Finally going for it,lorry purchase.

[hiluxman]

I'd suggest you look at the cost of a whole cab. Genuinely it'll surprise you.

I did do and I wasn't.

Daf wanted 1500 plus vat per side panel.

And 2nd hand cabs were just as bad, advertised as good, soon as you got there it isn't.

Hence why I won't be doing it on the grab.

 

[JD450A]

I did do and I wasn't.

Daf wanted 1500 plus vat per side panel.

And 2nd hand cabs were just as bad, advertised as good, soon as you got there it isn't.

Hence why I won't be doing it on the grab.

I have a feeling a complete bare cab is about £2500. Could be wrong it's been a while

 

[animebeast]

Roads, Loads and Coin. In that order.

Firstly Roads dominate your selection.... Where are you travelling, is it tight, are there overhead issues like trees and low bridges. DON'T get a big lorry because it's cheaper or more versatile..... Beyond 15t they are the same width as an artic BUT length will play a key role.. likewise cab height makes a huge difference and its no fun hitting trees because you've a stupid height cab. Same with cab width. Daf LF Vs a CF in lanes with hedges are two completely different experiences.

Next loads.... If size isn't an issue then yeah big lorry good. Personally sweet spot (if size isn't a problem) is something you can get a 7t digger and Dumper on. We had that with the Foden BUT it was too long for most places. Hence the Daf LF 18t which is just the right balance. Likewise if you want flexibility hooklift, skip, grab, crane, tipper blah..... But all add weight and often height and all rarely make any odds.

Lastly cost. Bigger lorry more coin more headaches.

Good summary the order really does matter. Roads dictate everything; plenty of people buy a bargain truck and then realise it won’t fit down half the lanes they work on. Cab height, wheelbase and width make far more difference than the spec sheet suggests.

Loads come next every bit of flexibility you add costs payload and adds height, and DVSA will happily check all of it. There’s always a sweet spot for the job, but bigger isn’t always better.

And cost is the sting in the tail the larger the lorry, the quicker the bills stack up. Pick the wrong one and it becomes expensive very fast.

 

[Lancs Lad]

That 12-to-14-tonne weight class is the core of the construction industry, and it really highlights the commercial difference between the two truck sizes. An 18-tonne rigid truck, after you factor in the weight of the specialized plant body, ramps, crane (if you opt for one), and all the necessary gear, realistically only offers about 10 tonnes of payload, which locks you out of the critical 13-tonne excavator market. The 26-tonne rigid, conversely, gives you that vital extra capacity, pushing your usable payload up to around 15 or 16 tonnes. This jump is crucial because it allows you to move the most common mid-sized machinery or two smaller pieces of kit on a single run, making the 26-tonner a far more versatile and profitable business tool for dedicated machinery transport, provided you can handle the higher running costs and the challenge of navigating tighter access roads.

Ah yes, thank you, mysterious stranger, for blessing our humble forum with this thrilling deep dive into payload capacities—truly the content we were all desperately craving while discussing literally anything else. I, for one, had been lying awake at night wondering whether the 18-tonne rigid could truly handle the existential burden of a 13-tonne excavator, and lo, you have descended from the heavens (or whatever spam-server basement you inhabit) to enlighten us.

Unfortunately, despite the sheer poetry of your truck-spec sermon, this appears to be yet another drive-by promotional spam post. So before the entire membership gets swept up in the emotional rollercoaster of axle loads and mid-sized machinery logistics, I’ll go ahead and flag this for removal.

But genuinely—thank you for reminding us that even in 2025, bots still believe that dumping random trade-magazine paragraphs into unrelated threads is a winning marketing strategy. Inspirational stuff.

Post reported. Carry on, everyone.

May or may not have used ai to my advantage

 

[doobin]

Good summary the order really does matter. Roads dictate everything; plenty of people buy a bargain truck and then realise it won’t fit down half the lanes they work on. Cab height, wheelbase and width make far more difference than the spec sheet suggests.

Loads come next every bit of flexibility you add costs payload and adds height, and DVSA will happily check all of it. There’s always a sweet spot for the job, but bigger isn’t always better.

And cost is the sting in the tail the larger the lorry, the quicker the bills stack up. Pick the wrong one and it becomes expensive very fast.

I'm calling this as AI too. It's Rory's post above it rewritten in English rather than Cornish.

Seriously. It's good. But I think AI.

What bloke on a digger forum calls themself 'animebeast'? There's dedicated forums for that kind of perversion.

 

[Lancs Lad]

I'm calling this as AI too. It's Rory's post above it rewritten in English rather than Cornish.

Seriously. It's good. But I think AI.

What bloke on a digger forum calls themself 'animebeast'? There's dedicated forums for that kind of perversion.

Agreed. It's damn good tbf I just spat that out of chatgpt for a laugh above . Still hardly see what they gaining with this sh*t tho

 

[Smiffy]

Ah yes, thank you, mysterious stranger, for blessing our humble forum with this thrilling deep dive into payload capacities—truly the content we were all desperately craving while discussing literally anything else. I, for one, had been lying awake at night wondering whether the 18-tonne rigid could truly handle the existential burden of a 13-tonne excavator, and lo, you have descended from the heavens (or whatever spam-server basement you inhabit) to enlighten us.

Unfortunately, despite the sheer poetry of your truck-spec sermon, this appears to be yet another drive-by promotional spam post. So before the entire membership gets swept up in the emotional rollercoaster of axle loads and mid-sized machinery logistics, I’ll go ahead and flag this for removal.

But genuinely—thank you for reminding us that even in 2025, bots still believe that dumping random trade-magazine paragraphs into unrelated threads is a winning marketing strategy. Inspirational stuff.

Post reported. Carry on, everyone.

May or may not have used ai to my advantage

Besides that, most 26t plant lorries struggle to carry a 14t machine as so many are fitted with lightweight front axles. So they are nigh on impossible to load correctly and even then only carry around 14t so can't take much in the way of buckets.

 

[HuntingHicap]

Besides that, most 26t plant lorries struggle to carry a 14t machine as so many are fitted with lightweight front axles. So they are nigh on impossible to load correctly and even then only carry around 14t so can't take much in the way of buckets.

Was about to chirp up with that. We run 13s at work and they are only delivered on 32t trucks as will overload front axle on 26t.

 

[Simon edwards]

Was about to chirp up with that. We run 13s at work and they are only delivered on 32t trucks as will overload front axle on 26t.

This backs up my thinking really and is why I’m going for an 18 tonner,My kit is all under 10 tons and I know a few others local to me with similar sized kit which I’m pretty sure I can do moves for,theextra capacity of a six wheeler is offset by the increased fuel/ running costs and initial price.I reckon it’s a good starting point to see how it goes .(Still got to find the right wagon yet though!)