Building a chip box

How often will the small truck be used vs the big truck? The chip box that I posted before didn't dump. For occasional use that was fine. I would take the box apart and poke at the lower chips with a pitchfork. This would cause a small avalanche each time, making much of the unloading an easy task.


I always considered rebuilding it with a sloping floor in the chip box. It would reduce chip capacity, but offer an almost dump bed without the weight of a hoist.

Maybe not a great solution if it's your main rig, but as a smaller back up, it wouldn't be terrible.


I moved away from chipping, so I no longer use the small box and never did try redesigning it for easier hand unloading

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Since I bought the truck without an OEM bed I didn't contemplate an insert. I figured the weight savings would equal out doing it this way. The hoist setup I got weighs about 250lbs. If I put the bed I got on a diet it could be close to OEM weight.

@evo on the island y'all aren't doing 75mph down the freeway too often. Would working in a different place change your methodology for using that truck?

@Jehinten I am hoping that this truck will be the main truck. I want to focus on preservation work more than removals. This truck is a bit more efficient, is a crew cab, can be loaded up without a CDL (important for when my crew expands) and can drive in way more places than the big truck. I'd imagine that even when I have big removals or large projects both trucks would go out (bringing equipment and such).

I haven't had time to mess with it much this week. I need to get an oxy acetylene torch to cut the sides off the bed and run to the scrap yard for some subframe steel. And replace the idler pulley bearings on the big truck.
 
Analog said:
Considering the marginal overall size difference between an F550 and an F350, if you can, definitely get the F550.
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That's pretty much where I was coming from. The 550 can do so much more without being a bigger truck (depending on the configuration). Turn the bed I bought into a flatbed, throw it on the one ton and sell it to trade up to a 550 like I should have bought to begin with. Hindsight is 2020. I remember pulling dozers and stuff as a kid with our 350 but it wasn't payload and it wasn't every day. Lol
 
This might be interesting. I've got spacers made to get the clearance needed for things to move. It's got the spacing to get to the hydraulic lines this way too. There will need to be a lot of prep work on the steel to make sure it welds nice. I'll need to run back to the scrap yard to grab some (hopefully) 2"x3" to make spacers and pads for the box to fit on up front. Then I'll be able to back the truck under the bed and (hopefully) back it in the shop for a lot of back and forth to see how things fit.
I missed out on a torch setup for $100 today. Might have to bite the bullet and invest in one. The bed needs some repairs and things removed so I can test fit to see if this is even reasonable to install with the lift I purchased. It also could look utterly ridiculous if it's built up 3" off the frame. We'll see. I may have wanted to get the 3 ton, despite it only being a couple hundred bucks cheaper, simply because it's smaller. We'll see!IMG_20231026_181414617_HDR.jpgIMG_20231026_181430772_HDR.jpgIMG_20231026_181442998_HDR.jpgIMG_20231026_181446539_HDR.jpg
 
So, because of the big chip truck working so we'll and having too much on my plate right now I am opting to just run what I've got. The 1 ton most likely won't do what I want it to, per our conversations, to make it worth the effort and money I'd be throwing at it.
Sold the lift I bought at a profit, selling the bed at a profit, and found a stock color match bed for the pickup which makes it useable/able to be sold at a profit. That'd help my cash flows this month (on a big project that won't pay out until next month) and give me some breathing room.
I'll be keeping an eye out for an f550 that is in better condition and worth polishing up.
So much running around in the wrong directions but I learned a lot and am not going backwards with it all. Thanks for talking with me through this process!
And, I found an apprentice/helper who WANTS to work. Having a truck he can use (aka the f350) will be helpful.
Y'all are great. Thank you so much
 

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Good thinking, keep the one ton for sure, whenever it’s possible it’s very much worth while to have a second vehicle on the job. Even if it’s running out for a hot lunch on a wet/cold day. One that can pull a chipper fairly well for no haul jobs, and it is big enough enough you could throw a mini on it (flat bed). Or pull a dump trailer etc..
get a front receiver for it for pushing the chipper in tight quarters… on and on.
If the main dump breaks down, you can still get some work done instead of being dead in the water.
I know you turn wrenches but you’ll probably be doing the hard math under a tight schedule and taking the dump to a mechanic. Good to have a backup.
Employees are like children (not in a belittling way, most of good ones at least), but you’ll find yourself working for them as much as they work for you.
 
evo said:
Good thinking, keep the one ton for sure, whenever it’s possible it’s very much worth while to have a second vehicle on the job. Even if it’s running out for a hot lunch on a wet/cold day. One that can pull a chipper fairly well for no haul jobs, and it is big enough enough you could throw a mini on it (flat bed). Or pull a dump trailer etc..
get a front receiver for it for pushing the chipper in tight quarters… on and on.
If the main dump breaks down, you can still get some work done instead of being dead in the water.
I know you turn wrenches but you’ll probably be doing the hard math under a tight schedule and taking the dump to a mechanic. Good to have a backup.
Employees are like children (not in a belittling way, most of good ones at least), but you’ll find yourself working for them as much as they work for you.
Click to expand...
This is exactly where my head is at. It'll be usable and have it's place until a small chip truck is cost and time effective. The front hitch it a great idea. I was thinking of looking at trailers for this exact reason.
I've been debating the turning wrenches on the big truck thing. It is a time vs cost thing. If, say, it needs a clutch, that's 2-3 full days for me at my shop if nothing goes wrong (which things do). Or I bring it to them and they handle it and I get it back while able to keep working.
Oh yeah, children is a good way to put it. You raise them and hope they turn out to be good citizens (or foreman). The whole point of this venture is to build the company, starting with people. I'm not worried about making money from it for 2-3 years, I need the company to make its own money and make its employees money. Weird but I'm doing it because I want to (and because cash flows look good).
 
Brando CalPankian said:
This is exactly where my head is at. It'll be usable and have it's place until a small chip truck is cost and time effective. The front hitch it a great idea. I was thinking of looking at trailers for this exact reason.
I've been debating the turning wrenches on the big truck thing. It is a time vs cost thing. If, say, it needs a clutch, that's 2-3 full days for me at my shop if nothing goes wrong (which things do). Or I bring it to them and they handle it and I get it back while able to keep working.
Oh yeah, children is a good way to put it. You raise them and hope they turn out to be good citizens (or foreman). The whole point of this venture is to build the company, starting with people. I'm not worried about making money from it for 2-3 years, I need the company to make its own money and make its employees money. Weird but I'm doing it because I want to (and because cash flows look good).
Click to expand...
The only thing that strikes me with what you said, is that YOU are a employee of your business. Don't forget that. Track all your hours, even if its laying in bed and brainstorming you will quickly realize you are the lowest paid on staff.
 
evo said:
The only thing that strikes me with what you said, is that YOU are a employee of your business. Don't forget that. Track all your hours, even if its laying in bed and brainstorming you will quickly realize you are the lowest paid on staff.
Click to expand...
I'm by far the lowest paid. Will be for a while. Labor of love. I've got a full time job learning the power gen diesel work. This is because I love it. I want to build something that helps people, and to build something that survives on its own. It's like a kid, honestly weird. Haha. It'll make me money eventually. Like you said, it's raising kids. That's not to say I won't pay myself, but there's more benefit than just monetary compensation. What I've shown on the books has already helped my debt to income ratio, loans, etc. all of my tools are tax deductible, which helps. There's so much benefit I get from it outside of just a paycheck. I'm so excited to have this kid work for me. He's young, hungry, a farm hand, and wants to learn. I'll help him climb the economic ladder a bit, and hopefully he turns into a fine man who helps me build others who help build the company. We'll see. Could end up a shit show
 
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