# The new truck journey begins



## sixtyninegmc (Jul 20, 2011)

Figured I should start a new thread to keep y'all updated on the new truck. For a recap, was looking for a hay truck, was thinking on a tandem axle flatbed that could pull a pup but the wife talked me into buying a sleeper truck and trailer  Found a '94 Western Star in Boise, bought it sight unseen. Picked it up the other day and drove it 600 miles back to my in-laws place in Lynden, WA. All in all, very impressed with the truck. It has a 3406C 425hp in it, starts and runs like a champ, great oil pressure. Very obviously turned up somewhere along the line, to the point of being a pain bobtail because it likes to spin the tires on dry pavement. Has bigger axles than advertised, and mechanically is in great shape. Cosmetically, she needs a little love, the last owner seemed to not care about the little things at all. Dash lights not working, switches falling out of the dash, trim half falling off. I've been spending the last few days chasing little gremlins like that, getting ready to head over to Iowa to pick up some equipment for a friend back home, then back to Lynden for a few days before heading up the ALCAN. Bought a decent old 45' flatbed here in Lynden to pull with it.


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## Farmineer95 (Aug 11, 2014)

Wait a minute...she had to talk you into buying it? Ok, I gotta ask. Where did you find your wife?

Looks like a nice rig.

Drive safe.


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

Nice rig! Where in IA are you destined?


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## sixtyninegmc (Jul 20, 2011)

Farmineer, she is one heck of a woman! We met on a past equipment purchasing trip in Lynden, a nice little farm town on the Canadian border in Washington.

Clash, we are headed for Emmetsburg. My mother-in-laws family is from around Oscaloosa and the wife has never been there, so we may swing through there if we have time.


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

Emmetsburg is 2 hours east of me on US18. Have a safe trip and may the blue jackets be sleeping!


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## Thorim (Jan 19, 2015)

Nice looking rig forgot how long that front end is those 0lder Western Stars. May she bring you years of worry free service.


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## sixtyninegmc (Jul 20, 2011)

You must be near Sioux Falls? We are looking at buying a few parts from a junkyard in South Sioux Falls that has quite a few of these older 'Stars. I really love them, and am happy to have a pretty uncommon truck, but that makes sourcing parts a little more tricky.


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

I'm an hour and a half SE of Sioux Falls. Been there quite a few times over the years. Is the junkyard a Vander Haags? If so they also have locations in Spencer and Des Moines IA I think.


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## sixtyninegmc (Jul 20, 2011)

No, it is C and H truck salvage I am looking at. Vanderhaags seems to have very little in the way of western stars and parts.


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## SVFHAY (Dec 5, 2008)

Looks nice, are using it to run to Iowa?


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## sixtyninegmc (Jul 20, 2011)

Yep, we have a Vermeer TE330 to pick up for a friend over there. I would rather have a long test drive across the Midwest to work out any bugs, rather than find them in the middle of nowhere, Canada.


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## Wethay (Jul 17, 2015)

Nice looking truck. I like the name on the door.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Farmineer95 said:


> Wait a minute...she had to talk you into buying it? Ok, I gotta ask. Where did you find your wife?
> 
> Looks like a nice rig.
> 
> Drive safe.


If my wife was not married, "I would ask does your wife have any unmarried sisters, that are like her?"


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## SVFHAY (Dec 5, 2008)

I haven't been around here much the last few months, have we gotten any update on this journey or sixety nine at all?


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

Doesn't look like he's been on haytalk since June 23rd, 2016... Hope all is well.


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## sixtyninegmc (Jul 20, 2011)

All is well, guys, just had one of those years where I didn't have much time to think about being on the net! Came down to the inlaws for the holidays and finally found some time to get back on here. The trip to Iowa went well, worst things were a plugged fuel filter in vail pass (had a spare), couple air leaks and a loose u-joint that I changed in Garden City, KS. Spent a week with family in Kansas, wife liked it so much she is working on me to sell out up north and moving there. Other than being harassed by customs at the Alaska border for hauling hay seed, the trip north went smooth. Jumped right into hay as soon as I got home.

We ended up having a crazy hay year, got rain when we needed it and sun when we cut. Replaced the 9 speed in the 'star with a 13 speed and then hauled hay like crazy with it most of the summer. Might have turned the "stupid screws" just enough to keep up with the bosses 475hp e model cat, gotta have a little fun sometimes 

Probably the best the old girl did for me was the night of October 26th. Had headed up into the mountains to pull out a track loader for a friend before it got snowed in, then pulled it up to my place in Delta. All told I had about an 18 hour day in, and was just crawling in bed after unloading the cat when the wife called from Palmer (340 miles away) and told me she had gone into labor a week early. Running late at night, no traffic on a road I know like the back of my hand, made a normally 6 1/2 hour trip in 4 1/2. Made it before our baby girl did!

Been a busy summer :-D


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## SVFHAY (Dec 5, 2008)

Congratulations dad, love the scenery in the second pic. Quite a load in the first one, that bunch of bags in front reminds me of that old Jim Stafford song, wildwood weed.....


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

SVFHAY said:


> Congratulations dad, love the scenery in the second pic. Quite a load in the first one, that bunch of bags in front reminds me of that old Jim Stafford song, wildwood weed.....


Definitely would be big bag of seed to be sitting on. :lol: Golly that is an old song, thanks for the memory.

Larry


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## sixtyninegmc (Jul 20, 2011)

As bent out of shape as customs got over Timothy seed, I woulda thought it was wildwood weed!


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## Wethay (Jul 17, 2015)

Over Timothy? Good thing it wasn't GM or custom weed blend.


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## sixtyninegmc (Jul 20, 2011)

The trick was that it was Canadian seed, and that the seed tests had a friends name on it. If you have a semi, you can't haul a load for a friend, anyone else's goods on the trailer make it a commercial load according to CBP. So they accused me of trying to run commercial under farm plates, threatened to seize the load, impound the truck, all kinds of fun.


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## 2ndWindfarm (Nov 11, 2014)

Yeah, my last trip across the border was a real PITA. Past trips were always - "you're a farmer... you don't have to stop here again". 
This trip CBP said farming and farm equipment were commercial enterprises... And that I was therefore a commercial operator.
Still confused by the whole deal and thinking I might have to go through the DOT rigga ma roll!

Are you working with the Green's moving hay and pellets around the state?


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## sixtyninegmc (Jul 20, 2011)

No, I haven't done qny work with the Greens. This last load of mine was equipment for me and Bud Frohling down in Palmer, and the seed was for Todd Hecker out at Point Mac.


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## 2ndWindfarm (Nov 11, 2014)

Thanks. I think I've seen your rig down here on the Peninsula. You do some hauling for Sarah and Rupert at Kenai Feeds?


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## sixtyninegmc (Jul 20, 2011)

I've only hauled a couple loads to
The peninsula, one to Kasilof with the pickup and gooseneck, and one into Seward with the big truck. Sadly, the peninsula is an area I have never been able to spend much time.


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## Westernstar (Jun 27, 2017)

Hi nice Westernstar! Course I'm biased 
Here's mine. '93 3406b 15 speed 46k rears


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## sixtyninegmc (Jul 20, 2011)

That is a good looking flatbed! The older stars are rare enough that I get a kick out of finding nice ones.


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## MtnHerd (Jul 6, 2011)

Westernstar said:


> Hi nice Westernstar! Course I'm biased
> Here's mine. '93 3406b 15 speed 46k rears
> 
> 
> ...


I love that set up!


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## Westernstar (Jun 27, 2017)

Ya she's a good beast
42' container on a 24' bed. Farm roads only (cough cough)








Built bed extensions to get a 12' wide bed so I could haul this pos around








I've since got another swather so don't haul it (16.5' total width with header on) but did haul one for a friend 250 miles. We took the header off so were only 11.6 wide. 
Setting the bed at 10' wide sure is sweet for 5' wide round bales

Sorry for thread hijack


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I'm enjoying your pictures. I had a 1499, but with a 12' header. 
So you haul 5' round bales, huh?
I'm thinking about a 5x5 baler. Currently using 4x5. Most are trying to talk me out of it because of width going down the road. 
Love western star trucks.


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## Westernstar (Jun 27, 2017)

It does make for a wide load but plenty stable with the wide deck, also if your selling to individuals they don't like them as much. I have a cow calf operation that prefers them, they grind everything so the fewer pieces they handle the happier they are. I thought I could buy an oversized permit and be legal but the dot says it's a compressible load and won't issue a permit. I don't have much state rd to travel and have never been bothered. Also the 5' wide balers are cheap used. I paid $6000 for a 567 twine only with megawide, hydraulic lift and pusher bar. My cow guys want twine, I guess they grind em with the twine on and cut it off the beaters once a week or so


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

If I bought a 5 footer, they would all be delivered to 2 places that use them for bedding, none would be fed. I'd keep my 4x5 for feeders.
You are right about how cheap 5' wide balers are. They are super cheap and I'm really tempted to buy one. If it's a mistake, I could always sell it off. Trying to reduce number of bales to haul out of field and load on trailer. Seeings the way things go with baler reliability, might be good to have 2 them anyway.


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