Needing a mechanic for the day

[Jehinten]

Hello all. I recently got my class A CDL and have been searching online for a new to me grapple truck to purchase. A big hurdle that I see is that this is my first vehicle larger than 26,000lbs that I've owned and I'd like someone familiar with them and grapples (preferably) to walk through the truck before I purchase it.

I've owned a mini skid, bucket truck and chipper but I believe my experience with those and my newly developed knowledge of a pre-trip inspection may miss something of importance before making a purchase.

While I don't have a single truck picked out yet, so the area that I'm looking in may change a couple of times (meaning possibly multiple mechanics needed) I am currently looking at a dealer outside of Memphis TN who is supposed to have a few options to choose from on their lot.

This dealer does have mixed reviews online hence the reason for an independent mechanic to look it over. If you know of any quality mechanics in the area or close enough that they wouldn't mind traveling I would appreciate the referral. Also in case this dealer doesn't work out, I may be looking elsewhere in the country and will update any future locations in later post.

Obviously I am willing to pay for their time and their honest opinion on the truck; and I can negotiate that price on a case by case basis depending on what they request and how far they are traveling.

 

[Birdyman88]

I am currently looking at a dealer outside of Memphis TN who is supposed to have a few options to choose from on their lot.

Being from Memphis area for the last 22 years, I'll tell you that you better bring that mechanic. There's a lot of hustlers and crooks here. Lot of good people too, but hard to tell who's who sometimes. In general, don't expect great customer service or any outstanding technical knowledge. Just verify everything for yourself.

As a side note, I've found doing deals in MS and AL to be almost the exact opposite. And Nashville is pretty good too.

 

[Jehinten]

Being from Memphis area for the last 22 years, I'll tell you that you better bring that mechanic. There's a lot of hustlers and crooks here. Lot of good people too, but hard to tell who's who sometimes. In general, don't expect great customer service or any outstanding technical knowledge. Just verify everything for yourself.

As a side note, I've found doing deals in MS and AL to be almost the exact opposite. And Nashville is pretty good too.

Thank you for the heads up. I'm willing to do business anywhere in the continental US as I don't mind to travel and drive the truck back. Just so long as I find a decent truck in my budget and I get it checked out first.

 

[OasisTree]

5 years ago, I was where you were. Looking for my first grapple truck and not feeling like I knew much. I was looking for a good used cab and chassis, and called around till I thought I found a good one. Looking back, I wish I would have just bought a new one, although whether I could afford one was debatable. We had a lot of learning on an old truck, and plenty of shop time that we paid for instead of making money. Overall the truck worked out for us, if you factor out all of the mental stress. There are alot of things that can fail, and all of them are expensive. Big rig shop labor is expensive as well.
I now have a new truck, and although the payments are more, I have the peace of mind of knowing we wont be dealing with alot of down time and headaches on the job because of a breakdown.
Whatever you decide, Good luck on your search!

 

[Jehinten]

5 years ago, I was where you were. Looking for my first grapple truck and not feeling like I knew much. I was looking for a good used cab and chassis, and called around till I thought I found a good one. Looking back, I wish I would have just bought a new one, although whether I could afford one was debatable. We had a lot of learning on an old truck, and plenty of shop time that we paid for instead of making money. Overall the truck worked out for us, if you factor out all of the mental stress. There are alot of things that can fail, and all of them are expensive. Big rig shop labor is expensive as well.
I now have a new truck, and although the payments are more, I have the peace of mind of knowing we wont be dealing with alot of down time and headaches on the job because of a breakdown.
Whatever you decide, Good luck on your search!

Thank you.

As of now, new isn't an option for me. I work a pretty relaxed schedule with a lot of time off which doesn't work well for payments

My plan with this truck is not only to ease the debris burden on my jobs but to subcontract out to other companies as well to clean up debris that is roadside.

There are roughly 40 licensed tree services here and currently there is no one offering this service to all of the little companies who struggle to haul off debris I'm hoping to fill that void while still maintaining a flexible schedule to take time to be with my kids; and in a couple of years I may be able to shop around for either a new truck or a higher end used truck.

My current budget is around $50,000. With a little due diligence I should be able to avoid a mechanical nightmare with that price range, although I may not get every feature that I would like.

 

[Birdyman88]

I have a good friend in Nashville who owns a truck (diesel) repair shop. If you are in that area, he said he can hook you up with his mechanic, or you can even bring the truck there. If it's not during regular hours, then his mechanic might be up for traveling a bit.

 

[Jonny]

Just thinking out loud and may or may not be helpful, but if you got any friends that work for the power company, they might be able to put you in touch with an expert from their motor pool.

 

[Fivepoints]

Heavy Metal Inspections

These guys may be able to help you. It's what they do.

We have a guy that decided to do the sub to others with a grapple truck. It's ended up overwhelming him. He quit doing other tree work and only hauls.

We have our own single axle grapple truck. While we done lots with it, its a maintenance pig and it weighs to much vs its gvwr. Its easy to overload it if hauling logs. Does fine with brush and some logs thrown in. Works well as a backup for our chipper but not so much as a log truck.

A $50k truck is probably going to need lots of repairs in the next few years. $10k per year in repairs isnt uncommon. May be more depending on what breaks. Lots of hoses and hydraulics. Pins and bushings dont last that long even if you are good on maintenance. Lots of welding repairs.

 

[Jehinten]

Thank you everyone for the suggestions so far.

I'm leaning away from the above mentioned dealer for the moment and looking at a private sale in Columbia Missouri if anyone has any contacts near the area.

This truck is a few years older than my original "maximum allowable age" but seems to have all of the key features that I was looking for according to the pictures and text messages.