I'm a new member, and wanted to say Hello, and thanks for the site. I joined here recently to try to learn about a I purchased. It's the first Class-8 truck I've owned, so it has been a bit of a learning curve. I semi-retired two years ago, but am way too young to hang up working altogether. We have ranches here in Texas, but that is only part-time for me so I started a housing project building rental units. The first four houses are well underway, and I am enjoying my new occupation as babysitter. I did all of the preliminary excavation and dirtwork with my Case 580SM. I decided to go ahead and buy a dump truck to haul fill sand for foundation pads, and gravel for driveways and the ranch roads. I doubt that I will ever pay myself back for the truck cost and operating expense, but the convenience of having a truck when I need or want something hauled is worth something. Besides, I always wanted a big truck, so this was a good enough excuse. There, I said it . Now, about the truck. Formerly a military tractor, the truck is a 1975 R700. More precisely, it's an R769 with a Detroit 8v71 turbo and a 10-speed. The Detroit, which was replaced by the military 488 hours ago runs great and sounds great, but is a little LOUD. Axles are 12K front and 44K rears. It has a new Warren 15 yard heavy duty dump body with electric tarp and air gate. The prior owner installed a new self-contained air-conditioner and air-ride seats as well as new rubber all the way around (385's on the front). After taking delivery of the truck, I had a mechanic friend look it over in preparation for the required DOT inspection. We found a few issues . The batteries were marginal at best, so 4 new group-31 batteries fixed that. Next, the air wipers didn't work, so I ordered a replacement motor and switch; perfect. The brakelights stayed on all the time, so a new switch was installed. Then the brakelights wouldn't work at all, so I re-wired the brakelight circuit; done. There were a few air leaks that were quickly fixed. A couple of light bulbs, fresh oil and filters, a quick check of all fluids, and she was ready for inspection. I drove to the scales, and got an empty weight ticket showing 23,620 lbs. She passed inspection yesterday , and now has brand new license plates! The cab is still in olive drab, but I am going to start preparation for paint tomorrow. There is very little rust anywhere on the truck, thank God. I ordered new emblems from Watt's Mack, so she will be looking sharp soon. Overall, the truck is in remarkably good condition and really runs and drives well, although she is a little LOUD. Top speed is about 65mph which is fine for the rural roads I will travel. We've had a lot of rain the last few days which gives me a few days of shop time to get the paint done and tidy up any other needs. This site has already helped me, and I hope to become more active here. I'm going to search for sound deadening tips here in a little while. Did I mention that my new truck is a little LOUD?