Ford Cf8000

[140mower]

In my quest for a better tow rig than my current Dodge pick-up and a dump truck I recently picked up a Ford single axle cab-over and have located a dump box that should fit it nicely. It sure going to be a short little thing, it has a 117" wheel base, but being a cab-over it will still take a 10' dump box, now the fun part of trying to make it all work together. The hydraulics have me stumped at the moment, the easiest would be to put in a pto off the trans and go from there, but I'd like to have "live" hydraulics to run a front plow and sander in the future, which would likely be belt driven off the front of the engine.
Anybody else done this or have any ideas or tips to make things go a little smoother? I'll try and get some pics up here soon and try and keep things updated as I go along.

Thanks, Don

 

[skidsteer.ca]

Don
Well, I think you would need two separate systems, the pto pump would likely be higher volume, but made for intermittant use (leaving it on would wear pto out quickly and a manual trans is difficult to shift with the load of the pto on the gears) and the belt drive lower volume but capable of continuous use.
The other important factor is how much pressure the hoist, vesus the plow and sander require.
If your pressure numbers are near the same for all 'attachments" then the system will work with any volume of pump , However if one "flow requirement" is greatly higher then the gallons per minute (GPM) the pump produces, then the "one" function will be slow.
It might lift your dump box just fine, but how long are you willing to wait for that to happen??
Most hoists have large bore cylinders which are going to take alot of oil to fill, where as most plow have smaller cylinders, therefore less volume or gpm required.
You need to first find the PSI and GPM requirements of each item, then see if you can pick a pump that will work with them.
There will likely be some trade offs here, There are some things you can do to make the tradeoffs work together, but the system will get more complicated and expensive, and in the end, you may be better with 2 pumps.
Lets us know your flow and pressure requirements and work from there
Keeps us posted, hope thats alittle help
Ken

 

[140mower]

Don
Well, I think you would need two separate systems, the pto pump would likely be higher volume, but made for intermittant use (leaving it on would wear pto out quickly and a manual trans is difficult to shift with the load of the pto on the gears) and the belt drive lower volume but capable of continuous use.
The other important factor is how much pressure the hoist, vesus the plow and sander require.
If your pressure numbers are near the same for all 'attachments" then the system will work with any volume of pump , However if one "flow requirement" is greatly higher then the gallons per minute (GPM) the pump produces, then the "one" function will be slow.
It might lift your dump box just fine, but how long are you willing to wait for that to happen??
Most hoists have large bore cylinders which are going to take alot of oil to fill, where as most plow have smaller cylinders, therefore less volume or gpm required.
You need to first find the PSI and GPM requirements of each item, then see if you can pick a pump that will work with them.
There will likely be some trade offs here, There are some things you can do to make the tradeoffs work together, but the system will get more complicated and expensive, and in the end, you may be better with 2 pumps.
Lets us know your flow and pressure requirements and work from there
Keeps us posted, hope thats alittle help
Ken

Thanks for the input Ken. I've been giving this problem a lot of thought for the last while, and I think there is something major I may be overlooking. I live in some pretty steep mountains and most of the roads are far from smooth, I'm thinking when I'm coming home empty (generaly downhill) and as short as it is, it might (likely) be unstable with a front plow on it. So for now I think I'll just leave it as a dump truck and forget about the snow removal.
The hoist in it is a scissor lift with I believe a 8" bore by 30" stroke double acting cylinder. Will try and get some better measurements and pic's tomorrow.
In the mean time here's a couple pics of the task at hand.
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m278/140mower/cf8000/Pict0078.jpg
This should keep me out of mischief for a little while anyhow. The box is just resting on the frame waiting for me to decide if I'll leave it there or move it back a little. Then I'll make up the frame mounts etc. and hopefully by then I'll have the hydraulics figured. I think I'll go with a trans mounted pto, preferably air shift and keep it as simple as possible.
Don

 

[140mower]

Thanks for the input Ken. I've been giving this problem a lot of thought for the last while, and I think there is something major I may be overlooking. I live in some pretty steep mountains and most of the roads are far from smooth, I'm thinking when I'm coming home empty (generaly downhill) and as short as it is, it might (likely) be unstable with a front plow on it. So for now I think I'll just leave it as a dump truck and forget about the snow removal.
The hoist in it is a scissor lift with I believe a 8" bore by 30" stroke double acting cylinder. Will try and get some better measurements and pic's tomorrow.
In the mean time here's a couple pics of the task at hand.
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m278/140mower/cf8000/Pict0078.jpg
This should keep me out of mischief for a little while anyhow. The box is just resting on the frame waiting for me to decide if I'll leave it there or move it back a little. Then I'll make up the frame mounts etc. and hopefully by then I'll have the hydraulics figured. I think I'll go with a trans mounted pto, preferably air shift and keep it as simple as possible.
Don

Not sure how I managed to screw that up, but I did a fine job of it.

............Slow learner I guess.
Don

 

[nobull1]

Not sure how I managed to screw that up, but I did a fine job of it.





............Slow learner I guess.
Don

Looks good. How long is that box?

 

[140mower]

Looks good. How long is that box?

Thanks, it's a 10 foot box. It's a little rusty looking, but hopefully I'll get it sandblasted and painted this spring. Of course, I prefer to call it experienced rather than rusty.
Don

 

[nobull1]

Thanks, it's a 10 foot box. It's a little rusty looking, but hopefully I'll get it sandblasted and painted this spring. Of course, I prefer to call it experienced rather than rusty.
Don

Don
After I asked the question I realized that you had already stated it was a 10'. I think that will be a sharp truck once the body is blasted and painted. I look forward to seeing it when completed.

Brian

 

[140mower]

Don
After I asked the question I realized that you had already stated it was a 10'. I think that will be a sharp truck once the body is blasted and painted. I look forward to seeing it when completed.

Brian

This is a project that I grossly underestimated both the size of the project and the time that would be available to work on it, but some progress has been made and soon it should ready to start earning it's keep around here. Anyways, here's a couple updated shots of the task at hand.

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Don

 

[skidsteer.ca]

This is a project that I grossly underestimated both the size of the project and the time that would be available to work on it, but some progress has been made and soon it should ready to start earning it's keep around here. Anyways, here's a couple updated shots of the task at hand.

<script type=text/javascript> Event.observe($('fullSizedImage'), 'load', function(event) { pageTags.addTagListToImg('fullSizedImage', [ ]); }); <script>






Don

Looks good.
What is the box or tank underneath the wet kit reservoir?
I think with that short wheelbase and a couple yards in the box she'd make a dandy plow truck too. Should be vary manoeuvrable.
Ken

 

[sandhills-elect]

Looks good.
What is the box or tank underneath the wet kit reservoir?
I think with that short wheelbase and a couple yards in the box she'd make a dandy plow truck too. Should be vary manoeuvrable.
Ken

Very nice looking little truck, i think everyone could find a use for a little truck like that. How many Hp does it have? I bet it will handle a little trailer very nicely, that extra breaking power will be nice. Sometimes people forget if you can pull it you also need to stop it too. Nice Job hope you enjoy your hard work!! See ya Brent.

 

[140mower]

Looks good.
What is the box or tank underneath the wet kit reservoir?
I think with that short wheelbase and a couple yards in the box she'd make a dandy plow truck too. Should be vary manoeuvrable.
Ken

Hi Ken, the box under the hydraulic tank is a tool box. It's 2 feet square by 4 feet deep and has a roll out drawer that runs on eight bearings. One other thing I did was to isolate the two fuel tanks and put a bung into the top of the smaller one and added a fuel transfer pump so I can re-fuel the skid or mini ex 3-4 times per tank. One of the hardest parts of this project has been trying to figure out what I want and need on this thing and then how to make it all fit in on such a short wheel base. Over-all I'm quite happy with how it's working out so far, and yes it is very manuverable, this thing puts my old pickup to shame as far as turning radius goes, plus with the Fuller 10 speed in it, it is a lot nicer towing on the hills we have around here. I'm still up in the air as to whether I want to put a plow on it or not or just use the skid and keep the work radius smaller.
Don

 

[140mower]

Looks good.
What is the box or tank underneath the wet kit reservoir?
I think with that short wheelbase and a couple yards in the box she'd make a dandy plow truck too. Should be vary manoeuvrable.
Ken

Thanks Brent,
It has the 210 hp version of the 8.3 C series Cummins in it, and 4.30 rearend gears, so its no speed demon, but works very well on our local roads. Braking is very good with the truck/trailer combo I have, but would like to add an exhaust brake to it in the near future.
Don