Technology | Winter 2009
Sleeper bunks raise conversion costs.
By Scott Garvey
Are you looking to pick up a tandem-axle grain truck at a bargain price? Then converting a highway tractor for farm work could be the answer. These trucks might have already logged a million or more kilometres, but still have a lot of life left in them. And they make a good fit with low-mileage applications like farm duties.
There are companies around that will match you up with a truck that meets your needs and convert it for you Or you can consider finding the truck you want and modifying it yourself in the farm workshop.
Curtis Bodkin, a salesman with Cancade Company in Brandon, MB, says doing some homework first will show you what you're up against. “Be aware of the costs (of conversions) with all the available options,” he says.
One of those options he's referring to is integral sleeper bunks. Removing one of them involves more than loosening a few bolts. The cab actually has to be disassembled and a special kit installed to convert it to a day-cab model. That may be more than the average mechanic wants to tackle.
“I have some guys who start out saying they want to do it themselves, but end up not doing it,” says Dave Enns, a used truck dealer at Elm Creek, MB. Because of the learning curve involved, Enns doesn't think it's worth it for a producer to tackle that kind of project himself. “For a person to do just one wouldn't be worth it,” he says.
But, he adds, if a group of farmers were going to tackle two or three, there might be some savings to be had. Converting a cab, for example, can save about $1,500 to $2,000 over having a dealer do it. However, jobs like extending frames are best left to experts.
Aaron Williams of Virden, MB, is one farmer who did some of the conversion work himself. “It wasn't too bad,” he says. But he wasn't dealing with an integrated sleeper.
Mel Birmingham of Brandon, MB, also tackled the job with a non-integral sleeper. “Just repositioning the exhaust took a good afternoon,” he says. But he, too, left a lot of work to the experts.
Birmingham's truck is a 379 Peterbilt, which offers one advantage over many others-a non-integral bunk. That made it an easier project, he says. “That's why we bought it.”
