Downsides to end dump trucking?

what kind of trailer are you going to be pulling?

 

Stupid phone...lost my post. Long story short, it can put your driving skills to the test, because a lot of times you'll be hauling the products to a construction site to harden the site enough so they can get the flatbeds and other trucks hauling the building supplies in. Soft, uneven ground isn't uncommon...and if you get stuck? Sometimes there isn't anyone else around. You'll have T/T jobs that should have been bid for tandems...either because of how tight the site is for maneuvering around in, or because it is sloppy and T/T's are more prone to getting stuck. You'll have jobs where you've got to back 1/4 mile or more up a narrow, winding path up a hill and around a few obstacles to dump because there isn't anywhere to turn around up top. You'll find yourself in situations where you're watching all 6 sides of the truck for clearance issues to keep from tearing anything up.

All the while the freight-haulers talk smack about how dump trucking is so easy ANYBODY can do it...as they are taking 45 minutes to straight-line back into a dock in a paved lot the size of a football field and the fairings on the back of their cab are crumpled up from previous attempts.

That's not even getting to the weather...single digit days with double digit winds out of the north, and the 25 tons of sand/rock/coal/ash/whatever has been in the trailer for 150 miles. Get where you are going, raise the bed up, and NOTHING comes out. Time to start digging. Worse than that, though, is when 1/2 the load comes out...all from the same side...and over it goes.

It is fun. I enjoy the challenge each day has to potential to present. Spend a lot of time on narrow little back country roads...with sketchy directions from dispatch guiding you to where you're going. Sometimes you get stuck in a line-haul type situation...running the same loads, from the same mines/quarries, to the same plants/job sites, sometimes several times per day. Then one day they mix it up a bit and you find yourself blindsiding a 60' combination off of a 13' wide chip road w/ ditches into a guy's 25' wide driveway, taking care not to crush his new culvert, knock over the mail box, or run over his wife's flower bed.

All in a day's work.

 

Not a bad job overall. Check between your duals for rocks that get stuck between them before re entering paved roads, Cover your load, Do not hoist unless your trailer is level side to side. Make sure the loader does not ding and dent your trailer and distributes your load properly.

Other than that piece of cake enjoy the ride.

 

Well it really depends on how you feel about joining the tub tip club.

Word to the wise there guy, when that thing starts a-wiggling in the air you better make sure you brought a spare pair of boxers.

 

watch out for power lines and if you are on a road job over head road signs..


high winds just add to the fun..

 

I love end dumping. Granted, I am at the lower level pulling a 24' framed East but a lot of what Pedigree Bulldog says is true.
Most of our work is for new home builders. I have to put my rig in some tight subdivisions with many contractors trucks and cars around much less the less than level ground I dump on 80% of the time. When we get loads going to custom builders ( that seem to usually be the narrow driveway with new culvert pipes ) it's me they send. They send me because I get it done not because one of our four straight trucks are unavailable. It has sharpened my driving skills to say the least and I really enjoy the challenge that each day brings. If I don't get my 11-15 loads in per day it's not a good day for me. Even though I am not driving OTR I still have the loads freezing partially. I have learned just this week ( our first sub zero temps of the winter ) to carry a sprayer full of diesel/ hydraulic oil mix in the cab with me for a spray down around noon. Keep the bed lubed up and the loads slide right out.

My boss tried to take me out of the dump trailer for the winter for " safety " reasons and I said no! Then he said the straight truck is more economical and I said no with facts to prove it. He then asked why I wanted to continue to drive the dump trailer over the straight truck because the latter is easier to drive and I told him that he just answered his own question. He then said " ok, use your best judgment in the winter weather " smiled and drove away.

5/15/14- 12/31/14 I dropped 1350 loads of aggregate in a truck that they nobody wanted to drive. Averaging 9.9 loads a day.
I feel like I am missing something by not being OTR or regional and have a itch to go somewhere else and pull a 40' frameless but I have a pretty good gig now and am struggling with making my decision.

My bucket.