How hard is it to own a dump truck?

I know a guy that does it. He owns a really old truck, does most of the truck maintenance work himself. He makes about $40k a year. It's seasonal, so he doesn't work winter.

 

Hi Opi, I've done a lot of dump truck work over the years, and as with anything, there's pluses and minuses.
Pro: home every night, pit usually closes at 3:30, ( operators can't wait, to leave), no scales, mostly local, although, there are OTR dump gigs, load and unload in minutes, not hours, pay is about average ( I'm sure OTR drivers can make a lot more)
Cons: crabby loader operators ( although, many places now, you run the loader), boring, you'll do 15 loads to the same place, ( once did almost 30 loads one day, from one side of the pit to the other) weight can be all over the place, cops love to stop dump trucks, as they know they fly under the radar for months, equipment may or may not be the best, as they do skirt inspections, and many jobs are seasonal, and the only game in town in the winter, is hauling salt, which, doesn't hardly pay for the fuel, and you may end up doing some major hand shoveling ( I've already shoveled off a load of glop on a tandem axle dump, that wouldn't move). I did a lot of blacktop, and I liked that. Pretty straight forward. ( although, again, crabby paver operators) I've found in 35 years, there is no perfect trucking job, and it's a give and take on all trucking. Good luck, hope that helps a little. Oh, one more thing, if you can, drive someone else's truck, as dump trucking is a lot harder on the truck, than a road deal, and they will break, and the revenue may or may not be there to repair it.

 

I've owned a few dump trucks. If you are trying to make a living, it will be a small one. Semi-retired...maybe. I wouldn't advise it unless you can pay cash for the truck, find a good, solid pre-emissions truck and have a reliable source of revenue. Dump trucking is not a business where you want to be overextended financially. If the work isn't there...it's just not there.

With all that said, a lot depends on your location as well. The local economy and weather are probably the two biggest factors. If you live on the Gulf Coast in an area with a lot of growth and contruction, you'll probably be busy year around. A few hundred miles north where most construction shuts down for the winter and in a small town with minimal growth...not so much.

 

No it's not easy street. Either go small 5 yard truck or a tractor and then you can use different trailers. Winter you could haul vans,ect. If you can't get more then $80/hr for a truck/trailer don't bother. Off road is hard on a truck and the driver. Good luck.

 

easy answer....

Yes, owning a dump is easy...pay cash for it...bam, your done

 

Ran a Tr-axle for 6 years. Pay was not great but made a living paid for the truck. Rolling at 4:30 am with a load of sand to the plant 1.5 hours one way. Haul Hot Mix all day then 1.5 hours home. Average 500 miles per day and some days you sit and wait. One job new tires less then 175 miles. Putting base down on new cut. And cut the side walls out of 3 new drive tires. That made a week of no profit for sure.
Oct 15th we stopped hauling mix here in Tn. So over the weekend pull the 16ft Rogers dump bed and cylinder off along with the tr-axle. Throw the 5th wheel on and haul logs all winter. Did this for 2 years, then sold the bed and stuff and just pulled logs. Money was better, but long hours 16 per day 7 days per week. And to beat it all I'm thinking about going back into it again. Stupid me retired and need to stay that way.
Pete