Tractor---Sleeper Conversion

I would think the gearing would be all wrong for a dump truck unless it was a tractor spec'ed to pull a dump or transfer trailer . It's also likely you'd need a frame stretch . By the time all the money is spent on the conversion you'd probably have been better off just buying a used dump truck

 

What you have to consider is.
1. Most road tractors have 12,000 pound front end. That is not heavy enough for most dump truck applications.
2. Road tractors generally have single frames. Dump trucks should have a double frame.

 

back years ago I helped a neighbor turn an old gmc general from a tractor to a dump....to do it right was a long drawn out deal....it turned out pretty nice but was a lot of work ..took the bunk off stripped fram down had new rails bent to slide inside old frame ..we doubled it up under the cab...had to shorten the xmembers luckily this truck already had hendrickson but had drill into new inner frame...lots of drilling!! removed one fuel tank added wetline tank,reworked smokestack..added leafs in front from 12k to make 18k fronts...new floaters on fronts put a new 15 1/2 steel galion dump...made a really nice truck but what a lot of work ...it could have been cobbled with way less work but then in a year or two of offroad dirt work it would have broke into...anyjob worth doing is a job worth doing right!...( this was back in late 80/early 90 and truck was still running last year..)

 

No need to buy a dump truck if you like your truck. A lot of dump trucks running around are ex-road trucks. See what it would cost to convert yours it may be cheaper or it may be cheaper to trade. Talk to someone that builds dump trucks. You can double frame yours from the cab back and heavier front axles are not hard to find. Your gearing should not be an issue and we have oil field bobtail tank trucks running around with 40k rear axles.

http://www.truckpaper.com/drilldown/manufacturers.aspx?ETID=1&catid=217&bcatid=27

 

We did this one and this is how it turned out . Started out with Cummins Big Cam IV 400 , RT 15509 trans, and Rockwell SQ100 3:55 .
We have done a Cummins ReCon Engine traded the 9 spd for a RT0 15 spd .also pulled the Rockwall rears out and rolled a set of Eaton DS 402 3:90's . When the frt rear end went south on us we pulled both carriers and went back with a 4:11 ratio
Latest thing we did was Get rid of the lo flo cooling system and went back to a high flow .

 

I've built 2. The first one I had I drove 4 8 years. It all depends on what exactly you are going to be doing with it. I run a pusher and that compensates for the 12k front axle most of the time but not all the time. On both trucks I purchased 18k rated front springs as well. There is also lots of suspensions to avoid if you off road. There are only a handfull of drivers I would put in a conversion.

 

Most trucks with a 48" sleeper will take a 15 to 16 ft bed easily. I've helped convert several road trucks into dumps. I've driven a few of them also. I drove one with a 9spd OD and 3:55 rears. You had to be careful when off-road but it got the job done.