Dump Truck Business

Discussion in 'Trucking Jobs' started by pilot8251w, Oct 15, 2007.

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  1. pilot8251w

    pilot8251w Light Load Member

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    Oct 12, 2007
    Sylacauga,al
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    Hi all,
    I'm a "newbie" I hope you all will excuse me if i ask questions that have been answered before. I've spent the entire weekend looking through this forum and I must admit, I'm very impressed! ok here are my questions.....
    I have a chance to get in to the hauling business. I have a good friend who owns an asphalt co. and he tells me i can haul for him his asphalt , gravel and ect. I would like to start with 2 truck and have been looking at 98-02 tri-axel trucks. ok 1st question, with promised business, the numbers i've been seeing allowing for maint, truck payment , ins, labor...ect. seems very good. what could i be missing? if there is that kind of profit in hauling, why would he not do it himself? (he has 3 trucks now) and hires out 3-6 trucks per month. 2nd question, If a trucks GVRW is 64,000 lbs. (12,000 front and 40,000 rear) would that include the pusher axel in the 64000 lbs rating? if it does how do people here get 26-27 tons on a truck. I'm under the impression that most trucks (tri axels) weight between 20,000 to 24,000 lbs. Thanks for all your help.
     
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  3. MACK E-6

    MACK E-6 Moderator Staff Member

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    I can't help you with question #1, since i've always been a company driver. But I can help you with #2.

    Yes it does, if the gross weight rating is that of the manufacturer. By the way, for dump service your steering axle will be loaded a lot heavier than that. You will need a least an 18k front end for a dump truck. Your tandem drive should be heavier than that also. 58k would be preferable, although a typical Mack chassis comes with an 18k steering axle and a 44k tandem drive.

    The only time a dump vehicle will see payloads like that is with a daycab and an aluminum framless trailer. I've found that the best dump setups for straight trucks tend to be Peterbilts with Lumatech bodies. You may be able to get 24 tons on with a 70k gross limit.

    That's the other thing. Different states vary greatly on weight limits regarding dump trucks. MD allows 70k gross for a tri-axle. NJ allows 80k for a tri-axle. I believe PA will allow 73,280 for a tri-axle. VA on the other hand goes by the Bridge Formula for dump trucks, which only allows about 55k for a tri-axle. That's why dump trucks in VA are often found with 4 lift axles under them. No hauling co. from here will go there.

    A tri-axle dump truck with a steel body will weigh about 28k empty. These are preferred by construction co's due to the nature of their business.

    Hauling contractors generally use aluminum bodies, often on Peterbuilt chassis' because they are light, and these are the ones that carry the 24 ton payloads.
     
  4. pilot8251w

    pilot8251w Light Load Member

    55
    2
    Oct 12, 2007
    Sylacauga,al
    0
    Thank you for your reply. Wow there is so much to learn about these trucks. I can see how someone with limited knowledge (like myself) could get into trouble real quick!!! since the first post i've found a 97 freightliner FLD13264t Classic with a 20,000 FAWR and a 66.000 RAWR. It also has a 19.5 ft aluminum dump body and a double frame. I think the downside is it has 650,000 miles. Do you guys know what could be some major issues with this make and miliage?
     
  5. NightWind

    NightWind Road Train Member

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    Nov 11, 2006
    Sunny South, AL
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    Just a word of advice. Friend or not get any "promised" statements in writing. I'd say the reason he doesn't buy more trucks is because he knows that hauling asphalt, gravel etc is seasonal in most parts of the country. In some places during the winter it gets really slow. Perhaps he doesn't want the extra payments? Just my two cents worth.
     
  6. pilot8251w

    pilot8251w Light Load Member

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    Oct 12, 2007
    Sylacauga,al
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    Thanks nightwind...He's told me that Jan,Feb, and March are his slow months. I figured these three months could be used to haul gravel for other construction companies, or residential customers (don't want to go that route because i've been told you'll spend your time chasing your money down!!!) or i could used the time to do any big work on trucks. or i could just use it as time off!! :biggrin_25519::biggrin_25519: again, I must say all you guys are so helpful. Thanks a million!!
     
  7. NightWind

    NightWind Road Train Member

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    Sunny South, AL
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    Well you aren't that far from me, seems that you could get some work out of the Ga Marble Plant. I did a LOT of hauling for private individuals and never has to chase my money, why because they had to pay up front. The thing I see growing here in AL is hauling to residents people are spending more money on their yards and there is a unique market there that you could make some money at. Check with some of the lawn services and landscaping companies. There's all kinds of neat rock around here that people don't know about, like Crimson Stone which is simply gorgeous, it's mined in B'Ham yet I don't see any one using it cause they don't know about it. I hauled so much of that stuff to other states for excellent money too. You could probably haul for APAC they have a lot of work going on right now, but they will shut down from Xmas to after New Year. I can think of lots of ways to make money around here. I guess it's in who you know. OBTW I'm a lady LOL
     
  8. rocket1

    rocket1 Bobtail Member

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    Oct 6, 2007
    Camden, TN
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    Well I'm just north of you in TN and the laws are a little differantbut ill help as much as i can. Around here were allowed 74000 on a triaxle but we are not "supposed" to be on the interstate with that much. I believe its 64000 on the big road.

    In your search be sure to look at international trucks. I drive one with a rogers bed and it weighs in at 23000 empty so here i can load 25.5 tons but again laws are different. Although I've never driven one pete triaxles are known to be very light.

    I would be careful with high mileage dumps. Its not like road trucking in that the nature of the biz is VERY hard on these trucks. Twisting, bouncing, any offroading in general makes for a short life. Broken springs, hangers, bolts, and bushing are very common with dump trucking and this is with a careful driver. Tearing out rearends are also a common occurrence when a driver gets a little rough off road. In general dumps are not loved by there drivers like road trucks. They wanna beat on them pretty hard sometimes. Myself i love my dump truck:yes2557: but not all do. Also make sure the truck is clean when you inspect it as dirt and grim can hide alot of these problems.

    Hope some of this helps but if not and you have any ?s feel free to ask away.
     
  9. pilot8251w

    pilot8251w Light Load Member

    55
    2
    Oct 12, 2007
    Sylacauga,al
    0
    Thanks to both of you. I have support from the wife, but i think i my use the next couple of months and get my ducks in a row. I think i would be smart to wait and be ready to go in march. Can anyone suggest a good sample business plan on a dump truck business.
     
  10. NightWind

    NightWind Road Train Member

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    Nov 11, 2006
    Sunny South, AL
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    define what you mean by business plan people mean different things when they say that
     
  11. pilot8251w

    pilot8251w Light Load Member

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    Oct 12, 2007
    Sylacauga,al
    0
    Well, I don't have much experience with this type of business (as you can tell) I'm not sure what number to use for maint, fuel...ect. This is what i've used so far. Let me know if it's way off base or not.

    This is a monthly est. then i used this for my income. (of course, income could be all over the place, depending on circumstances)

    Truck Payment-------$900.00
    Insurance---------------$243.00
    GL-------------------------$70.00
    Driver---------------------$2,600.00<--- based on $12.00 hour
    Fuel-----------------------$2,663.19<---based on 250 miles/day
    Maintenance-----------$1,000.00
    Total----------------------$7,476.19 monthly

    Fuel 6 MPG
    Fuel $2.95

    Truck Tonnage 27

    Asphalt 4 loads/Day $6.00ton
    Rock 7 Loads/Day $3.50ton

    Cost Per hour----$43.13 Hourly

    Hourly Rate $65.00
    $2,600.00 Gross weekly
    $11,266.67 Gross Monthly
    $3,790.47 Net Monthly

    Based on Tonnage Ashpalt----540 tons/week
    $3,240.00 Gross Weekly
    $14,040.00 Gross Monthly
    $6,563.81 Net Monthly

    Based on Tonnage Rock----945 tons/week
    $3,307.50 Gross Weekly
    $14,332.50 Gross Monthly
    $6,856.31 Net Monthly
     
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