new log truck

[treefarmer87]

im getting ready to get a new log truck it is a ford F-700 5.9 liter cummins it has 15,000 miles on it and air brakes they want $3500 for it. it is in good shape. is it a good deal?  what is the difference between air brakes and regular brakes?

[stonebroke]

Really only 15,000 miles? The motor is worth that.

Stonebroke

[tlandrum]

air brakes require cdl and they have a lot more up keep than hydraulic brakes. thats a heck of a deal if the truck really has 15000 on it. id buy it and dont need it for that price. i run a 1985 freightliner and wont go back to a single axle truck. i haul more wood in the same amount of time and time is money. i went from hauling 1500-2000 ft on a single to hauling 2500 to 4000 on my tandem. with things the way they are i see good tandems for 4-5000 all the time . id put another 1500 with that and get a tandem.

[treefarmer87]

thats what i want to get but this is a hard deal to pass up

[treefarmer87]

 what do u mean they require more "upkeep"?

[Maine372]

driving a vehicle with air brakes requires an endorsement on your drivers license, and a truck that size might require a CDL. contact your state DOT or Dept of Motor Vehicles. theres alot of info in booklet they will give you to study. its pretty easy to understand, but if the book confuses you ask a mechanic to explain it to you in laymens terms. heres the abriviated version from off the top of my head.

heavey springs hold the parking brakes on, air pressure releases them. lighter springs hold the service brakes off, air pressure applies them when you step on the pedal.
because the air is vented to atmosphere when you let off the brakes the compressor has to rebuild the lost pressure. there will be a gauge on the dash which will tell you how much pressure you have in the tank. the compressor should stop pumping at about 120 psi. it should start pressurizing below 90 psi. under 60 PSI a buzzer will come on. this means that you no longer have enough air to effectively brake with. the brakes will come on automatically between 40 and 25psi and stop the truck abruptly. when the buzzer comes on get stopped, NOW!

the brake can pushes a rod which turns a shaft and applys the brakes via an S-cam (see picture in the state booklet) as the brakes wear you need to adjust the brakes to make up for the wear. this should be done by a mechanic. what you need to know as the driver is that the brakes are in adjustment. there should be less than one inch of play where the rod from the brake can pins onto the slack adjuster. just grab on and pull. if you can move it more than an inch, they need adjusted. THIS WILL BE CHECKED IF THE DOT INSPECTS YOUR RIG.

there is a thing called brake lag because it takes more time for the pressurized air to flow through the lines and actuate the brakes.
you can overheat the brakes buy hanging on the the whole way down the hill. get on the brakes hard enough to slow the truck to 5-10 MPG under your ideal speed, then get off the brakes and they will cool while the truck speeds up again, repeat as neccesary. if the brakes get to hot they dont work as well (if at all) if your brakes get less responsive you may be over heating them. (more info in booklet)
air brakes are more tolerant of leaks because you cant run out of brake fluid (theres plenty of air around)rather than making sure the resivoir is full of brake fluid, you need to check the air compressor. make sure its not leaking oil around the shaft. it may have an oil resivoir seperate from the rest of the motor, if so check that.

[timberfaller390]

Treefarmer it sounds like a good deal, maybe TOO good. If it were me I'd get a mechanic to go over it with a fine toothed comb. Also another thing is you would be replaceing your C-65 with another truck with the same capabilities. The only upgrade would be that it's a newer truck (I assume since you didn't tell us what year the ford is). If it were me I'd have trouble spending money to buy something I already had IF what I already had was in good working order.

[ahlkey]

I nearly bought a F700 recently and discounted it since it was only rated at 18,000 GVWR and it was very heavy resulting in low payload.   However, the real killer was that the hours were twice that of the actual miles which came out to average only 1/2 of a mile per hour?  For me that was enough to convince me that the miles were not accurate or truck ran in idle mode only?   Could be a good deal but a lot of investigation is in order.   Be careful.   

[treefarmer87]

Yea im gonna check it over good, it is a 95 model and it has a heavier rear than my c 65 i think the man said it was 33,000 rears with heavy duty leaf springs it was a salt spreader for the u.s. navy and they didnt use it that much

[4genlgr]

1 how much rust on the frame
   is it double framed
   how much scaling between the frame rails has occurred
   have they spread
2 has is had a recent paint job
   how much dirt and grease and rust was painted over
   check around the crossmembers and spring shackles of signs of corrosion
3 check spring shackles for signs of
   wear = repair in the future
   grease = it's been maintained- maybe
   grease fittings take grease

just some of the thing i'd try to take into account. the truck is pushing 20 yrs old so all hte air lines rubber andplastic need to be inspected for cracks and chafes
good luck

[treefarmer87]

thanks ill watch out for all on that list