What is the perfect vehicles for a scrapper ?

Small Pick Up ? With a trailer

Large Pick Up ?

Rather new at the sport and mostly i recycle scrap as a byproduct of jobs i get ... I see a lot more metal to be picked up and i am getting the bug ....

What do you work with ? What provide the best balance as far as cost/benefit ?

Thank You !



CornerStone

i have a ford ranger 4X4 that can handle alomost anything i throw on it, but would like a larger truck.

I have a heavy duty 1/2 ton and a heavy duty 3/4 ton. Only non-ferrous goes in the back of them, everything else goes on the trailers.

1500 lbs of lead will tell you real fast what kind of truck you need!

When I have a 1 ton, I prefer a PTO winch, beaver tail metal deck with a metal post welded at each rear corner. With the winch cable still attached to the loaded scrapper the posts kept is from sliding off. Mind you this was before the days the D.O.T. got happy handing out tickets for insecure loads.

With a 1 ton flat deck I could stack em two high.

One time I bought an army surplus 56 International 3 ton without an engine, stuffed in a Chevy 350 engine with a 4 speed behind it, Converted an 8,000 lb Braden PTO winch into a hydraulic, then made the deck so that it would lift and dump using a cylinder a friend gave me, another buddy gave me a hydraulic pump with a magnetic clutch and some 12 volt electric spool valves.

Striped the truck to the bare bones, sandblasted the inside and out then painted it emerald green with Perl then a clear coat over this, white bumper and grill, too much white so I painted over the bumper which looked really cool with the white undercoat.

When ever I want something painted for keeps I use Endura paint.http://www.endura.ca/ it's a nasty paint to work with because of the need of having a supply of fresh air for a breathing apparatus. Other than that this paint make a pro of anyone who can hold a paint gun.

The 3 ton International was also propane powered with a 216 liter tank, so I had good range to travel.

I suppose the ultimate truck for me is one that has a hydraulic crane, I'm on my 3rd. my first was a Ford Cab Over with a 391 cid industrial engine, propane powered with only a flat deck and and old Hiab crane I picked up for $800.00 then installed onto the truck. Cab Overs suck their much too heavy on the front axle and your getting stuck all the time.

Next truck as a large International 2300 diesel, RTO 13 speed transmission, Cummings L10 engine, air brakes then to finish to job a used Atlas crane that I purchased from Falcon Equipment in Surrey B.C.

My current truck is an old 1984 International with a DT-466 diesel engine, 5 speed transmission with a split rear, air brakes and a really nice crane with a 10,000 lb hydraulic winch mounted on the boom. This truck is parked for the winter, and it needs new brake shoes and drums before a safety next spring.

A good 3/4 ton with a trailer works just as well as any crane truck, in fact better in some incidences, you can get into places where a larger truck can not make it. If its a 1/2 ton truck you have install a pair of air bags which will increase the load capacity plus make the truck more presentable when you over loaded. When you can afford it put new heavy duty tires on your truck something with 6 plys or better even on the trailer.

My real preference for a trailer is a goose-neck with a 5th wheel hitch on the truck, but when your out to make a buck any truck or trailer will do.

If your truck is an automatic install a transmission cooler, if your transmission is an over drive and you can lock it out in city driving do it. Give the trans dipstick a sniff test once a month of the oil starts to smell burnt change it. These are cheap investments and will save you some serious money by looking after your rig no matter what you drive.

Disc brake pads wear out sooner than shoes, it pays to have good brakes, if your doing a lot of backing up install a back up beeper gad I hate those things but is better than backing over the neighbors kid. Plus if you do have an unfortunate mishap the beeper puts you more right than wrong.

I'm a firm believer that you don't need a lot of horse -power to be an effective scrapper. Oh sure I get a few funny looks as I pull up to the pick-up site, and I may get a motorist or two honking the horn me while I'm under a heavy load going up hill or on the Inter-state.



http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/...eanUp024-1.jpg

once again im new, but id say whatever you already own will work no matter whatever it is, ive scrapped nicer vehicles than some of the guys drive up the scale, just yesterday an old explorer that looked like it had done been thru the shredder and stuck back together unloaded for 30 min i was thinking where that stuff was coming from kinda like santas sack never running out. i was lucky enough when i started a few months ago to have that covered already with two dodge 2500 diesels and several trailers. my partner had a dodge but since i had two he has traded for a mustang i keep telling him im welding a roof rack on top and installing a winch on front with a trailer hitch DONT GO IN DEBT buying a vehicle to scrap i promise you before long you will come across the right vehicle in this business for less than 300 that you can drive home and on those yard clean ups you will have all the spare tires you can handle.

I've posted mine before, but I'll say again just cuz I love talking about my junkbox, lol.

I have a 91 Civic hatchback. Yup. Sure, I can't haul cars with it, but I work with alot of e scrap and trust me, I can fit ALOT in it. I haul my small buckets of alum/copper/ etc to the yard with it, for bigger hauls I borrow my parents Rodeo and my neighbors trailer. I'm looking into getting a truck soon.

Dang! logging out to get back to work and noticed this cool thread!

I drive an older 2.9 liter, 2 wheel drive Ford Ranger (7 foot bed w/ plastic liner). Most I've hauled in it was 1500lb.s of steel. Thick pieces that sat low, still scary to haul that much.

For drywall studs, ceiling grids, sheet metal it's just too small. (although I use it).
Perhaps If I built wood walls or put new springs and converted it to stake body,or pulled trailer for those jobs, but it runs too rough. (Always had bad luck with automatic transmissions AND vans...don't like vans, Pick-ups are better IMO).

Sure the little trucks get better mileage BUT NOT when one has to make ten trips which could be made in ONE trip with larger truck or larger truck with trailer for occasional use.

Even considered "scouting" stuff on a motorcycle, carry GPS maybe, mark the areas down, then return with (proper size for job) truck (???) seems like it could work.

My IDEAL truck would be an Isuzu NPR, Diesel, manual, four cylinder.
Not sure the capacity but I've hauled OVER 6000lb.s of trees to dump in one before, easily.
Plus Ideally sometime IF I had bio-deisel set up would be totally awesome.
There are all sorts of accessories for the beds Like: Hydraulic lift (dump-truck style)
...The thought of dumping 3+ tons of even plain steel that way !!!
Besides the ability to pick up from multiple HVAC companies in a single run, etc.

Oh, I like the stake body set up , BUT a box NPR could double for smaller moving and storage jobs...About to probably sell my Harley-Davidson to buy one...been thinking a lot on this is all.
Thanks.

Originally Posted by CMHN

I would like to get a car hauler, just cant justify buying one at the moment, I don't get enough cars to make it worth the investment.

IF the car will roll, U-haul (only place I know of that) rents car dollies. The two wheel dolly trailer thing.
$68 per day includes insurance.
Been thinking a good hussle (besides scrapping cars) might be to bring one to the car auction, where people cannot leave the lot until they get tags at DMV, and offer them to tow it reasonable distance for $100 or so.

Think I definately need a trailer myself IF I get into cardboard recycling for $60 per ton.
Or ever recycle 40X48" pallets again (my truck holds up to 22 but scary) full size pick-ups stack two wide and have up to 40 or so...Either way I'd have to fill my storage space and then make single trips to be worthwhile.

Oh, some essentials on my truck are: one gallon gas can, tire plug kit (had five plugs in same tire before I finally replaced it),
air pump (crappy kind that plugs into lighter), tire iron and jack of course,
A red-shirt and duct tape (to tape on when stuff is 2 ft. outside bed, OR put on if my other shirt gets wet),
Three small straps, one large 27' truck strap (for heavy stuff, two of these for pallets)(It's the only one that'll reach the leaf-springs to hook there for heavy stuff). Well I have a small tool bag with essentials, can't carry more tools than tote-able in a so-so old truck, it's a set-back.

Originally Posted by DumbD

A red-shirt and duct tape (to tape on when stuff is 2 ft. outside bed, OR put on if my other shirt gets wet),

I've been using flagger tape. Can get a big roll of it at Home Depot. Hard to miss when it's fluttering in the wind.