knuckleboom on truck

[RHartsoe]

I have a portable bandsaw mill and will be specializing in cutting tabletops, etc. out of the discarded burls, crooks, etc. which I can get free.  I also have a lot of trees on my own property which I can cut.  I work alone and need a way to load them.  I have a backhoe but moving it from place to place and maneuvering here in the mountains is not easy.  I have found a 89 GMC large truck with knuckleboom, extenda-boom with debris claw.  Truck is caterpillar with allison tranny.   The truck will pull a trailer which can be loaded in many places without unhooking.  Question is how much is it worth?   Most of the ones I have seen have been over 10 grand but the owner needs money and has now come down to $6500.  Sounds like a pretty good deal but i guess I'm looking for reassurance.  He just rebuilt 2 cylinders that had leaks and now there are no hyd. leaks anywhere.  If I have to hire a helper part time, I'll spend that much in a short time.   I could use the hoe on the yard and the k-boom to load my truck which a 16 foot dump.  Any comments?

[mad murdock]

Is it a home made loader or a factory made one? What brand? If the hydraulics are all good, sounds like a fair price.

[Okrafarmer]

Just beware that trucks that cheap often will cost that much again in repairs before they are safe to use!


 

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

As the boys said the price sounds good if you think its not to tired as jim said budget on spending abit more on it to get it upto par n reliable but you will know what you got  ;)

Hey Jim I take it you have the old White back earning its keep now  Mate ???

Regards Chris

[bill m]

What is the gvw of the truck? If it is over 26000 lbs gvw you will need a class B cdl. If you tow a trailer with it you will need a class A.

[Maine372]

that price sounds awfully low. so its either a steal, or too good to be true.

also keep in mind that registration, fuel, insurance, etc are very steep for a vehicle that size. I suspect you will be spending way more just keeping it on the road than it is worth. also an 89 truck, unless its a museum piece, is going to have issues that come up. its very frustrating to get all puckered up to do something and then have to spend 2 days wrenching just to get the truck ready.

I think a ton truck with a flat bed and a 50ish horse tractor would accomplish your needs. alot easier on fuel, useful in many more situations, no cdl. and you wont be limited by the length of the boom when trying to retrieve your material.

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

if hes already done work on two of the cyliders I reckon i could bet on the others needing done at some point too  ;)

as a side note I do have a 97/98 International 4700 with 20' steel flatbed sitting in Joe's barn in central western PA thing runs like a champ and had had the motor done about 100k ago it has a 5 speed spicer and new paint with not an ounce of rust in it the only thing that annoyed me with it was a slight crack on the oil line hose to the turbo that let alittle bit of oil out and as its got hyd breaks its able to be licenced as a 25999lbs truck w/o the cdl requirement i would let it go for $6 or $7k i am still undecided on selling it as it is such a bloody good truck  ;) ;D 8) thing is im 16000mi away and very busy  ;) :D

Regards Chris 

[Okrafarmer]

We got the White up and going. I can't remember exactly what profdan paid for it, but around $6,000 seems right. It is a 1972, and we have probably put nearly that much back into it in repairs, but now we are able to do things we couldn't do before, at least safely. Having said that, it really does still need more repairs to be 100%, and there are definitely places it can't go and logs we can't get to with it. It will pick up a bigger log than our Bobcat or cable-loading truck can, though. A two- or three-ton log, I guess, we can pick up, although we've never actually tested the exact weight with a known quanitity, we have definitely put it right at its limit.  ;D

[NWP]

Do you have any pictures of the truck and loader?  Sounds like a steal.  If in good shape, the loader alone is worth more than that.

[lumberjack48]

Take the truck for a ride, make sure trany shifts smooth with no slipping, stop and take off 4, 5 times. Hold it on the floor while taking off, this is called full throttle shifting, this is the way you shift a power shift.
When you get back open hood with engine running check for blow-by and any visible motor leaks. Then crawl under the truck, check motor and trany for leaks. Check differentials for leaks, check all u-joints, check brake linings for wear, and wheel seals for leaks. Check the tires, they have to have x amount of tread or they'll all have to be replaced. The steer tires have to be very good.

Now you need to work the loader, find something to load off and on truck for 10 minutes or so. Then check for leaks down to the pump. The down riggers should lift the truck off the ground.

6500. is dirt cheap for a rig with a loader, the loaders worth that.

When my dad and me logged and trucked together we ran a T licenses plate on the tandem loader truck and my semi. As long as we were hauling our own product we didn't need a Y plate. The insur on my semi was less then a 100 a month. The T plate was less then 300. can't remember to the penny. A Y plate was around 2000. this was back in the 70s.

[semologger]

lumberjack the way you was listing everything i thought you was a DOT man. I was afraid i was going to get a ticket just reading. ha