New Transporter Truck

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
As many of you know I'm a professional RV transporter. Speaking with Jim the other day I mentioned I was doing this and he asked if I'd share the build here.

A little about my background... Besides serving in the military and driving truck I have been a shipfitter, bodyman, welder and mechanic, both cars and heavy trucks. I have the skills and tools needed to do this work nearly completely by myself.

I have decided to step things up a notch and build a "Tow & Haul" transporter truck to be able to transport 2 - 3 trailers at a time and have the flexibility to load cars, boats and whatever else I can winch onto the bed or tow behind it.

This allows me to be more competitve in the transport industry operate at a reduced rate for smaller units, provide a premium service to our customers like Heartland and their dealers and remain profitable during slow times which will be very important over the next few years until the economy recovers.

I have chosen I truck that is inexpensive to maintain, easy to get parts for and was cheap enough to have it paid for before even leaving my yard so I have very little overhead during slow times that allows me to simply park it if there is no freight.

It's a 1998 Ford F-800 regular cab I picked up today. Found it on Craigslist. Truck market is on its 4th point of contact so if you are looking to step into a nice used medium duty for towing that Cyclone or Landmark it may do you good to shop around now.




Specs:
  • 1998 Ford F-800 cab & chassis
  • 184,000 miles
  • 5.9 Cummins P-pump 12 valve
  • Allison 540 series 4 speed automatic
  • 19.5" tires
  • 3.54 gear ratio
  • 26,000 GWV
  • 7k steer axle
  • 19k rear axle
  • Power windows
  • AC - and it's ice cold too!!!!!
  • Hydroboost hydraulic brakes
Runs and drives great, one owner, all maintenance records, oil changed every 5k miles.... Engine runs perfect, no blowby, great power, tranny shifts perfect, drives good, everything is in working condition, New paint, rust free southern truck. No rust even under the truck.

All for only $3000..... yep that's not a typo.

First order of business will be to stretch the frame anothe 8 - 10 feet:eek: Then start building a body.

IMG00336.jpg IMG00338.jpg IMG00340.jpg IMG00342.jpg IMG00346.jpg



The end result over the next month or 2 will look similar to these.
long_bed_1.jpg Mvc-217f[1].jpg products_long_beds.jpg CIX3A2TLZ22VLHKQ.jpg 8CCQLTZF4FWYD3WU.jpg
 

dewwood

Well-known member
Good looking rig! I envision some larger fuel tanks in the makeover. Keep us posted on your progress.
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Thankyou. Currently it has twin 40 or 50 gallon tanks. I want to put on some aluminum 100 - 150 gallon tanks and polish them.

Will be building the rig step by step in this post.

I welcome any ideas and constructive critisism from both members as well as the factory. Always good to have an extra pair of eyes on a project like this so it's done right and ready for the job the first time.
 

irvin56

Well-known member
Just a few ??

1) will you have to have unit federally inspected before licensing? because of the build
2) How will this effect you Comb. gvwr ?? and how much would your total be after the build??
3) Will you be able to haul and tow combined after mod.??
4) do you pull with wdh setup now when transporting??
and also when finished the new one.
Reason I ask is the guy from Saskatchwan told me he pulls with only ball and no wdh. Been 3 yrs pulling and no poblems

Good luck on your venture with build
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Sleeper, Yes, Thinking of something like the Cowtown Sleeper that will allow me to tuck the trailer tounge under the sleeper maximizing cargo space. May go larger for better living on the road.

1) will you have to have unit federally inspected before licensing? because of the build
2) How will this effect you Comb. gvwr ?? and how much would your total be after the build??
3) Will you be able to haul and tow combined after mod.??
4) do you pull with wdh setup now when transporting??
and also when finished the new one.
Reason I ask is the guy from Saskatchwan told me he pulls with only ball and no wdh. Been 3 yrs pulling and no poblems

Good luck on your venture with build

  1. Federal inspection - yes but not because of the build, it's an annual requirement on all commercial vehicles, even my 1 ton dually.
  2. GVW and GCWR won't be affected. GVW now is 26k, curb wt now is 8100 lbs, est curb wt when done 12,000 leaving me 14k for payload. Biggest trailers put on these are FEMA trailers weighing less than 7k so I'll never be close to GVW much less GCWR
  3. Yes, 2 - 3 and possibly 4 trailers at a time depending on size as well as cars and anything else that fits.
  4. I do use wdh with the dually, it's required by most factories. IMHO it's overkill on a dually with airbags but I have to play by the rules. Our company won't even let you out of the gate without the wdh installed...... Can't use it with the Tow/Haul trucks, it'll break the frame in half. It has happened at our company and it has happened to a Heartland North Trail. IIRC the Heartland unit was totaled and the transport company had to buy it. Not sure if it was our company that broke the Heartland unit.
 

RVCamper

Well-known member
I have some ideas on a "kneeling" trailer design that will allow you to have only about a 8 degree ramp.
 

irvin56

Well-known member
wdh

Weight Distrubution hitch
for The tougue pull trailers


nhunter I was watching trailer park boys
Are you a star in this show?

Sure looks like you do we have fame and fortune among us??
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
I have some ideas on a "kneeling" trailer design that will allow you to have only about a 8 degree ramp.


Thank you.

Air ride with dump valve is being considered. 3" is all the rear suspension travel I have to work with as 36" is the max height of the bed loaded. It's $2750 for parts alone I'm not sure I want to dump into the build right now. I can accomplish the same thing with 3" wood ramps for the front tires to get me started. Budget for the project including the truck purchase is $10k so the basics come first, nice toys as allowed.

8* is the angle of the beavertail and ramps I am using (so far), may go to 10*, can't go much more than this without risking ripping off the trailers stabilizer jacks when you winch it on.

Been playing with Autocad 2008. Using 8*, without dump I need 14' ramps With a 3" dump I can go down to 10' ramps.

Now using 10* angle and 3" dump I can go to 7.5' ramps which will tuck up in the body "Texas Style" which is what I want.

Have to make things as easy as possible to use with my disabilities.
 

mrcllusb

Member
I was thinking of doing the some kinda transport service for my fellow soldiers if i can get my hands on a C4500 if i can get one within my price range,just to look out for them if they don't have the funds to pay an actual hauling service.
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
I was thinking of doing the some kinda transport service for my fellow soldiers if i can get my hands on a C4500 if i can get one within my price range,just to look out for them if they don't have the funds to pay an actual hauling service.

Quite admirable but you want to figure out your actual cost per mile before sticking your neck out and doing this. You might be surprised and it will COST you money if you don't.

With a medium duty truck at est 8 mpg loaded and 12 empty your fuel cost alone (which is your single biggest expense) is $0.81 per mile @ $3.89 per gallon. With no truck payment.... Your actual cost per mile for a one way trip and back empty figuring tire wear insurance food etc...... will be around $1.22 per mile.

Single tow towaway rates for pickup trucks like my dually that get 12 mpg loaded and 20+ empty right now are around $1.25 to $1.50 per mile and we have cargo insurance, transport plates etc....... There's a reason nobody uses a medium duty for single tow towables, they simply can't compete.

If private joe snuffy can't afford us, he honestly can't afford you either.

BTW, thanks for your service:D
 

mrcllusb

Member
I understand where your coming from.Even if i broke even i would just do it for the experience ya know.That way i can justify purchasing the truck to the wife besides just using it to move the fifth wheel..
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Nothing wrong with your idea. I just want you to realize the real cost of doing this and don't want to see ya go out and pooch yourself trying to hook somebody up with a favor.

Or do like many people when they retire and buy these nice class 4 and class 5 hauler rigs decide to transport trailers like me to offset the cost of their purchase and then go out of business as fast as they got into it because they are working for free.... or less.

Only place for a medium duty trucks transporting RVs is what I'm doing to transport 2 or more at a time.

To be profitable in the towaway business you need fuel economy and use a 3/4 or 1 ton Dodge with Cummins (prolly 75% or better of the transporters run Dodge) and prefferably a 5.9 w/ six speed manual or a Chevy/GMC with Duramax Allison (most of the rest that don't run a Dodge). Sorry Ford guys, except for the 7.3, the Powerstroke 6.0 and 6.4 doesn't cut it in this business.
 

HOSS

Active Member
pmmjarrett,

While staying in our local campground (Point Mallard Campground), I have had people wanting me to help move their 5fer or tt around the campground to better sites, for one reason or another. (Truck in shop, if local, carried truck back home, you name it.) I have a 2008 Chevy Crew Cab Dually with the Duramax/Allison set up with built in exhaust brake and brake controller. What are the qualifications for doing this full time and would it be worth it. I am retired and love to travel. Any info on this would be very helpful.
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
pmmjarrett,

While staying in our local campground (Point Mallard Campground), I have had people wanting me to help move their 5fer or tt around the campground to better sites, for one reason or another. (Truck in shop, if local, carried truck back home, you name it.) I have a 2008 Chevy Crew Cab Dually with the Duramax/Allison set up with built in exhaust brake and brake controller. What are the qualifications for doing this full time and would it be worth it. I am retired and love to travel. Any info on this would be very helpful.

Driver and Equipment qualifications

another company

another company

another

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This is the worst time ever to break into the business. The economy has simply ground the RV industry to a halt, most companies are not hiring. Summers are usually slow but not this bad. Best time to start is in January then it runs fairly strong until the 4th of July.
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Have been parts shopping. Still trying to get over the sticker shock of the price of steel now. Was quoted well over $700 just for 2 custom bent 10 ft sections of A36 carbon steel for the frame rails and they couldn't even tell me the tensile strength rating.......:eek: decided to go junk yard hopping yesterday.

First truck salvage yard I hit, Marsh Auto Parts, SCORE, I nailed what I needed and what I wanted to pay. Have delt with them before on hard to find stuff and always come through for me.

Picked up over 19' of 50,000 psi frame with all crossmembers and more from another F-800 Ford for $300. 11' of this frame is forward of the center of the rear axle which means if the spring hangers were the same I won't have to drill new holes to mount my rear axle.:D The rest of the frame behind the rear axle is virgin and never chopped like mine so bonus is I have needed support for the bed in one nice piece.

Second goodie was an old 1970s - 1980s Rest Rite 36" sleeper with a nice interior for $400. Bonus here is it was already mounted to an F series cab so I get the trim pieces I need and it is already notched for the frame as the F series cabs sit low on the frame unlike a regular class 8 truck cab. Had them just cut the back of the cab off for me so I get EEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeverything;).... and for some reason the monkey they sent to pull the sleeper STILL cut the friggin custom boot between the cab and sleeper in half :mad:

IMG00349.jpg IMG00351.jpg IMG00353.jpg IMG00355.jpg
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Quick update

Hauled a boat to Miami for a show this weekend so no work done. Home now.


Today was just a day of getting the shop ready for the sleeper install over the next few days. Picked up some paint sealer and other misc parts and built a light duty gantry so I could get it off my trailer and into the shop for paint and prep. Unfortunatly the door on my shop is only 7' tall so most work will be outside. Did get it off the trailer.

Plan for tomorrow
  1. Get sleeper into shop
  2. Separate from old cab
  3. Strip interior
  4. Fix a couple inoperable latches
  5. Sand
  6. Cut a few inches off the bottom if frameing structure allows (need clearance for battery box on truck.)
  7. Make template for opening cut on truck cab. I want a sit in bunk like it was designed to be unlike what the last owner did crawling through the back window. Had to do that a couple times today trying to get the side doors open, Not fun.
Will post progress report and pics tomorrow.
 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Busy day today. Got the sleeper removed from the old cab (what a PITA), removed the entire interior, latches, locks and emblems, got it turned around and up on stands and marked the old cab back to cut out a template.

Decided to scratch cutting the bottom couple inches off, will relocate the battery box instead if necessary.

Tomorrow, I will take the doors off, clean, sand prime and paint if time permits. Reason for takin the doors off is that I am doing a color change and I hate opening a door jamb and seeing a different color. IMHO It makes for an unprofessional paint job.

As for my flimsey looking Redneck Gantry, it's actually pretty stable and well braced..... but it's only designed to lift a couple hundred lbs too. Don't use one made with 2x lumber to hoist engines.

I'm going to use hosted more dial up freindly pictures from here out.





 

pmmjarrett

Not just tired..... RETIRED!!!
Today I cleaned, sanded, removed the doors, sprayed sealer (so the red wouldn't bleed into the white) and shot the white on the shell. Still have to paint the doors but my primary focus is the shell so we can start mounting it to the cab and chassis tomorrow.

 
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