The great thing about a “dump truck” is its versatility. The truck bed can serve as an extension of your compost bin. Or it can become a portable storage unit for all those bricks you found by the “free” sign. The dump truck can even be used a placeholder for that perfect parking spot right in front of your house. Since a lot of these trucks sit over the winter, starting them for the first time can be a crapshoot. So, get out your jumper cables and starter fluid. Is your dump truck ready for spring?
The 1-gen Ford Ranger pictured above is the perfect candidate for a dump runner. It’s over 30 years old, but still capable of making it from the backyard to the disposal site. This one hasn’t moved in a while, but probably will see some action once the grass starts growing. It could also win a hand of license-plate poker.
There’s an older Ford pickup peeking out from behind this nice-looking Toyota. The Toy looks too good to be strictly for the dump, but there is big bag of something in the bed.
Speaking of beds, here’s a rusty one that’s been grafted onto an ’80s Toyota 1-Ton. This rig looks pretty bad, but the owner drives it often.
The back-40 on this little guy is so rusty, there is sedum ground-cover growing through the side. This close up of the carnage also shows the leaf springs on this heavy hauler.
Let’s stay with the Japanese imports and this Datsun. It has the extended cab and, by the looks of the fuel filler door, might be a diesel. Was that even an option? This old Datsun also has collector plates, which may strengthen its cred as a rare truck.
Here’s a side view of the Datsun, which has been parked in this same spot for years.
This Mazda B2600i is a definite dump runner. It’s waiting in an alley near my place, ready for a load of wind-fallen branches or grass clippings.
This Nissan D21 Hardbody does double duty as a dump truck and an RV tow-behind. The bed on this one is splattered with spilled house-paint.
Dump Van anyone? You could fit a lot of junk into this old VW camper. Maybe an old rotten futon? Some broken patio furniture?
Finally, there is this great looking ’63 or ’64 GMC pickup in my alley. It looks so content there under his carport, waiting to be loaded up for the first dump run of 2020.
That Datsun could be an ‘81, which may have been the last year of the Datsun branding and external bed tie downs on the 720 pickup here in the US, and diesel was definitely an option that year. My 2016 Tacoma is still new and shiny, but has done its share of dump runs. This week it’s been hauling some firewood. The 5’ bed is sort of a limit; less capacity, of course, but also less work to fill and empty 😀
Thanks for the skinny on that old Datsun. I will have to check if it truly is a diesel next time I walk past with my dog.
There’s at least one diesel 720 in my town, also silver as I recall, and it has a “diesel” badge on it. Could have been added on that one, or could have fallen off your example.
I came across an ’82 Diesel that was also badged Turbo (which it surely was not). I’ve seen it semi-regularly since then and the small rolls of coal verify it is a Diesel for sure.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-outtake/cc-on-the-go-outtake-1982-datsun-720-turbo-diesel-pickup/
For two years in a row I had bought a cheap ($2000 or less) RWD stick shift Ford Ranger in the spring once the snow was off the road (mostly) and then used it for hauling as well as commuting through mid-summer, when I’d unload them for about what I paid for them in preparation for a similarly cheap FWD/AWD winter ride. Then for last year my setup was free access to a friend’s truck in exchange for getting it back on the road (’98 K1500 step side). This is a much easier arrangement for me of course, although I do miss having a stick shift old compact truck to bomb around in (although commuting in one every day on the highway gets a bit tiresome)
Free access to a friend’s truck is always the best arrangement (if it’s not too much trouble getting it going). I used to be that friend when I had my ’82 F-100, but now I need to borrow when I have a load for the dump… Also, you can’t really lose with the Ford Ranger.
My dump truck is the Caravan, and yeah it needs a spring cleaning after a salty and gritty winter. The cost of car insurance discourages vehicles like these in Ontario, why spend $1,000 on insurance for something you don’t use every day?
That VW Westfalia is far too valuable for a dump vehicle!
Hi Doug, we had a ’92 Dodge Caravan in the family that was a great dump runner. My brother-in-law took out all the seats and always had it filled with crap. It was a great runner too. Now that you mention it, I really miss that old thing.
Can’t you just suspend insurance if you aren’t going to be driving it for awhile? You can in the US, my Mother In Law has been doing that for over 15 years with her convertibles. Still covered if someone were to steal it or other damage occured while it wasn’t being driven, just not covered to drive.
It’s license plate fees and smog checks in Kalifornia. They raised the registration and commercial weight fee again. Getting a pre-EFI vehicle to pass smog is particularly difficult.
The K2500 would qualify by looks, but has to earn it’s keep doing a lot more than dump runs.
My dump trucks are pretty much always ready to roll. They do duty year round since the need to haul things doesn’t end just because winter is here. Plus they are 4×4 so they occasionally get used for more than just hauling when the snow comes.
It’s always ready, even if the heater is out of commission and the turn signals too. Hand signals are good though. 🙂
Since I don’t have the S-10 anymore (the ex kept it), I make do with my Mustang.
The guys at the dump always give me a hard time when I show up with a car “this nice” (their words) loaded down with various junk and recyclables.
Here she is being loaded up with some debris for a dump run a year or so ago.
Of course, I immediately wash it when I get home….
Going to the dump in a car that nice is like (well, it’s like something…). Anyway, the real test is if you have to load or unload stuff for the dump through the sunroof. Then it’s weird…
Great shot of Molly on patrol.
No sunroof on a Mustang, however it has a convenient pass thru, so I can get a surprising amount of stuff in it and close the trunk.
And by taking a car up there instead of a truck, they don’t make me wait in line to go onto the scales and make me drive back into the landfill area. I can just pull into the area with the dumpsters and be done with it. It’s the area where the used oil goes anyway, so it’s very convenient.
As to Molly (thanks for remembering her name, BTW), she was milling about while I was loading up anticipating a ride in her favorite car. 🐶😉
Thanks for sharing these photos and delightful to read article with us. That Toyota bed with the plants growing out of it sure is an impressive sight!
My family uses minivans for dump runs for the most part now. Used to be there were some Saab 900 Hatchbacks that would be used, but they are all gone by now. Since I live in an apartment I don’t have to worry about dump runs all that often.
That VW van looks like it could carry a lot of shovels and rakes and implements of destruction for a dump run. 🙂
Yes, or to pickup the garbage.
And cases of 8×10 color glossy photos to document the scene of the crime
I treat my minivan like a pickup, kind of…
When I bought the van I knew it’s final years were going to be tough. I wanted a van (mostly) hauling my mountain bikes around, but the best one I found came with a silver interior! Why are there no minivans with rubber floor mats? I ended up buying a bunch of rubber floor mats to cover the silver carpets in this van, instead. Seems counter-intuitive to me.
I won’t put loose dirt or mulch in the thing, but bagged landscaping materials? Yes sir. Big pieces of furniture? Yup! My crew when we go to the ball game? Of course. The leveling suspension seems to do OK with the heavy loads. I guess it doesn’t matter to the van, whether a load of mulch or five people.
The dumb thing reminds me greatly of my old Cavalier. It just runs and runs and runs, hardly an issue with it. But the part that REALLY reminds me of my Cavalier is that the rust is creeping up and it’ll probably be another year or so before I’ll have to scrap her… I can see that the doors aren’t lining up correctly and the sliders sometimes have a problem opening or closing.
Yes, you can off-road a Silhouette. Not particularly successfully, but it can be done. With the help of your buddy’s GMC 4×4… See photo
Yea that rust does look bad, but hey, the vehicle still runs. What would you get as a replacement?
Teddy: That’s a good question. Coincidentally, I have another minivan in my garage right now which was my mother-in-law’s. I’m not a big fan of the last gen of Ford minivans, though. But, it’s in excellent condition and best of all, free…
I would entertain a CUV as a replacement also. It would depend on what I find at the time, though.
I have seen a bunch of these GM vans (and other vehicles) with that nasty rocker rust and have always wondered if it is structural or just cosmetic.
Have you noticed how 2nd gen Kia Sedonas withstand rust up in your part of the world? Down in central Indiana they have done quite well.
Your “free” Mercury sounds nice. I have known a guy who has coaxed more life out of a pair of Windstars than I would have thought possible. For me it would be a tough choice – sell it while it is nice and get something more robust like a Grand Caravan? Or treat it like a free car (Free-star?) and run it until a head gasket or a transmission gives out? I don’t know which way I would fall.
Having driven for a delivery service that used unibody (full-size) vans, the first sign the van was having structural issues was when the tops of the passenger doors and the slider(s) were touching.
I wrote about possibly scrapping my van due to the structural issues a friend of mine had with a similarly aged (but much higher mileage) Chevy Venture. I’m having a similar issue with mine, but after enlarging the pic that I posted I see that the tops of the doors were doing the same thing… back in 2017 when I shot that photo. It doesn’t seem to have gotten any worse. I don’t think the rocker panels are structural anyway.
You’ve mentioned many times that you don’t see many Sedonas, and I really don’t either around here. I wish I could give you some sort of report, but alas, not today…
I’ve been scouting Grand Caravans for a while now, and one of those would be my first choice. But the idea of just running the Mercury into the ground may be the less expensive up front solution. I’d REALLY have to pay attention to any rust issues with that generation of Ford minivan, but I bet I could get 4-5 years out of it (before rust becomes an issue). That would be way less hassle than the pittance I would get for it on Craigslist.
My first dump runner was my ’71 VW Campmobile, purchased as a non-runner (points were closed, so easy fix), and its first task was taking over a ton of old engine blocks (including a Pontiac OHC 6!) to the scrap yard.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/my-ex-curbside-classic-1971-vw-bus-the-mayfield-belle/
I bought my Dad’s ’68 F-100 when we moved to the farm 18+ years ago, and it made numerous dump runs, as well as hauled hay, firewood, building supplies, mulch, and whatever else in bulk form that needed moving from one place to another.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/coal-requiem-for-a-truck/
Two more Ford trucks followed the F-100, and my current dump runner is my ’15 RAM 4×4. It’s definitely a ‘farm truck’ and even though it’s still newish, it’s worked hard whenever I use it.
I most recently used it to haul a load of old fence-row-art implements to the scrapyard.
Out of curiosity what do you use to secure the load in your bed and on the trailer?
Heavy duty tie down straps like truckers use. Same as I used to secure loads of hay.
My Home Depot runner gets used year-round, despite being 2wd and with just the standard axle. But, whatever the season it fires right up every time. 212,000 miles and kicking just fine. A few months ago it pulled the biggest trailer U-Haul will rent and moved my house with no complaint. It’s hauled drywall, lumber, and everything else. And, everything still works, even the A/C!
Good looking truck!
I need to clean mine up, but it gets used for the dump runs regularly and also the junkyard runs sometimes nowadays. The cab currently has more stuff in it than the bed, stuff just seems to accumulate in there over the winter for some reason…
As someone else said, it being 4WD with winter capable tires gives it another use on certain winter days as well.
Most of the ones in your ‘hood are the smaller type, I kind of like all of those pictured, while I’d miss the space of my larger one, I think I’d like driving a smaller one more around town, especially in summer with the window down and with a stick shift.
Here’s mine, generally driven once or twice a week. Fuel injection means no finicky carbs or starter fluid. It’s now over 21 years old, and I’ve had it since it had only 90 miles on the odometer.
My winter dump runner is my daily driver Subaru; the big stuff gets stored in the back of the F100 until I reactivate it in the spring. It shares a battery with an even more decrepit F100 that serves in the winter as a plow truck, though not so much this winter. The dump-runner also carries firewood, larger items of lumber, and is nice to drive around once in a while to enjoy the full-body workout of a three-on-the-tree with armstrong steering and legstrong brakes.
The Toyota Living Bodywork – which could be a real name in Japan, now I think about it – seems precariously close to the point where the next load it is going to carry to the dump is itself.
It’s tempting to imagine some rather low-wattage owner misunderstanding the phrase to “bog” up a rust hole and use mud from an actual bog, only to be puzzled by the flora that burst through his work shortly thereafter, but alas, I think the phrase is only an English (and Aussie) one.
Critter is always ready to roll. Just brought home some scrap wood today for the stove. Its my daily driver. Gotta love old Rangers. I think they’re as good as any Toyota.
A Honda Fit and a Kia minivan make good dump runners. The Fit was the last to actually dump things, like about a year ago when I finally cleared all of the old CRT televisions out of the house (including a big 32 incher). The Kia was great for bagged mulch. I bought a bunch of plastic to lay down over the carpet and up the sides to keep things clean, but it hauled way more bags than the little tag on the door said I should be putting there.
My last “real” dump runner was my 63 F-100 that I owned in the late 80s. It always started.