Help boys.Just looked at 8x4 Tipper/Grab!

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS OWNER AND FLEET OPERATORS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Hi boys.

I wonder if you can help,only this morning ive just looked at a Volvo 8x4 340 FM9 Tipper / Grab.

Red body /white cab ex Morrisons Utilitys
52 plate
June 10 mot
279k kilometres
8 mtr Epsilon C100 crane/Palfinger 500 ltr bucket.

Thing is its quite dear well i think it is at £21995 but in that price they will prepare it complete respay in any color mend and mend all the bent bits etc etc.

The lorry is as its came in not cleaned not prepared you could say a bit unloved, i know these tippers esp grabs get a banging now and again and i suppose with the right preperation they say it will look like new ,yeah yeah!

The muckbody is an all steel body with the stickers saying " Hardcase " by Spenbourgh or something like that up north! Ive never heard of this type of body but apparantly Morrisons have been putting these on there tipper grabs for years? The body side has lots of rust on it which they will shotblast ,the rear tailgate is the same but underneath very straight and all original paint and very good.

The cab looks like “Paddy has spilt his flask a thousand times” but i think a bloody good valet would sort.the outside of the cab a few little dents usual bent bumper paint a bit dull and you can see where the old signwriting was.

Mechanics ran as they should for a volvo with 172k miles on it ,the crane very good no leaks.

£20k ish if took as is or £21995 all done up and looking like a Tart!

Wheels off for a proper paint job i did see what they can do with an old wreck of a digger that was used in a waste transfer station all its life and it was a " Pukka " Job.

So there you are i just wonder your thoughts please it could be a real nice wagon, its the cosmetics that really need doing and as all our gear looks very repectable i would only buy it if it looked the part i wont be buying it as is!

I also know there are a lot cheaper ones about as well but at any price there always seems they need somthing doing to them before buying and in the tipper /grab market it always seems to be the bodywork.

I look forward to any replies please.

many thanks.

Trickydicky

2

I would say you would be better with the epsilon 120 for reach…

3

If its a version 2 Volvo FM make sure its had the gear selector cable changed to the modified version if not you will have arms like Popeye on a bad day

4

]I would say you would be better with the epsilon 120 for reach…
[/quote]
As stated by seymie, the E 100 is usually found on 6 leggers and you would be better off with the E 120 for reach. On walkermovements they have a cheap renault for sale. ( don’t do copy n paste)

5

mucksavaga…I am goin to look at some Grabs at Bickfords next week…Are you near them…

6

Not far at all just a couple of jct’s up m’way. There is always jct6/7 commercials on the A34 in Birmingham and SHB up the road off the M42 and cromwells who are always in truck trader selling their wares. The outfit I work for well till Xmas anyway we lost out on a big contract ,been given notice so will jump on anything for a buck or two, will even do rdc’s work much to my dismay. Enterprise seem to be getting very big very quick, don’t think their wages are up to much. Let me know seymie if I can be of any help
pps Kelberg in oxford also

7

Howya lads?

Newbie to the site. Well Tricky Dicky; how did you fare out with your grab search? I’ve an Epsilon E93 on a Hino, Great crane, but a bit of a short reach. The E120 is probably the best of the bunch.

8

Just been reading through some old posts and have noticed that there have been some complaints of hydraulic hoses blowing on grabs. Usually you’ll find that this happens when you get drivers setting their revs too high, thus increasing the oil pressure and this leads to the face full of hydraulic oil. I’m an owner driver myself with an 8x4 hino with an E93 and i only set the revs at 1000revs and have never blown a pipe, except through natural wear and tear. Epsilon are by far the best grab for the job. Although it’s fitted with a kinshoffer bucket, i think the entercom bucket is better for grabbing concrete. As for HMF cranes, they’re a waste of space. I find that they get too hot and aren’t great at lifting a full load. Hiabs are too slow for grab work, best suited to lifting containers/plant. A warning to all grab drivers; Whenever you climb into the body, knock on the emergency stop. Because a few years ago, a driver slipped while leaning over the levers to hitch up his whacker which was in the front of the body, while he lay half in the body, the grab came in and crushed him to death. Too many of us take too many chances. So drivers beware, drivers be safe. So many stories, so little time.

9

How you doing bb an welcome,I just bought a 54 reg 8x4 Daf 85 cf 340 with an E120 and got the Entercom taken of,relaced with a Kinshoffer…
I am based in Glasgow an things are pretty bad here at the moment, Utilities are quiet,apparently the calm before the storm,the water will kick of big time soon they are throwing millions at mains replacement in the new year,I am on gas mains but only due to the old pals act,very difficult for subbies to get on the gas at the moment,They have met their targets for 2009 so no major projects due until next year.

I dont know what it is like in England at the moment,maybe Tricky will come along and advise.
There are not many of us on here bb (grab drivers)so replies are few.

Good luck mate whatever you decide…REMEMBER…(Where there’s muck there’s brass)… :smiley:

10

Hi Boys.

Update ,still on the look out for a 6x2 but be honest an 8x4 maybe better,as some of you know a grab for my business is just another " Arm" to our business one thing we want to do is do bag up and deliver one tonne builders dumpy bags as we crush our own concrete so filling the bags up will be with nearly “Free” aggregate.

My biggest worry was sending say a 8 wheeler out 30 miles to pick up or deliver a couple of bags ,there would be no money in it at all! So ive just bought (please dont laugh ) a superb handy and very tidy 7.5 ton Iveco tipper /grab complete with Atlas crane fitted with a very large Kinsoffer grab bucket with rotator payload is 2.5 ton and will pick up one ton bags even with the grab on,the last owner fitted high dropsides great for hiab work.

Only yesterday we fitted all the grab bucket pipes with " Quick realease" hydraulic fittings so we can now take the whole bucket c/w rotator off and leave in the yard when on bag work ,in about one minute! this then frees up another 1/2 ton of payload taking it to just over 3 ton ,this means we can take out 3 one ton bags and we also offer a “Skip bag” service as well so the customer can put their rubbish in the old or new aggregates bag and we come along and take them away, the average weight of these filled up bags are only 1/2 ton so we can pick up 6 of these.

With the grab off and crane folded behind the cab a handy little tipper and also used to cart some of our smaller mini diggers around, also all our work force can drive this being a 7.5 tonner although we struggled with one of our 21 year olds employees for insursance even though hes just passed his HGV most insurance companies did not want to know but good ole " Towergate " came to the rescue!

Going to test the market with this baby Iveco and if it all works out a bigger grab will be purchased by which time they will be even cheaper to buy becuase grab work here in this part of the UK is absolutely dire and in fact getting worse ,there should be some right bargains coming up in the next 6 months or so!

Its still all payout though ,just had to become a waste licensed carrier with the environment agency,money money money all the time!

Best of luck to all you Grab drivers,still like to hear your stories!

Tricky Dicky.

11

Howya Seymie? Thank’s for your response.Glad to hear your doing a bit and that not everyone is struggling in this game. The work over here is knackered at the moment and the fact that there’s only 3 major utility contractors here doesn’t help. Well, i can’t see much happening between now and Christmas, so i’m heading for Brasil in 2 weeks time with the missus for a months holiday and i’ll worry about work when i get back. Good luck with your Tonka truck Tricky Dicky. You sound like a man that has his head screwed on. Not sure how much you’re paying for skip bags, but Synthetic packaging in Ireland charge around 4 euro, if that’s any good to you. Also, good luck with the new grab Seymie. Hope all goes well with it and that you’re kept flat out.