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F800 Service Truck

Tryloff

Well-known member
Joined
May 20, 2020
Member Number
788
Messages
186
I bought this truck about 6 months ago and have been tinkering with it as budget permits in my spare time. Since march 1st I've been working out of it daily too. It's still needs a lot, but business is flowing pretty well now that I can actually afford some stuff on my list.

As I got it:
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I tried to tun my air tools off the truck brake air compressor. It wasnt able to keep up, so I bought a harbor freight gas compressor. There are much nicer out there, but this works for now. I used some ru ber mounts and crudely cut angle for brackets. They seem to be holding up well for the past few months.

After I added the air compressor:
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And the mounts:
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I dont really like how tall it sticks up, but I guess it's not a beauty competition. I assume when I get a welder mounted up there it will even it out a good bit. I wish I could have gotten a crane, but being a cash flowed business that was / is out of the question for this truck. It has a pretty good oil leak from the gear housing gasket to the block. That is going to be a chore to fix, but need do e sooner than later. Also a small coolant leak where the oil cooler is on the passenger side. I've done plenty of those on the newer ISB and ISL engines, but never on an older one. That will be done when I do the front oil leak.
 
Are those insulators thru-bolt, or bonded plate? I don't think I would trust the bonded plate insulators for what you are doing with them.
Otherwise looks good.
 
You should put some chain or cable on that horizontal door, that way next time it comes open while you're driving you can see it easier.
 
Engine is a 98 12 valve with a big truck bell housing allison 4 speed in it. 114k miles on the odo currently, 107k on the title when I bought it. Air brake truck. 26,999 gvwr but I have it registered at 17k for now.

You should put some chain or cable on that horizontal door, that way next time it comes open while you're driving you can see it easier.

I actually took that chain off. I had it down and tore it off going through my shop door. $750 fxxk up. I use the rear box lock bar while driving to keep the doors shut.

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That sucks, what kind of body is that?

That's a cool truck, my friend just built a crane box for his service body to mount a 3203 auto crane. Not too bad but the down time for your working truck is the killer.
 
Altec. It used to have a man lift in the center. But that and all of the hydraulics are gone. It was pretty rust free. I did the roll on bed liner myself. I wish I would have had the money to get it done professionally though. I have tossed the idea of a crane, but I think before I do that I would just upgrade trucks. I like this one, but its sloooowwww. 7.5 mpg and 65mph tops on flat ground. A nice Pete with an isl would be the dream rig.

I think the only major project I would do to this truck would be a large work bench rear bumper.
 
Looks nice. Dont see those any more in california since it's big truck not legal for road use since CARB BS. There is a nice F550 for sale but it's only gonna be good for the road till December with a welder and crane and everything for $5K near me but i wouldn't want to pay that much for it unless I wanted to swap the 7.3 powerstroke into my 1989 F350
 
I looked at a few cali trucks before buying this one. I figure add 1500 to whatever the price is and that ought to get it shipped to ohio. There's some good deals out there though. I got this truck out of Nashville for 6k
 
Yeah my dad had a 94 international dump truck with a 130k miles dt466 engine. Ran and worked awesome. Was doing the 5k mileage exemption for years. They dropped it to 1k mileage and he sold it for 1/4 what it was worth 3 years before to a farmer who was gonna use it on his ranch is all.
 
There is companies in NV and AZ that buy these trucks from cali and take them to their state and sell for a profit for their business. Because you know. Emissions don't cross state lines. Lol
 
Yeah. I dont fix rust. I'm going to try for the first time in my samurai thread when I get around to it. But I can keep a clean truck running. A nice international with a mechanical 466 or a cleaner one of these trucks with the 8.1 Cummins and a crane would be ideal. But at that age those trucks are usually beat to death. This one is an old att truck from Alabama.
 
That compressor seems like a needlessly expensive way to detect low clearance structures.
It doesn't look it, but the trucks total height is only 9' 6" with the compressor. So I'm pretty clear of everything except a fast food drive through.
 
I got the 1/2" air hose reel installed today. I went with a cheaper one ~250 over the 700 reelcraft one I really wanted. If it lasts a year I'll be very happy. I hope to be upgrading trucks or buying a second by then anyways. Also pictured is the adapter back down to regular air line. With battery tools being as good as they are, I really only use air for inflating tires, jacking up trucks, and lug nuts. But when I do need it, this beats the tangled hose in the side box. Anything to make me more efficient pays for itself.
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On a bed that big why not just mount the compressor in the front sideways?
 
I wanted a waste oil tank there, just haven't had time to mess with that yet. Using 5 gallon buckets is getting old.
 
I wanted a waste oil tank there, just haven't had time to mess with that yet. Using 5 gallon buckets is getting old.
You're telling me.
Me last 3 trucks have not had waste oil recovery tanks and boy was I spoiled.
I had coolant recovery on my '07 F750 and that was really bad ass.
 
Something like the Sage oil vacs would be very easy to build even if you bought the tank new.
 
I was leaning towards a 200 gallon bulk tank and a double diaphragm pump. Not too sure yet, but that seems easiest to me. Hopefully get to update with progress on that soon. It needs done.
 
I was thinking if using a drum for the clean oil. Way cheaper than gallons or even 5 gallon
 
I was thinking if using a drum for the clean oil. Way cheaper than gallons or even 5 gallon
ive done that, most oil shops charge like 10-20 bucks for a empty barrel my base shop burns used oil for heating and sometimes its cut with diesel in burned in torpedo heaters.
 
Turns out a milwaukee packout fits perfect in the middle box. Which is good because the disorganization was really getting old. They have a slim design that should fit too that I'm going to try next.
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i will never in my life have a use for this thing, but that first picture in front of the shop really makes me want one. Looks awesome in the white on black
 
It's been a great truck to be honest. When I first went self employed I had not saved up nearly enough start up money. This truck has been super reliable and asks nothing for maintenance, so that pretty much saved me from myself.

As for needing one, every family needs a truck. This is a bit much for most.
 
Yeah. Unfortunately, parts are getting harder to find too. Most ford dealers cant help me.
 
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