Making a Grain Truck?

[Tree-Farmer]

I would like to get your thoughts on building a grain truck (converting) It seems that it's hard to find a newer equivalent of an older F600 grain truck, so I want to make one. I need one, but maybe I'll try selling it.

I would like to buy a 10 year old F650 or Freightliner M2 106 cab and chassis, then buy an older grain truck with a good 18 foot bed, maybe paint it and then have a professional welding shop put the grain bed on the newer truck. Then I would have a 2014 F650 or Freightliner grain truck, older and cheaper, but not too old, would have modern features like air brakes. I think I could have one made for much cheaper than buying one.

One question is about the size compatibility. Is there a standard for Frame Rails? Are frame rails for Class 6 trucks the same size? On my 1973 F600, it measures 34 inches from the outside to the outside of frame rails. Each rail is 2.5 inches wide. The frame of the bed sits exactly on the frame rail of the truck. The inside space between the rails is about 26 inches.

Can I take a grain bed from a 1970s or 1980s F600 and put it on a 2014 F650? Are the frame rails the same width? Would they match?

Or, Could I take a grain bed from a 1989 F600 and put it on a 2014 Freightliner M2 106? Would the frame of the bed match up with the frame?

Here's a picture of one that someone made with a 4300 and another from a Fire Truck.

Have you ever done anything like this? What's your opinion?

 

[Rich'sToys]

Can't vouch for the newer trucks, but over the years there have been several older semi tractors in our area (usually COE's) with grain boxes and hoists on them.

 

[Destroked 450]

Frame rails on commercial chassis are all the same common width no matter what brand
Only difference between a F-600 frame and a L9000 frame is the thickness of the metal and height of the rail
I took the bed off from a 5 Ton AM General army truck and installed in on my 93 F-800

 

[ss55]

I would like to get your thoughts on building a grain truck (converting) It seems that it's hard to find a newer equivalent of an older F600 grain truck, so I want to make one. I need one, but maybe I'll try selling it.

I would like to buy a 10 year old F650 or Freightliner M2 106 cab and chassis, then buy an older grain truck with a good 18 foot bed, maybe paint it and then have a professional welding shop put the grain bed on the newer truck. Then I would have a 2014 F650 or Freightliner grain truck, older and cheaper, but not too old, would have modern features like air brakes. I think I could have one made for much cheaper than buying one.

One question is about the size compatibility. Is there a standard for Frame Rails? Are frame rails for Class 6 trucks the same size? On my 1973 F600, it measures 34 inches from the outside to the outside of frame rails. Each rail is 2.5 inches wide. The frame of the bed sits exactly on the frame rail of the truck. The inside space between the rails is about 26 inches.

Can I take a grain bed from a 1970s or 1980s F600 and put it on a 2014 F650? Are the frame rails the same width? Would they match?

Or, Could I take a grain bed from a 1989 F600 and put it on a 2014 Freightliner M2 106? Would the frame of the bed match up with the frame?

Here's a picture of one that someone made with a 4300 and another from a Fire Truck.

Have you ever done anything like this? What's your opinion?

They could be hard to find because there is no longer a market for a truck like that, building one might become a white elephant with no resale value. Most farm switched to semi trucks for hauling grain decades ago.

Check over a 35 to 50 plus year old grain bed very closely.

 

[Bob Bancroft]

I would like to get your thoughts on building a grain truck (converting) It seems that it's hard to find a newer equivalent of an older F600 grain truck, so I want to make one. I need one, but maybe I'll try selling it.

I would like to buy a 10 year old F650 or Freightliner M2 106 cab and chassis, then buy an older grain truck with a good 18 foot bed, maybe paint it and then have a professional welding shop put the grain bed on the newer truck. Then I would have a 2014 F650 or Freightliner grain truck, older and cheaper, but not too old, would have modern features like air brakes. I think I could have one made for much cheaper than buying one.

One question is about the size compatibility. Is there a standard for Frame Rails? Are frame rails for Class 6 trucks the same size? On my 1973 F600, it measures 34 inches from the outside to the outside of frame rails. Each rail is 2.5 inches wide. The frame of the bed sits exactly on the frame rail of the truck. The inside space between the rails is about 26 inches.

Can I take a grain bed from a 1970s or 1980s F600 and put it on a 2014 F650? Are the frame rails the same width? Would they match?

Or, Could I take a grain bed from a 1989 F600 and put it on a 2014 Freightliner M2 106? Would the frame of the bed match up with the frame?

Here's a picture of one that someone made with a 4300 and another from a Fire Truck.

Have you ever done anything like this? What's your opinion?

It's been nearly 25 years since I moved a grain box from truck to truck, so my thoughts are rusty! If I recall correctly, the new hoist alone was then over $4000. I think your main concern needs to be weight, capacities, and how it's all placed. Back when every farmer around here had an old single axle Chevy, Ford ,or IH with a 14 or 16 foot box, the rear of those trucks was grossly overloaded! But they got away with it. I wouldn't try that today. You need to know the axle (axle/suspension/tire) capacities, wheelbase, weights, axle to back of cab dimension, box length, etc, etc, and have it figured out before doing anything. There are formulas for figuring that out. I used to be able to do that. Do you know of a place where this type of work is done, and they would possibly help you?

 

[Fixingfarmer]

2nd rear axle or tag needed if you see a dot officer. They don’t hold much even with the 2nd axle and more length

We had one at a coop Ford 700 I believe with a 3406 sitting sideways under the hood had an aluminum body and we would swap it with a tank body twice a year till the last guy borrowing it gave up.

They don’t hold much a large gravity wagon holds more and is much cheaper. Especially if you only pull one you would be surprised how small a tractor will pull one wagon

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

If the old C60 was legal with a single axle, why wouldn't a modern truck be legal?

It's amazing how much an old grain truck that "don't hold much" brings around here. You'd think a 40 year old single-axle gas Chevy with holes in the cab floor would be worth $1200-$1500. Try $5000+. Apparently someone thinks they hold enough to be worthwhile.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

Most of them were not legal if filled. There isn’t a fire truck in the station that is.
Manufacturer just wants to get it delivered. Once it’s filled with the commodity it’s the customers problem. And they are usually more than happy to overload it.
We had a feed truck for example. You could get the total weight up to 52000 lbs on a truck with one rear axle. If you want to load it half full that’s up to you that’s legal but again that doesn’t hold much even full.

How much would 5000 get you in one gravity wagon? Again we are talking a vehicle that holds half what one wagon train or semi holds. Is it worth it to go to all the time to convert it? If you want the shorty semi get the shorty semi it’s ready to go as is.

At the very least throw a tag on so at least you give the appearance of giving a rip. around here a mile from the interstate the dot man decides he doesn’t want to get his scales out he will use the coop scale during summer. And once he’s done with the hotshot with 4 cars on top of the Dodge Ram he’s going to look at that cute little rig as you pull across the scale and be like hmmm do I want to snag a local for good measure today. Hence our amount of trucks of this type has dwindled fairly steadily. You only see a couple of them in the fall when he stays away because of the lines.

 

[Tony in SD]

If you are going to use it to haul grain, don’t forget to put a hoist on it. Unless of course you like to shovel.

 

[Texasmark]

Other than what's been said, like shown it Tree-Farmer's pictures, the rear axle needs to be toward the rear of the box to ensure that there is adequate weight on the front axle to aid in proper steering. A neighbor bought a used truck where the rear axle was centered on the box and fully loaded, he couldn't keep the front tires on the ground.....probably why it was for sale.....owner got tired of wrestling with the wheel.

 

[SkipperII]

Most of them were not legal if filled. There isn’t a fire truck in the station that is.
Manufacturer just wants to get it delivered. Once it’s filled with the commodity it’s the customers problem. And they are usually more than happy to overload it.
We had a feed truck for example. You could get the total weight up to 52000 lbs on a truck with one rear axle. If you want to load it half full that’s up to you that’s legal but again that doesn’t hold much even full.

How much would 5000 get you in one gravity wagon? Again we are talking a vehicle that holds half what one wagon train or semi holds. Is it worth it to go to all the time to convert it? If you want the shorty semi get the shorty semi it’s ready to go as is.

At the very least throw a tag on so at least you give the appearance of giving a rip. around here a mile from the interstate the dot man decides he doesn’t want to get his scales out he will use the coop scale during summer. And once he’s done with the hotshot with 4 cars on top of the Dodge Ram he’s going to look at that cute little rig as you pull across the scale and be like hmmm do I want to snag a local for good measure today. Hence our amount of trucks of this type has dwindled fairly steadily. You only see a couple of them in the fall when he stays away because of the lines.

If you have fire apparatus that are overweight in Washington; the WSP may ignore it, under normal circumstances, but if you have an accident, it will become the rope they hang you with. We have eight rigs that roll out of two stations, every one is legal. It is in the contract when they are ordered.

 

[Destroked 450]

Sounds like a lot of big grain country talking
We have several in my area with small fields and narrow entries that a semi has a hard timing getting in and out of, they use a tandem axle straight truck with 18-20’ grain dump
A cousin like myself only raises a few acres of grain (25 acres of less), he has a Freightlinr FL70 with 14’ grain dump that holds around 300 bushel
I have a 14’ bed for my F-800, up grading from a a F-600 or C60 to a more modern chassis with better better wheels, suspension and air brakes is a good choice
I ran semis for years but small farmers don’t need a bid semi setting around to haul a few loads each year

 

[1948CaseVAI]

Around here you cannot take a straight grain bed to most elevators. Semis only, and many only handle belly dump.

 

[redtom]

I built a single axle in 93. Took a mid 80s gmc 6500 series furniture truck. Bought a ratted out 58 chevy with a nice 14ft wood grain tight box and hoist for $300. Paid a guy to take 16 inches out of the middle of the frame and mount box and hoist. Frame business all matched. Used it for sand and dirt building my house. Had about 2500 in it. Sold it for 5000. Sold the furniture box for $500.

 

[cjunrau]

I would like to get your thoughts on building a grain truck (converting) It seems that it's hard to find a newer equivalent of an older F600 grain truck, so I want to make one. I need one, but maybe I'll try selling it.

I would like to buy a 10 year old F650 or Freightliner M2 106 cab and chassis, then buy an older grain truck with a good 18 foot bed, maybe paint it and then have a professional welding shop put the grain bed on the newer truck. Then I would have a 2014 F650 or Freightliner grain truck, older and cheaper, but not too old, would have modern features like air brakes. I think I could have one made for much cheaper than buying one.

One question is about the size compatibility. Is there a standard for Frame Rails? Are frame rails for Class 6 trucks the same size? On my 1973 F600, it measures 34 inches from the outside to the outside of frame rails. Each rail is 2.5 inches wide. The frame of the bed sits exactly on the frame rail of the truck. The inside space between the rails is about 26 inches.

Can I take a grain bed from a 1970s or 1980s F600 and put it on a 2014 F650? Are the frame rails the same width? Would they match?

Or, Could I take a grain bed from a 1989 F600 and put it on a 2014 Freightliner M2 106? Would the frame of the bed match up with the frame?

Here's a picture of one that someone made with a 4300 and another from a Fire Truck.

Have you ever done anything like this? What's your opinion?

It is done all the time. Works good and resale around here is high. Hard to find a good one and if you do most are 20ft boxes and go for 20-40 thousand. There are a lot of farmers that still run them instead of semi because they don’t get stuck as east and you don’t nee cdl

 

[Brendon-KS]

Around here you cannot take a straight grain bed to most elevators. Semis only, and many only handle belly dump.

I'm just a stone's-throw north of you (if I'm remembering your location correctly) in the Hesston area. We haul our grain to multiple local elevators, including the new rail terminal by Canton, in straight trucks, a twin-screw 600 bushel and an older single-axle 300 bushel. At the terminal they do have all the straight trucks dump into elevator pit since, as you indicated, the augers on the outside piles are set up for just belly dumps.

 

[ss55]

It is done all the time. Works good and resale around here is high. Hard to find a good one and if you do most are 20ft boxes and go for 20-40 thousand. There are a lot of farmers that still run them instead of semi because they don’t get stuck as east and you don’t nee cdl

It seems that allowing farmers to haul their own grain without a CDL has driven most of the small and part time grain haulers out of business.

 

[flying belgian]

I would like to get your thoughts on building a grain truck (converting) It seems that it's hard to find a newer equivalent of an older F600 grain truck, so I want to make one. I need one, but maybe I'll try selling it.

I would like to buy a 10 year old F650 or Freightliner M2 106 cab and chassis, then buy an older grain truck with a good 18 foot bed, maybe paint it and then have a professional welding shop put the grain bed on the newer truck. Then I would have a 2014 F650 or Freightliner grain truck, older and cheaper, but not too old, would have modern features like air brakes. I think I could have one made for much cheaper than buying one.

One question is about the size compatibility. Is there a standard for Frame Rails? Are frame rails for Class 6 trucks the same size? On my 1973 F600, it measures 34 inches from the outside to the outside of frame rails. Each rail is 2.5 inches wide. The frame of the bed sits exactly on the frame rail of the truck. The inside space between the rails is about 26 inches.

Can I take a grain bed from a 1970s or 1980s F600 and put it on a 2014 F650? Are the frame rails the same width? Would they match?

Or, Could I take a grain bed from a 1989 F600 and put it on a 2014 Freightliner M2 106? Would the frame of the bed match up with the frame?

Here's a picture of one that someone made with a 4300 and another from a Fire Truck.

Have you ever done anything like this? What's your opinion?

A truck company down in Iowa put this one together from a 2000 freightliner that had a bad van body on it. 20 ft. box off an wore out ihc gas. I bought it, used it 15 yrs and sold it 3 yrs ago for $2000 more then I paid.

 

[sms]

Here's an add for one. Don't know if it's your size.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/567298153355348/