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Will 5 Tons be less expensive next year?

m16ty

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Scrappers kill me. They will scrap something worth $5000 to make a quick $150.
Yes they will but it's not really their fault. I deal with several big scrap yards in my line of work. They are set up to process scrap metals, not a used car lot. They have a system- bring it in, process it, and send it to the mill. If they start pulling stuff out to sell it whole it screws up their whole process and leads to all kinds of production problems.

Seeing as how they are in the scrap business, if they see a pile of iron and it sells cheap enough for them to make a buck on it they will. If they didn't they would be out of the business in short order.

The only way to solve it is lower scrap prices.
 

wreckerman893

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At the time the deuces flooded the market the rock crawlers were crazy about the Rockwell axles and I cut up several trucks and made good money parting them out. They have since found another alxe that suits them better.
There is not a big market for the 5 ton axles (the swamp buggy crowd still use them) but the last I heard they were not paying much for them since there seems to be plenty on the open market. No body wants the transfer cases since they are heavy. The 250 Cummins engines have a small market repowering the 800 series trucks used by loggers for pull out rigs. The 8.3 engine is marketable for replacement engines since it was used in civilian over-the-road trucks. The Allison transmissions are worth keeping for spares if you have 900 series trucks.
A buddy of mine is scrapping a 931 and I plan on keeping some of the parts off it.
 

ichudov

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If you think that 5 tonners will be cheaper, keep this in mind: a 5 ton truck weighs about 21,000lbs. Current scrap prices are 290-300 dollars per ton. This gives a scrap value of a five tonner around $3,000. There is no reason to think that they will sell for much less than scrap value due to simple economics.

Even now, near perfect five tonners sell for $3,400 or so. I do not think that they will be much lower, unless two things happen: 1) scrap prices will fall AND 2) even more of 5 tonners will be sold per month.

i
 

Amer-team

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Decide what you want in a truck and the options it should have, wait and watch. Do you mind a 10 wheeler or do you need single 6's, do you want CTIS? Winch ? Hardtop or soft? Desert or Woodland? Troops seats, bows, and canvas. It is usually more cost effective to find one that has the options you want, unless someone near you is scrapping one out and you can buy some parts inexpensively. It is certainly nice if you can preview it or have someone that is trusted to take a look. GL seems to use the camera with the rust filter on it. It seems like lately, depending on options for a M939 series truck, you are looking at 3000 to 6000 and then some of the specialty trucks are going for more. There are still some really nice looking, good condition trucks out there, so shop around. Happy hunting.
 

Al Harvey

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Yes they will but it's not really their fault. I deal with several big scrap yards in my line of work. They are set up to process scrap metals, not a used car lot. They have a system- bring it in, process it, and send it to the mill. If they start pulling stuff out to sell it whole it screws up their whole process and leads to all kinds of production problems.

Seeing as how they are in the scrap business, if they see a pile of iron and it sells cheap enough for them to make a buck on it they will. If they didn't they would be out of the business in short order.

The only way to solve it is lower scrap prices.
I understand the big scrap companies. That's like the wiring harnesses that were for sale on GL that were won by a scrap company. To them it's copper wire, to me I see radio harnesses, etc but I can't compete with them :( I was more referring more to the individuals who will scrap an old rare car or a running engine for a quick buck.
 

Csm Davis

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A couple of thoughts are this like the m35s is a finite source and it is much smaller than the amount of m35s. And I have found that DRMO is the bottleneck that has slowed down the flow of things in the south at least in this area.
 

CARNAC

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I know a Army Reserve unit that still has a butt load of 900 series trucks on a back lot waiting turn in. They are all A2 tractors and they look like they have been there a while. I have no idea why the unit hasn't turned them in since they have the new trucks in the Motor Pool. The longer they sit there, the worse shape they will be in when they are finally released.
There were a lot less 900 series trucks produced than deuces and I have no idea how many have left the system and gone through DRMO and GL.
These is still a funding issue here and the sequestration and budget crisis both impact this. The truck has to be inspected, coded and transported to DRMO all of which takes money and the govt is putting this type of stuff at the last priority. It doesn't help when they shut down various support shops and units have to ship stuff super long distances instead of the nearest turn in site.
 

ichudov

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I understand the big scrap companies. That's like the wiring harnesses that were for sale on GL that were won by a scrap company. To them it's copper wire, to me I see radio harnesses, etc but I can't compete with them :( .
I do not understand what you are saying. To a scrapper, copper harnesses are worth around $1.40 per lb. If they are so valuable to you, why can't you pay more than that for them? If they can be sold for usable, why don't you bid more than scrap value?
 

doghead

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Try searching the paint forum?
 

patracy

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Kind of off subject a little but If I wanted to get OD Green paint to repaint a truck when I find one where would you get it. Not crazy about using 50 cans of Krylon.
Search for "behr house paint" or "rapco", you'll find a ton of info here. I'm painting my truck with both right now actually. (Behr for the brunt of it, Rapco rattle cans to touch up areas)

And to your original question. Just shop shop shop. I snagged my M931 that my "SEMTT" is based off of for $2542.32 total after fees. There were actually three 931's that all closed around that price. They were listed as not-running though. I took a gamble thinking it would be worth nearly that in scrap if there was a rod hanging out the side or what have you. I bid a lot now on GL, but I'm "cheap", I know what I've bought things in the past, and I use a tool to calculate the cost before recovery. I only bid up to what I'll give. I haven't won anything lately. But there's always next week. I call it "reverse gambling". I still think there's plenty of time for the 939 series trucks. But if I HAD to buy a deuce or CUCV, I'd bid to win. But we're not anywhere near that point.

I will be interested to see what comes once the 939's are out. But I really have no idea how many LMTV's the military has.
 

doghead

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HomeDepot and Lowes too.
 

m16ty

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I suspect after the M939s dry up there won't be much on the market for a long time. There's just not anything in the pipeline and rumor has it that they may not let the LMTVs go whole (mutilation required).

I have noticed them starting to dump quite a few HMMWVs but they are, of course, mutilation required.
 

patracy

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I suspect after the M939s dry up there won't be much on the market for a long time. There's just not anything in the pipeline and rumor has it that they may not let the LMTVs go whole (mutilation required).

I have noticed them starting to dump quite a few HMMWVs but they are, of course, mutilation required.
LMTV's have been selling here and there already on GL. (two last week, and I think two or more come up for auction this week) And GSA in two massive lots. No mutilation required.
 

Suprman

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It us my understanding that lmtvs are lined up at several gl sites waiting for the ok to go on the auction block. No chopping required.
 

Suprman

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But supposedly they are lined up in quantity. Not just one here and one there. All the ones that do not meet the requirements of the oshkosh rebuild contract or ones that are deemed non repairable.
 
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