1999 F-250 #54

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MostMint
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Re: 1999 F-250 #54

Post by MostMint »

Oh man the Millennium Flatbed returns
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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wxo
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Re: 1999 F-250 #54

Post by wxo »

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Basement Paul
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Re: 1999 F-250 #54

Post by Basement Paul »

I like what this guy did from a cost savings standpoint. And it looks strong enough to do what he's doing. Mine would have to be significantly stronger in the mounting areas than his, and like he said, it needs a "headache rack" being a good solid bulkhead against the cab of the truck. This is probably not a DIY project for me though.
Talking to Dave last night he brought up a good point, that a flatbed sits higher than a standard bed thus raising the center of gravity of whatever I'm hauling. Some of it is pretty heavy and tall and another 10" higher will make matters worse. If it was a dually, I wouldn't worry as much about that. So now I'm considering trailers, or just renting trailers based on my needs for now. I can rent a 6' x 16' trailer that can carry almost 7000lbs for about $70 and I never have to buy plates, insure it, or maintain it. Or more important, store it.
In the meantime, I should at least get my trailer wiring checked to make sure that works. Not sure I need a brake controller as many of the rental store's trailers have inertia brakes on them so they'll stop themselves. I may have to stop by the Handy Rents to investigate their trailers as they're the most conveniently located trailer rental to me.

-BP
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MostMint
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Re: 1999 F-250 #54

Post by MostMint »

Brake controllers can be had relatively cheap so if you can get a trailer that needs them for less rental fee it might pay itself off fairly quickly.
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1999 F-250 #54

Post by Basement Paul »

That's probably the right thing to do. I'm also going to look at Carlisle for a pintle hitch of some sort as it seems many of these rental trailers are set up that way. I bought a 10,000lb receiver to go with the hitch both from Carlisle last year, so this seems like maybe a good place to get a decent deal on one.

-BP
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1999 F-250 #54

Post by Basement Paul »

Today my truck had it's first towing experience ever. Nothing crazy. It was an 1800# machine and probably a 1000# trailer. But all was well. I rented the 5' x 8' trailer from the Handy Rents in Painesville. My machine was actually exactly 5' wide but the ID of the trailer is actually about 63", so it was perfect.
What I learned is that all their bigger equipment trailers all have hydraulic brakes, so I won't need a brake controller at all. I also learned that my trailer wiring does function correctly, so I'm good there too.
This rental was $47 total. I can rent a LOT of trailers for the cost of purchasing a flatbed or owning a trailer. Turns out the aluminum flatbed is about $2900 plus about $1200 to have it installed. That's too rich for my blood. So I'll most likely just be a rental guy as the need arises.

-BP
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MostMint
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Re: 1999 F-250 #54

Post by MostMint »

Good call. Just consider the cost of the rental in the base cost of whatever you buy
[quote="Basement Paul"]Is that a mint rocketship on the hood?? :shock:
-BP[/quote]
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GMJohnny
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Re: 1999 F-250 #54

Post by GMJohnny »

A trailer like that one shouldn't cost over $1200 - $1500 to purchase. Plates are $43/year. If you really
start to rent a bunch, you could consider a purchase, but storing trailers is a drag. The trailers that
we rent at OHR are much more substantial than the one you towed, so I'm sure that Handy is renting
a less expensive trailer that you can get pretty cheap.

GM
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1999 F-250 #54

Post by Basement Paul »

It was a 3000 GVW, which held my 1800# load with no issues. The problem is, that trailer may not be big enough for the next load. And like you said, storage is a MAJOR factor for me, and insurance and plates are other added costs. In hindsight, I would have picked up the most recent purchase of three machines in one load and gone with a bigger equipment trailer. Then I only have one trip that would have cost me about $80. This is all a part of learning, and I'll get smarter (for the most part) as I go along.
I do need to buy more straps though... I only have six and I used them all on this one machine yesterday. It's a bitch when the machines are on casters and you have to drive through Euclid. No joke, these are the worst roads I've ever seen.

-BP
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1999 F-250 #54

Post by Basement Paul »

My rear shocks have been on back order a LONG time, and finally showed up this week. Today I installed them with no issues. So easy on this truck with lots of room for impact guns, wrenches, and I didn't even need to jack it up. The new HD shocks are definitely bigger diameter. Haven't test driven yet, but the fronts helped. The rears weren't too bad really IMO.

-BP
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1999 F-250 #54

Post by Basement Paul »

Today was a more serious load. About 3500# worth of stuff, and the trailer was about 3000#. In this case the trailer brakes did not work, but I just took my time and all was well.

-BP
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GMJohnny
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Re: 1999 F-250 #54

Post by GMJohnny »

Fortunately, you opted for the step-up pintle mount. If you had gone with the
straight one, the trailer would have sat too low in the front. Nice when the
plan works!

GM
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1999 F-250 #54

Post by Basement Paul »

Yeah, that hitch height seems to be in a real good spot, at least for that trailer. Towed real straight, even in the strong winds. A 5.4 is no power monster, and going into a headwind with this load, it did have to downshift out of OD on even the slightest grade. But getting to 60mph was no issue and it could definitely handle more if I got a brake controller. I was under the impression it had inertia brakes, but when I needed a 7 to 4 pin connector adapter (the rental store borrowed me theirs) I knew it was all me.

-BP
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1999 F-250 #54

Post by Basement Paul »

Last week I crammed 3 yards of mulch in one load, although I did end up going back for another yard and a half to finish the job. Then today I picked up these cabinets full of good stuff. Easy load today, only about 1600 lbs.
In the next week or so I'm going to replace the trans pan, filter, and fluid. It's not leaking yet, but it's crusty, so I might as well do it before I get stuck.

-BP
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Basement Paul
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Re: 1999 F-250 #54

Post by Basement Paul »

OK, so it took more than a week or so, but yesterday I did put the new trans pan, filter, and synthetic fluid in it. It does shift and drive better IMO, even though the fluid coming out was pretty clean, it was stinky. I never looked in the original pan until after I installed the new one and realized I had magnets in there, so I just cleaned one of them up and stuck it on the outside. It should do basically the same thing as these are strong magnets.

-BP
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