If you are buying a truck that you expect will serve you well for the next 10 years, do not buy the cheapest thing you can find. If you are looking to get “Long Time Service” out of the equipment you can definitely shop around for a good buy but make sure it is on quality equipment. A quality 33k GVW grapple truck will cost you approximately $100,000.
Think about this, in 5 years if the chassis is having engine/transmission power problems, and your grapple is falling apart and has been patched so many times you quit counting, there are 1 and/or 2 things responsible: poor maintenance and/or equipment that was manufactured poorly. At the end of 5 years your $100k investment can be worth $60,000 or $10,000. Part of that value will be established at the time of purchase by buying quality products; the second part is taking good care of it.
A grapple truck consists of 3 main components: |
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Cab and Chassis: International, Ford, Sterling, GMC, Volvo, Mack or whatever you may prefer. This is the part of the combination that will get you from Jobsite A to Jobsite B and power the Unit while there. This is the most important of the 3 components.
First consider the *GVW. Typical ranges in a Grapple Truck application are from 15,000 lb GVW to 70,000 lb GVW. The State (or States) you are operating in sets the perimeters for legal weight hauled on your highways. Some states allow people to haul 35,000 lb GVW on a 2 axle truck while others can only go to 31,000 lb GVW. Some states allow you to go to 70,000 lb GVW on 3 axles, in other states if you try to haul that much you get awarded with a $1,000 Ticket for being “Overweight”. To “Maximize” your trucks payload, find out the weight laws of the states you are going to be operating in, figure out how much you want to haul, figure in your empty truck weight and order your chassis accordingly.
*GVW = Gross Vehicle Weight. This is what your entire truck will weigh, LOADED.
(If your empty truck weighs 25,000 lbs, and you load it with 10,000 lbs of debris you need to have your truck tagged for 35,000 lbs in order for you to be legal)
To stay on the good side of the DOT man, keep in mind your trucks legal loaded weight and load accordingly. The most common DOT consideration will be the GVW rating on your license plate, and your current weight.
Second consideration is the RBM rating of the frame (how hard the frame is). Depending upon the capacity of the crane, your chassis may need a reinforced frame. For instance, a very popular loader we sell cannot be mounted on a standard truck frame. It requires a truck being ordered with a 1.5 million RBM frame (standard is 1.2M RBM). Mounting a crane on the standard voids the warranty on the frame.
The third consider engine power. Factors will be size of dump bed / load, flat or hilly terrain, are you going to pull a trailer?
If you want to control your own destiny and maximize EVERY load, scales can be mounted on your truck so every load, as it’s being loaded, can be weighed. You know you are legal every time you pull out on the road.
Things to consider when buying a cab and chassis for a Grapple Truck:
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GVW Rating
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Frame Rating
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Warranty (mounting a grapple may void frame warranty)
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Your Local Service Facilities (don’t buy something you can’t get repaired)
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Engine Horse Power (flat or hilly, pulling a trailer?)
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Standard or Automatic Transmission
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Fastest Road Speed you want
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Air or Hydraulic Brakes
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Frame Length
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Warranty
Loader Arm with Grapple:
Whatever the name brand here’s some info to help you compare “apples to apples”.
Loader Arms are rated by capacity. They are most commonly rated from 1,000 lbs to 12,000 lbs. All cranes have a “Load Rating” chart that lists the capacity from right beside the truck to the maximum reach of that particular loader. For example a crane advertised with a 10,000 lb rating may really only be able to pick up 3,000 lbs out on the end of the cranes reach. A Load
Rating Chart will look something like this:
12,000 lbs |
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6' |
7,500 lbs |
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8' |
5,000 lbs |
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10' |
2,500 lbs |
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12' |
Grapple Loader Considerations:
Dump Bed (dumping System if applicable)
Dump Beds are rated by size (Length x Width x Height) and construction grade.
Typical Construction Grades:
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Light Duty bed may be constructed with 16ga floor covering with cross members spaced at 24”
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Medium Duty bed may be constructed with 14ga floor covering with cross members spaced at 16”
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Heavy Duty bed may be constructed with 12ga floor covering with cross members spaced at 12”
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Typical Lengths: 8’ to 26’ (8yd to 40yd)
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Floor Construction: consider floor covering and cross member spacing
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Dump System Type: Scissor or Telescopic cylinder
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Dump System Capacity: completely dependent upon bed size and usage (typically 5 to 35 Ton)
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Type of covering System: are you going to manually tarp or push a button and cover your load? (all states require loads to be covered before transporting on roads)
You may also be interested in:
Pre-Owned Grapple Trucks
Pre-Owned Cab and Chassis
Pre-Owned Grapple Cranes
Pre-Owned Dump Bodies
New Grapple Cranes
The Truck Store Inc’s Staff is very familiar with all the variations of grapples. Give us a call and we can help you figure out what will work best in your application.
