3.5T tipper recommendations (secondhand)

[Colgan]

Moring all,
I'm in the market for a 3.5T tipper and really unsure what model to go for.
Online reviews seem to be just marketing opportunities so I would very much appreciate the opinion of working owners, the like of which frequent this forum!
Below are my requirements:

• Will be used in connection with general building work, so carrying pallets of bricks, 1 tonne bags(if possible), lengths of timber from BM yard to site. Not huge distances <5miles
• As above I will not be putting high milage up. Truck will be mostly parked up.
• Budget could stretch to ~£15k however as above and not spending a lot of time in the truck happy to spend less.
• I've limited mechanical experience so solid reliability would be really helpful and in contrast to above happy to pay more for this
• Truck will not be doing any trailer work
• Does not need to be ULEZ compliant. Happy to pay the charge for the rare visit in to London.
• Understand 7.5T offers better value for money but I don't have sufficient access it

There seems to be plenty of Ford Transits, Merc's and Renault Masters available however none seem to have great owner reviews.
Cabstar and grafter seem to have mixed reviews. Reading a thread on this forum and people seem to rate the Iveco highly.

I'd greatly appreciate any pointer or opinions you could throw at me.

Thanks for reading!

 

[doobin]

Iveco. But if not doing trailer work, Cabstar type would give slightly more payload. Is this for jobs or a self build? Why such a small distance?

 

[Colgan]

Iveco. But if not doing trailer work, Cabstar type would give slightly more payload. Is this for jobs or a self build? Why such a small distance?

Thanks for the recommendation Doobin.
For more context, I'm a building contractor and I've bought a house that will be a year long major renovation project. Site access is not the best as the property entrance is on a relatively busy road. There is driveway parking for say 3 or 4 cars however there is no road parking outstand the house.
Concrete deliveries, skips etc are going to cause unavoidable traffic headaches but I thought if I had a tipper I could bring material onsite/offsite in a more stress free manner. Coming and going as I please and only need to schedule myself if that makes sense.

I'll be using the truck solely on one project and there are several builders merchant yards within a 5 mile radius of that site,
Actually just thinking about it I'd potential like the truck to replace the need of using a skip, in that case there would be a few trip to the local tip. Understand I'd need a waste license for that purpose and using the truck for waste removal is only an idea I'm toying with atm.

 

[Smiffy]

Thanks for the recommendation Doobin.
For more context, I'm a building contractor and I've bought a house that will be a year long major renovation project. Site access is not the best as the property entrance is on a relatively busy road. There is driveway parking for say 3 or 4 cars however there is no road parking outstand the house.
Concrete deliveries, skips etc are going to cause unavoidable traffic headaches but I thought if I had a tipper I could bring material onsite/offsite in a more stress free manner. Coming and going as I please and only need to schedule myself if that makes sense.

I'll be using the truck solely on one project and there are several builders merchant yards within a 5 mile radius of that site,
Actually just thinking about it I'd potential like the truck to replace the need of using a skip, in that case there would be a few trip to the local tip. Understand I'd need a waste license for that purpose and using the truck for waste removal is only an idea I'm toying with atm.

For what your doing would a pickup and trailer not be better. Easily doable within your budget (there was a nice ranger on here someone had up for sale ) and it would double what you can collect at a time. Bare in mind most transits won't even carry one pack of blocks.

 

[doobin]

I thought as much. In that case buy any old banger with a full mot for £2-3k. It’s all pot luck even if you spend 15k really. Consider it an expense for the project- doesn’t matter if you dent it and you don’t expect to sell it at the end.

I bought my LDV for 2k from a bloke who’d done just that- it’s still going five years later. Good simple trucks with massive payload.

 

[doobin]

For what your doing would a pickup and trailer not be better. Easily doable within your budget (there was a nice ranger on here someone had up for sale ) and it would double what you can collect at a time. Bare in mind most transits won't even carry one pack of blocks.

Nightmare to reverse down a tight drive off a busy road. A tipper is a much better idea in my opinion. He’s only going to want to collect a bit at a time anyway. Little and often is sometimes easier on these jobs- that’s why I run three tipper trucks but the tipping trailer rarely gets an outing.

Any single cab tipper will take a pack of blocks. You’d be unlucky to get a tug on a five mile trip and wouldn’t be much over anyhow. My ldv has a genuine payload of 1400kg- the older the truck the better the payload generally.

 

[Colgan]

For what your doing would a pickup and trailer not be better. Easily doable within your budget (there was a nice ranger on here someone had up for sale ) and it would double what you can collect at a time. Bare in mind most transits won't even carry one pack of blocks.

Unfortunately, the driveway isn't long enough to accommodate the combined length of a pickup and trailer, and there is zero scope to have the nose of the vehicle out past the entrance.

Yeah I know the payload on 3.5t's is surprisingly low. Its kinda ridiculous that most (if not all 3.5t) cant legally carry a jumbo bag of sand or a pack of blocks as you say.
Do you know which 3.5 Tonner has the greatest payload capacity, its difficult to find out which one has?

 

[Smiffy]

Nightmare to reverse down a tight drive off a busy road. A tipper is a much better idea in my opinion. He’s only going to want to collect a bit at a time anyway. Little and often is sometimes easier on these jobs- that’s why I run three tipper trucks but the tipping trailer rarely gets an outing.

Any single cab tipper will take a pack of blocks. You’d be unlucky to get a tug on a five mile trip and wouldn’t be much over anyhow. My ldv has a genuine payload of 1400kg- the older the truck the better the payload generally.

I never find it to bad reversing them and can get them in some pretty tight places.
Can also leave them loaded and go and get something you have forgotten. A pickup will carry a tonne in it's own right so only need the trailer for bigger loads.

And the new shape transits won't legally carry a pack of bricks legally. 1.2t in some packs. New transits will carry 900kg on a good day.

 

[doobin]

Unfortunately, the driveway isn't long enough to accommodate the combined length of a pickup and trailer, and there is zero scope to have the nose of the vehicle out past the entrance.

Yeah I know the payload on 3.5t's is surprisingly low. Its kinda ridiculous that most (if not all 3.5t) cant legally carry a jumbo bag of sand or a pack of blocks as you say.
Do you know which 3.5 Tonner has the greatest payload capacity, its difficult to find out which one has?

Sounds to me like you need an LDV or a Cabstar. Both narrow with high payload.

 

[doobin]

I never find it to bad reversing them and can get them in some pretty tight places.
Can also leave them loaded and go and get something you have forgotten. A pickup will carry a tonne in it's own right so only need the trailer for bigger loads.

And the new shape transits won't legally carry a pack of bricks legally. 1.2t in some packs. New transits will carry 900kg on a good day.

I get that, and I usually take your side when arguing logistics with Rory but from experience of these types of jobs an old small tipper is just way less stress. Little and often, it’s not like youll lay a whole pack in a day anyhow if working on your own.

 

[Colgan]

I thought as much. In that case buy any old banger with a full mot for £2-3k. It’s all pot luck even if you spend 15k really. Consider it an expense for the project- doesn’t matter if you dent it and you don’t expect to sell it at the end.

I bought my LDV for 2k from a bloke who’d done just that- it’s still going five years later. Good simple trucks with massive payload.

Yes, certainly think this is a good option. Basically I'm looking for a road legal dumper.

 

[doobin]

Yes, certainly think this is a good option. Basically I'm looking for a road legal dumper.

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Buy it! Then bring it down to my yard near Chichester and I’ll show you the bits to keep an eye on

 

[Colgan]

I get that, and I usually take your side when arguing logistics with Rory but from experience of these types of jobs an old small tipper is just way less stress. Little and often, it’s not like youll lay a whole pack in a day anyhow if working on your own.

I'm sure you'll have an option on this! What do you think about getting a waste license and doing waste removal yourself in place of skip hire?
I don't know where I'd tip, obviously the travel distance from site would need to be factored it and I appreciate for muck shifting payload wouldn't come close to a skip; however it would certainly would be a contender for light weight bulky items and again the convenance of keep it "in house"is very enticing.

 

[Colgan]

"Buy it! Then bring it down to my yard near Chichester and I’ll show you the bits to keep an eye on"

^ calls on route, 60 miles away from Chichester looking for a tow for a 15 year old LDV with 200k miles on the clock

 

[doobin]

I'm sure you'll have an option on this! What do you think about getting a waste license and doing waste removal yourself in place of skip hire?
I don't know where I'd tip, obviously the travel distance from site would need to be factored it and I appreciate for muck shifting payload wouldn't come close to a skip; however it would certainly would be a contender for light weight bulky items and again the convenance of keep it "in house"is very enticing.

Your problem will be finding somewhere to tip. If it’s your own house I’d say you don’t need a waste carriers licence (diy) but stand to be corrected. You will have a lot of trouble getting the council sites to take it- might be nearly impossible.

Can’t you get a road permit for the skip? Or could it be lifted into a front garden? I already know what you’ll say, just putting it out there!

 

[doobin]

"Buy it! Then bring it down to my yard near Chichester and I’ll show you the bits to keep an eye on"

^ calls on route, 60 miles away from Chichester looking for a tow for a 15 year old LDV with 200k miles on the clock

83k. Barely run in. You will probably only put another 2k on her through the whole job!

 

[Colgan]

Your problem will be finding somewhere to tip. If it’s your own house I’d say you don’t need a waste carriers licence (diy) but stand to be corrected. You will have a lot of trouble getting the council sites to take it- might be nearly impossible.

Can’t you get a road permit for the skip? Or could it be lifted into a front garden? I already know what you’ll say, just putting it out there!

I have Demo contractor who previously did work for me. I'll give him a call and he should be able to advise or maybe even get me tip access.

A road permit wont be possible but if it comes to it I can certainly get a skip landed on the driveway, drop off/collection will cause some traffic disruption but I'm sure the drivers are thick skinned enough to deal with it as no doubt I too will become.

 

[V8Druid]

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Buy it! Then bring it down to my yard near Chichester and I’ll show you the bits to keep an eye on

fixed ply wood sides though Doob .. hard to FLT load that ..... 's cheap enough though

 

[V8Druid]

83k. Barely run in. You will probably only put another 2k on her through the whole job!

what'd that tow Doob? if it had a 'conventional' body on it I'd be very tempted myself ... handy sort of thing to have sat about as a "road going dumper" , for norralorrabucks

 

[Smiffy]

Your problem will be finding somewhere to tip. If it’s your own house I’d say you don’t need a waste carriers licence (diy) but stand to be corrected. You will have a lot of trouble getting the council sites to take it- might be nearly impossible.

Can’t you get a road permit for the skip? Or could it be lifted into a front garden? I already know what you’ll say, just putting it out there!

Probably would need a waste carriers license but it would be the free one so no charge.
Any skip yard will accept you but charge by the tonne about £140 last time I went in one but that was a while ago. The legit places won't let you in overloaded. But I don't think there are many legit skip yards.