Dump Truck Restoration, Improvements, & Spreading Stone in 2 Tracks. 1988 GMC C7000 

I will never own a dump truck, yet here I am, mesmerized by watching you work on it. Well done.

There is something so calming about watching your work on this truck. Lets me forget how crappy the world is for a while.

I love how he just casually makes a threaded pipe adapter out of brass he poured himself. That. Is. Awesome.

Using the jack to support the socket was inspired. I will definitely keep that idea in my toolbox. Also, I, too, enjoy Watching Wes Work.

I worked in a machine shop for 43 years. Its crazy to think about all the little scraps of metal from different projects that you are glad you saved. I enjoy watching the channel. .

I always cringe when I see people using pipe to extend breaker bars because they never support the end of the socket. Was glad to see you do what I do, keeping it aligned makes a huge difference in how the torque is applied and doesn't screw up the nut. Nice dump truck, hopefully pays for itself. Oddly I feel like I just watched a Watch Wes Work video lol

Man I could watch this series all day

I want a lathe and mill for this very reason, making parts that I can't find or don't want to pay for. And the drone shots were spectacular. I'm a bit envious of that land.

Good to see the old "fuel pincher" giving it all she's got!

That stone spreader worked pretty slick.

36:15 I love to see a piece of ratty reject material turned into a useful part

An accomplished general mechanic with the ability to see simple solutions to problems and has a very well-equipped workshop. Having the tools to do different jobs makes work much easier. I like your solution to the air regulator control, very nice. A few tips from 40 years of adjusting and replacing HD truck brakes, a little lube on the s-cam and the pins will give them longer and trouble-free life. Place sealant on the axle flange, easier than working around studs. 1" on the slack-adjuster and the way you checked them was fine. Good Work.

Although I probably won't ever own a dump truck, these last two videos have been awesome just watching you fix it up and use it.

Nice little shout out for Watch Wes Work. Wes is one of my favorites.

Spreader works great, The quick trick for spreading stone in the tracks is to put a large block of wood in front of the tailgate before loading.

DA BEAR!!! You are my new Hero. The armchair mechanic/machinist in me loves watching this stuff.

Watch Wes Work………very knowledgeable and resourceful guy.

Skills - you have them, I don't have any. That truck is now worth a lot more than you paid for it as well.

"It's only temporary unless it works" LOL 3/4" is a good rule for rear slacks, spec is under 1". Nice of the truck to give you a refreshing shower after all that love you gave it! Nice aim, looks like it worked perfectly.

If the zombie apocalypse ever happens, I want you on my team :-) you can fix anything!!! Love, love, love your video's. They teach me so much about so many things.

I'M GLAD I STUMBLED BACK ONTO YOUR CHANNEL, I REMEMBER WHAT I BELIEVE WAS THE FIRST SERIES YOU DID, POURIN AND MACHINING A LIL SUMPIM , THAT WAS NICE, BUT I WONT MENTION IT

It's called a spring brake. The spring pressure is 6500 lbs... good idea to NOT take apart without caging it. Gravel spreading not perfect you say? I think it is as close as anyone would get. I'm an old truck and equipment operator of 50+ years. That diverter was a good idea, it saves you climbing into the dump box to set a lose diverter object. The receiver hitch was an ingenious idea for a temporary attachment mount... easy on-easy off. Great video... Thanks.

Watching this made me feel like I was testing for my CDL again combined with a crash coarse of diesel mechanics 101. I love it

I am a truck driver/ logger/farmer. I enjoyed watching you work threw this. You learned a great deal about air brakes and that makes you a better driver. ( If I would have been their with you I could have saved you a lot of time) 😁 BTW The break drums are fine. Do not worry about it. Getting the grease and slack adjusters working right was the key.

Another I need to know how it works guy. That's how money is saved and a good hobby.

I really don´t get parts pricing. 125 for a dumb reservoir, but 19 for a precision machined regulator. Economy of scale only goes so far.

I applaud & truly appreciate your fabrication abilities, great job!

When purchasing a car, once upon a time, we were inside working out details and the salesman freaked out from a bug. I took care of the bug, which prompted the salesman to proclaim, "You're my hero" I was amused and embarrassed that I was a hero of a grown man for something as silly as getting rid of a spider (or bee, or whatever it was) Now I find myself feeling like that pathetic man, because watching you fix this truck. You are my hero. Your knowledge, skills, and wisdom are inspirational. If I could spend a summer learning from you, I'd be 10 Xs more capable then I was after completing my 4 yr degree.

Old dumptrucker tip-a piece of old railroad tie, cut to whatever length you desire, placed in bed before you load is an ideal tailgate block. Some even use emptyu 30 gallon oil barrels.

My hat is off to you. I gave a lady $200.00 for a 1967 Ford F600 that was abandoned and I brought the truck back to life for use on my farm. It is so good to see you working on your dumper and explaining things step by step. You are an inspiration and your skill is unsurpassed. Thank You

Wow just looking at the country side as you were heading to get stone looks like a beautiful place.

Unless you have heat stress cracks or cracks in the Drum, surface deviations aren't a big deal as long as there's more than the maximum diameter for the truck... Your good. Not supposed to turn any class 7/8 Drum brake anyway. For the slack adjustment... The ol skool (like me) drivers used to use a Penny on top and bottom surfaces between shoe and Drum, then tighten the slack adjuster with the brakes applied... That way when you push the spring/parking release valve... The measurement is always correct. The Penny's just fall out the first time you drive. PS.... Love the gravel diverter attachment.. That's awesome.

A suggestion from an old trucker When spreading, dump your lift axle shortly after starting the dump to add weight to the front axle

Stuff memoires we use to re rivet the shoes, now that's going back early 80,s cheers.

That old truck has a very nice tilt hood, grill, and front bumper. Hard to find one that is not all tore up. Looks good!

Excellent video. I love seeing someone make or repair parts instead of just buying a new. Some times it can’t be avoided, and like you said, some times it’s worth just buying the new part because it’s cheaper than the time spent to make one. There’s been several times though that I’ve went ahead and made a new one because the OEM part was junk and a poor design anyway, and I knew I could make one way beefyer. It’s great to see others do that as well.

About the diverter cone: a simpler way of doing this is just to put an old oil drum against the center of the tailgate before metal is loaded into the truck at the quarry. This will divert the load from falling along the center of the roadway when spreading. Cheers from NZ.

Upgraded with a backup camera. Love it! 👍👍👍

Excellent vid. Great Air brake description.

Another tip-use extreme caution spreading on curves,especially if any grade at all. Very good possibility of turning over. Especially if spreading fast. Keep a hand on bed control, and if it feels liek its tipping, lower the bed.

I wish you were my neighbor! I grew up across the street from a decent sized diary farm (Earl and Theresa Zachman, St. Michael, MN), and watching your videos brings me right back, but I think you're a better teacher than even Earl was. But even so, I wish I had spent more time there like my younger brother- he worked for Earl when he was still in single digits and still does now, even though Earl is in his 90s now and quit farming 20 years ago (my brother is a welder/machinist, doing install and service on commercial automatic doors these days). I may never actually NEED to know how to do all these things, but I still love learning, even at the age of 57! Besides, I've always had a thing for large machinery- the only ones that still scare me are the hay elevator and manure spreader- knew too many people who lost limb or life from those. It also might have something to do with having one grandfather who was an electrical engineer who designed and built generators but was a Ham radio operator and did metal and wood working as a hobby, and the other who was a Master carpenter who collected pretty much everything, and restored small engines, old tractors, and pocket watches as his hobbies. I've still got a few videos left to watch to catch up, and I look forward to all future videos, too. Thank you!

Taking that spring out was really cool, I've always been told to not mess with it at all and from what you said, that seems to be a good idea. Was always curious as to why it is so hazardous and now I know why. Thanks for the video

VERY NICE FIXES and NICE WORKING DUMP TRUCK !!!!!! IMPRESSED ... !!!!!!~~~~~~~~~

To every problem there is an elegant solution. Milling your own custom parts from scraps is elegance personified. Fun to watch.

Fantastic work, and video! Would have been curious to see your safety setup and footage of unleashing that brake spring. I hope that we now get to see a knife project coming from that spring. 😎👍

The rear facing camera view brought back memories of viewing the world from the back of a deuce and a half.

Your qoute was spoken by Watch Wes Work, a very talented mechanic and diagnostician from the Land of Lincoln!

I work on semis for a living and I love every minute of it I done my fair share of brakes

The channel is watch Wes work. One of my favorites.

If I had known you were going to explain spring brakes in this video, I wouldn't have bothered in the last one. Good job. Just one thing. It's called a brake chamber instead of canister.

I've got a 2004 Ford F550 Longhorn Hauler crewcab dually with a hauler bed on it and it has 2 load leveling air bags under the rear . In 2009 one of mine developed a leak in it and instead of changing just one , I changed them both . Same thing with the fuel injectors , when 2 of them went bad , I changed out all 8 . I figured with the age of everything , if one of something started to go bad , the rest weren't going to be far behind . The load leveling air bags worked like a charm . Whenever I would hook up to something that was really heavy and the rear end would squat down , all would do is hit a button on the dash until the rear end got back to level - hense the term " load leveling air bags lol " .

As a 70 year old suburbanite and never living on a farm . . . .I am so very much enjoying your videos. I'll never do these things but as one who has pathological curiosity, I am finding great satisfaction in seeing how it can be done . . . . whatever you are doing . . . . . Bravo!!!!

Mighty job fair play to you.

Lot's of old kit like those brakes shoes and air bags were designed to be simple / effective, and more importantly, 'be repairable' with a modicum of skill. Pity we cant say the same about a lot of the newer stuff. Realy enjoying your videos

I own a small dump truck and mostly haul gravel. I was trying to figure out how to just spread gravel just in the ruts and had ideas about some sort of apparatus that would slide in and out inside the bed, ! Your idea about the Diverter bracket is very ingenious. The simplest ideas always seem to be the best. Your Channel is Great. Thank You..

I like your spreader set-up. We just put a 44 gallon (50 US gallon) drum in the bin and the gravel splits there.

I meant to mention in a previous video that when dealing with plastic cracks, try welding with a zip tie held against a soldering iron, then smooth out the weld. Always great videos subjects that if repair skills are never used, still learning from them

I think Wes got that saying “It is only temporary unless it works” from Red Green.

i worked at a GMC truck shop. we sold several pairs of large brake pads each week. never sold any drums. a mechanic i knew dissapeared for about a year. one day he walked into the shop but he looked a little different. he said he was working on a dragline and took off the wrong nut on something and a large spring threw the nut into his face shattering several bones. there are more than one way to skin a cat or work on brakes. you did a good job. take care

All I can say is you are an incredibly clever guy. just enjoy watching all your projects.

you are one clever bugger .. i watch you from the deep south in NEW ZEALAND . im pretty clued up but i learn a lot from you mr ... over here to fill in tracks ,we just put an old 44 gallon drum in the deck .. but your machine did a fine job .. thanks for all the tid bits .. awesome

One Heck of a nice job on your Dump Truck, I LOVE your Two Wheel Spreader, it worked perfect. You should get a Patten on that, I have never seen anything like it.

You make great videos!!! Your experience & talent are excellent! I like your attention to detailed is what l like plus your variety of repairable tools & devices!!!

Keep the bed partially lifted when parked , then you won't have all that water in there. Great stuff, thank you. Cheers.

Congrats Farmcraft on doing the brakes and the diverter plate. great job.. having a Dump Truck on ur farm will come in handy. lv ur videos.

we learned to make our own bearing nut wrench by cutting & slotting a piece of the right sized exhaust pipe and weld a socket on the end with a plate. It doesn't have to be stupid tight as a retainer will prevent the nut from backing off. Looked suspiciously like you cut the pushrod then threaded the nut on. Threading the nut on first allows you to chase the starting threads easier. luv your channel

I’ve been doing it for 20 years I think you did a great job first time Cheers from Aus

This dump truck series of yours was super enjoyable and well produced! Good job!

Good video and series Sir! I didn't see you use any penetrant on the bolts, sorry if you did and not notice-but a little weasel piss (Wd-40) or Kroil/etc goes a long ways on equipment fasteners, I have to remind myself to soak them, then walk away or work on something else for a convenient period of time-and ohh the difference. I regretted it when I last forgot!!

Those drums are still very good..as long as you don't have several cracks leave them be and drive it..yep

You are a man of many talents job well done

I don’t know 95% of what you show but I find it really interesting and you explain it well - so thanks.

Your farm crafting certainly increased the value of the truck. And it is a much safer vehicle now!

I watched the whole thing. Good stuff. And you have my complete respect.

The ending was awesome, very nice! Oh yeah, Wes is another favorite, great guy. What a jammed packed all around episode, thanks!

Best content on RU-vid. It's like a brain massage, and now I can treat myself to some pie.

I had a truck like that back in the 90's. Quick tip. Keep those king pins greased verry well. They are a major pain in the arse to replace and can work fine day in the winter and sit for a few months and be completly rusted solid in the spring. The drum will be fine as long as its still round and doesnt have too much run out. The rust pattern youre seeing in the surface is just surface rust from condensation. It doesn't look pitted to me. It's just a pattern left by the brake shoes from sitting a while. It may franlly just wear off during the quarry runs. I like the way you do things, I do it pretty much the same way. Your lathe is bigger than mine.. :-( My mill is bigger than yours though. :-) ha ha. Keep up the good work!

You are a man of many talents, great video thank you

Just found your videos n your going to want me to learn how to use a lathe lol n to start metal working. Looks great you can come spread stone anytime for me lol. Don't worry about the couple rocks that are in the grass you'll have that.

I have just started watching you and I find you and the work you do very fascinating. After Watching Wes Work on cars/trucks and other things I find you doing all the "other" things. Common sense abounds on your channel. You show the good with the bad. Your voice is very confident and somehow soothing. PHAD and SMA are some of my favorite auto repair channels but the sarcasm of WWW is very enjoyable. For some reason, the name of your channel did not hook me in but maybe it was the thumbnails. Watching you fix the turntable hydraulic device in your excavator might be the first video of yours that I watched. Just like Andrew, nothing is too hard for you to tackle. Thanks for sharing!!

Thank You for explaining how everything works! I really enjoy it!

That diverter worked perfectly. Nice job.

I am enjoying the hell out of this. It's like candy for my mind.

Awesome content, explained better than most. It almost seems like a video tutorial of a service manual. Love the farm too. Onwards and upwards. 👍👍

You're a pretty smart guy. I've worked years in a truck body shop doing exactly what you are doing to your truck. Good job.

Awesome job as always. Beautiful country side you live in with bears and all. "Its temporary unless it works" from "Watch Wes Work", very creative fellow himself.

A REALLY BIG JOB... you handled it perfectly. How do you and others know so much, and I so little? THanks for sharing

Nice work. I have sets of pants just like yours with the newest coming from making and installing a tapered and threaded plug for a nasty 3/8 inch hole that was punched in my van's oil pan. I had bought an inexpensive painters coverall at Lowe's months ago to save my clothes and I always fail to use the darn thing. You would think I'd at least change into the old mess, right? No.

Holy cow, you did a great job….I just bought a 2000 C8200 for $5000 USD (I’m Canadian)……only needed tires, Wow 🤩 I got a deal, everything works. We’re excited to play with it like you are! 👍

Tremendous skill set this guy has

I was expecting you to put a wedge in the bed instead of attaching it down there. But this works just as well :)

That diverter worked slick. Good job. Good info all around.

Your approach is just praiseworthy

I now want a dump truck. Drove big rigs for 20 years, and have had my share of slack adjusters, but I want to live where I need a dump truck. Don't know for what, but I want it. No split rims though.

Thanks for giving us such a good break. Cheers from Belgium

Nothing is more permanent than a temporary fix.

That diverter plate excellent idea

I've learned lots of new stuff from this video. Hope for new episodes. Also it would be nice if you can put metric units for non-US viewers :-)

Great job rejuvenating this old truck! You are very capable and what you don't know you learn and catch on quick! Doing very well spreading Gravel! Good driver's make it look easy, but it's not! Your picking it up Quickly! Enjoyed the Video!!

You are one talented individual! If you don't have a fitting, you just make one, that's fantastic!