BEST WELDING RIG TRUCK (IS A DUALLY NECESSARY?)

Does your welding rig have to be a diesel or can you get away with a gas engine

Duallys suck in the snow and muddy situations. I do not like driving duallys on dirt roads in 4wd. I have been driving in living in rural mountain areas for over 45 years. I enjoy your channel even though I am only a shadetree welder.

Most of the time you exceed the weight rating of the tires if you don't have a dually. And that will eat tires up faster even if they don't fail. So that may even out tire expense. And just imagine a tire blow out with a top heavy rig that weighs 13-14,000 lbs.!?!?!?!? Also consider down time. I've made it through the day a couple times getting paid with one flat back tire. If I had singles It would have cost me loosing a good $1000 or more each time. Just sayin'!!!

Do you need a shot bed or long bed?

Anyone use medium duty 4500/5500 trucks?

I’ve never pipelined, I weld on heavy equipment for a living. Hope to do some pipe work in the future. But I started out in a 3/4 ton 2WD chevy, it was all I had in the beginning. It was loaded down with a 200 and later a Vantage 322. I recently upgraded to a crew cab 4x4 chevy 3500 SRW(the dealership screwed up and sent a SRW instead of a DRW). So far I like it, but I’ll know more later on, it is by far better than my old Chevy 3/4 ton.

I loved my dually 4wd on the pipelines. I'll never buy another truck without it.

Im gonna be 18 next year does anyone know if this is a good job to get into long term?

Little late, but is there any advantage to 8ft bed vs 6ft bed?

So basically if you aren't towing a fifth wheel and you don't mind replacing suspension parts a bit closer in frequency a half ton is actually adequate for a welding rig specifically (and building an aluminumVSsteel custom bed helps save weight).

How about 4x4 vs. 4x2. How often do you need 4 wheel drive out in the field?

you squirrel off in conversation bout as bad as I do, come on! LOL

Love your videos very helpful just bought me a 2012 3500 mega cab cummins with deleted today already set up with welding bed and everything. Hopefully i can join a union soon but cant find anybody hiring so if ANYBODY has suggestions all is appreciated

Just graduating school wanting to join pipeline what union should j go into? Wanting to become a helper or apprentice. Please help!!!!!

ROSS YOU ARE BOSS.

For me a dually would be a requirement especially if pulling a trailer around

awesome video

the truck has 4 tires on rear, highway, i have to buy traction tires it will cost me $2,000 for four tires. buy it carry 9,000 lbs on rear, pull may be 17,000 lbs

My 24 valve cummins SRW has a 2900 pound payload capacity, but I like the Dually look 👌

I have a question brother

Thanks man getting ready to buy a used cummins and was wondering if I need to duelly so thanks for the information

Is your truck 2wd?

BTW, There is a difference between a dually and a cab and chassis. Cab and chassis had a narrower rear axle. My dad was a pipeliner for 40 yrs. his first truck was a used 1973 F350 cab and chassis. It was already a welding truck. Second rruck was a used 1980 GMC c30 cab and chassis. He built the bed for it. Last truck was used 1989 Chevrolet c30 dually because he couldn’t find a cab and chassis. He also built the bed on it. All trucks were 2wd reg cab the dozers would pull him where he needed to go. He bought an sa200 new in 1978. Only machine he ever had. He had the engine rebuilt a couple of times and generator a few times. He sold it and the 89 C30 when he retired in 2006. He and a buddy had a red face they used for back up. I remember a few times he had to set his machine in our 1/2 ton pickup to “tub weld” due to a break down of his rig.

To get started can I do 2500 4x2 or do I need 4x4??

I'm building a tub rig.. all old school out of a 4x4 manual 1982 square body with the Detroit diesel. It is a single wheel and with the 72 copper wound sa-200 I can't even tell a difference in power with the weight. It does ride smoother of course. I prefer a single wheel with muds. Cuts though the Colorado snow better then a dually.

Austin can you talk about how you maintain a diesel in cold weather?

The first welding rig I built was a small Ford ranger 1/4ton used it for over 5 years been welding all over the state of Oklahoma with it. But now I am in the process of building a new pipeline rig and hope to get on the pipeline ether as a welder or as a operator.

Will an 18 wheeler cover all these issues?

Unconsistant 😂

I have a 2 wheel drive 93 Ford F-350 with no turbo and a 2004 f250 with nice fat on/off road tires and four-wheel-drive the f250 has never been stuck but I've always had to use four-wheel drive because it goes straight down without it.
The old Ford F350 dually 2-wheel drive truck has also never been stuck I don't know if it's the fact that I don't put it in those situations or when it does get in that situation the big fat BF Goodwrench has on the back and only having 130 horsepower with the old Ford non turbo it doesn't spin and just slowly works its way out they both pull almost the same load .
but unfortunately the old 93 Ford that I bought for $2,000 has been ten times more reliable than the 2004 truck that I bought for 15000

i have a 1993 w250 12v cummins single rear wheel that im building a welding flatbed for but after i start making money then im getting a dually rear axle to put on it

I’m curious about gas vs diesel as far a pipeline work. What do you see more guys driving, and why did you choose diesel? Thanks

Whats up Austin? Hey, what do you think about those kits to make a single, a dually? I was thinking about that

Can you make a video on your first truck

8 ply tires don't quite cut it on singles. I had to get 10 ply tires. Cost as much as the duals would have.

Inner city pipeliner I use a single rear wheel 1 Ton works real good for me especially with cheaper tolls and a lot of parkways here don’t allow 10000gvw. Trucks on them so at least you look lighter that a dually you can skim past the radar a little easier!

Do you think it’s better to have 1/2 inch, 1 inch, or 2 inch space on the dually in between the back wheels?

Austin I love the channel I plan on making the move in August love the info

Duallys are over rated I swear to hell they really are. A 3/4 ton can with stand all the same abuse

I’ll tell you for sure ....
I’ve got both one ton dually and three quarter ton duramax
The dually will not go where the three quarter ton will go ....
But the ton truck will tow better
These are facts my friends

I'd say towing that 5th wheel with your wife's 2500 is safer than using your dually with spacers between the duals and 12.5 wide tires on 6.5 wide wheels.

Still in school. Doing pipe this next term. I'm kicking myself for getting a 1500 hahaha

If you get a single wheel outfit, don't matter if 3/4 or 1 ton, BE DAMN SURE TO GO PUT THE HIGHEST WEIGHT RATED TIRE,S YOU CAN ON IT!! G OR H RATED AT LEAST, AND STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM THE
(FANCY) CRAP UNTIL YOU YOU HAVE A YEAR OR TWO BANKED BACK AND CAN GET THE PROPER WEIGHTRATED CUSTOM WHEELS!
Stay safe out there brothers.

I think regardless of the application you should always try to figure as closely as possible the weight you’ll be carrying before buying a truck. If you are within 1500 lbs of max GVWR on a single wheel you should probably step up to a dual wheel but I personally wouldn’t unless it’s absolutely necessary. Another thing to consider about dual wheels is the crap that gets hung between them like rocks or mud. I’ve seen tires get ruined on a dual wheel from rocks being stuck between them or guys having to spend forever with a pry bar trying to get a rock out from between them and that isn’t an issue with a single wheel. I’m also not a huge fan of mud tires or tires with huge sipes unless you have to have them because they are hell on paint and don’t last on the highway like a standard all terrain.

I have a question maybe you can answer. My father in law works on the pipeline as an inspector. I am a diesel mechanic out of Wisconsin and have been asked if I would want to go work on the pipeline as a mechanic. I have been stuck because I’ve been told I have to have my own rig f550 and up with a crane. So the start up cost is so high I can’t seem to make the leap. Is it worth it or is there another way to enter the pipeline through a company putting me in one of there trucks? Thank in advance.

Look into getting your truck bullet proofed.

I wish I had started with a single wheel and tub rig it.

I have a 04 f250 with a gross vehicle weight of 6500 lbs which in my state is considered a "heavy" truck and I can register it up to 9,999 lbs gross vehicle weight, which is the most you can unless you have a medium duty truck (450, 550 ect.) It has the same weight rating as a 350 as far as dot is concerned.

Had 6 welding rigs, two single rear axles and the remainder duallys. One ford the rest where dodge, the ford by far was the most expensive to operate and sold it with a blown engine for 4K the rest have had their issues here and there. My next truck will probably be a f450... sucker for punishment but after my 2012 3500 dodge I’m finished with dodge products for good