a smaller cart.
If you are hauling to the elevator you can haul just as much grain by yourself using the two semi trucks as you could with four 10 wheel setups using two drivers. And by having a larger cart in the field, you have more total capacity and the flexibility of storing the next load on the cart for when the semi gets back. When I was running custom harvest of corn, I converted a 1000 bu. Brent cart into a self-propelled unit and with the 17" unload auger, we could fill a semi in about 3 minutes. Before I converted the 1000 bu. cart, I easily pulled it with a 7220 fwa.
The only problem here is with the two semi trucks you have now purchased, and with a big grain cart, you can single handedly work poor Aman nearly to death trying to keep up with his old FIL! Of course you could always run a sleeper cab and take a nap in between loads to give him some breathing room!
Some additional advantages to think about:
Hoppers and semis don't require any setup expense and are easily traded as needed.
If a truck goes down at a critical time, you have the advantage of hiring an owner operator to help you out of the pinch.
After you add more on farm storage, the semis will be the only trucks you will be using to haul to the terminals.
Sitting in a grain line is less stressful with a big load instead of a half size load.
During harvest you won't be as dependant on extra help if you can't find it, and you can probably save the labor costs entirely.
Chances are that with the cart and only one semi you could keep things rolling by yourself should you have a breakdown.
Any extra help is better utilized running the grain cart unloading on the go and keeping the semi trucks rolling.
And the best reason of all........... think how cool you look always being seen in a "big" truck full of grain. Classy! |
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Black Hawk County, IA | Our system the last three yrs has been to own 2 later model trailers, 1 10 yr old Intnl 9600 semi-tractor w/ a reman engine, a 17.5' tandem dump truck w/side boards + tarp. Then rent another tractor from Ruan for 5 or 6 weeks in fall. Can't beat the rental tractor no way no how. It's no more than 3 or 4 yrs old, excellent cond, great fuel economy, quiet, only responsible to check fluids daily and keep fuel in it. Have a flat tire? call them, they show up in about an hr and just change it. Not running right? call em, they bring another truck out. When done w/ corn we wash it and fill it fuel and take her back. No shed space, no dead batteries, no license fees, insure it for only 2 monthes, no oil to change. It works for us FWIW. John |
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South central IL | Hey Mike
Great subject to bring up. I am in a similar spot as you. I have 2 Ten wheelers and a small grain cart. I have one driver for trucks one that can run the grain cart and I run the combine. The ten wheelers are older and one is a gas. The gas one sits in the field in case the other truck doesn't get back in time to dump the cart. The last 2 years crop yields have been low due to too much rain. One truck is keeping up. If I get normal yields I would need both trucks running. License are expensive. One local farmer I talk with has went to a 34 ft hopper trailer with ag hoppers and a 850 bu cart. He can keep his combne running and keep the grain away.
So I am looking to update to something similar to that. Hopefully with the discussion going on in this thread we can all find a solution to our problems.
Good luck |
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Truck opinions: Do I need a 10 wheeler?
