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Using a garbage truck as a tow rig?

Defecater

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 11, 2020
Member Number
2283
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83
Recently stumbled across a cab forward garbage truck that the owner wants rid of. Been parked for about 3 years on a farm. I didnt think much of it when I looked at it from sheer curiosity(was there checking out other things). Since then, I have had bad thoughts about trying to buy it, scrap the gabage unit, and build a flatbed on it. Looks like it has enough wheelbase I could possibly put one rig on the truck itself and still have room to attach a gooseneck trailer and pull two more. I dont know what type of chassis it is, but it has a large Cummins engine and auto trans. Has driving controls on both sides of cab as well. How bad of an idea is this?
 
If the price is right and you're ok with it being loud and harsh riding then go for it.

The ones around here go 75 down the highway just fine.

Unless the bed is absolute shit it's worth a lot more sold for cheap than it is as scrap.
 
I'd bet it'd be easy to make it ride better if swaped to bags and different leafs up front. If cheap go for it.
 
The only good use I could see for that would be to scrap the garbage box AND the cab, save all the cab controls, and retrofit a cool classic cabover body onto it.
 
arse_sidewards said:
Driving controls on both sides would be a pretty awesome feature for longer trips...
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Aren't they standing controls on one side? And the cabs are super spartan IIRC.

Maybe gut the interior and add something better for long drives. Not sure. It probably really depends on the age and style of the truck too.
 
Yotota said:
Aren't they standing controls on one side? And the cabs are super spartan IIRC.

Maybe gut the interior and add something better for long drives. Not sure. It probably really depends on the age and style of the truck too.
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Trucks new enough to have a hydraulic arm are sitting controls. Might be offset closer to the door for visibility, IDK, never bothered to take a close look.

I think good seats and $200 of sound treatment would go a very long way.
 
I was a garbage man for 13 years. The resi trucks get the shit beat out of them. Same as a postal truck, stop and go all day. I had 1200 to 1400 stops a day. That takes a toll on a truck. The good news is that important maintenance like fluid changes, brakes and everything kept greased is taken care of pretty often. They get overloaded often, so check for frame cracks and broken leaf springs.

I would never buy one but might work great for someone else.
 
When I worked at the landfill they had one with a big flatbed and a crane on it for a service truck. It was fun running around the landfill with it just baggin on it. But I dont think I would want it to run down the road with it. Like someone else said the interiors have enough stuff to make it work, comfort is not even an afterthought, its not considered at all. The engine tunnel was up to your elbows and about 4 feet wide leaving barely enough room to sit on the left side or stand on the right side. The right side had a little fold down seat but we never used it. I think it had an 8.3 cummins and an Allison automatic. I never remember them ever having to do any work on it the whole time I was there for a few years.
 
Going to depend a lot on the style of truck. "cab forward garbage truck" could be a whole bunch of different things.
 
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