Thinking about getting into End Dump

Hey everyone. New member here. Ill start out by saying that I'm 31 with no driving experience and live in Missouri. My dad has drove various setups (flatbed, cattle, dump truck) when I was growing up, so I have rode along for thousands of miles, but that doesn't do me much good experience wise. He hasn't drove for almost 10 years, so I cant exactly ask him questions regarding information in today's times. EDIT : I want to add that I do NOT have my class A yet, but depending on financing options, if this even goes through.

Being that I have no experience as a driver, it can be a little difficult to find a company that will take someone on with no experience. I have been looking into buying a truck and trailer and starting out for myself. I have looked (online) at a few different trucks and trailers, and they come out to be around $100,000. I'm sure I could find some cheaper equipment to start out with, but I also don't want to get a cheaper truck that has more potential to break down. What are thoughts on higher upfront costs vs. cheaper trucks.

As far as the trailer, I have been looking into slightly older, cheaper trailers. I may be completely wrong here, but I don't feel there is as much to go wrong with the trailer as there is the truck. I understand that hydraulics, electrical, brakes and all that can still be bad on the trailer, but still looking at cheaper trailers. Would this be recommended, or look into newer trailers for about double the price?

Also being new to this, and my dad only driving for companies and never owning his own truck, how difficult can it be for the first year or two? I know that this questions is difficult to answer due to location, weather, and other factors, but just as a general idea. As far as finding loads, do I just contact local quarries and such? When my dad was driving the dump truck, he would haul from quarries, concrete plants, or pick up sand at rivers. Do I just call those companies directly to see if they need stuff hauled, or try to find the customers that are actually wanting the stuff delivered? How long do you normally have to wait for payment from these types of places? Do they typically pay once a month, once a week?

Lastly, I think, if someone was in my shoes and wanting to get into the trucking business, would you start with end dump? I have chose end dump due to wanting to maximize home time but still make money. I have done some research as far as a "national yearly average" of pay for end dump owner operators, and while I honestly don't know if that is before or after all expenses (truck payments, insurance, etc.), I feel like it would be a decent amount of money and still have home time. Having 3 kids and the girlfriend at home, I would like to be home every night as much as possible. Is this just a dream, or can it be a reality?

I have also thought about potentially looking into a second truck and trailer, should my dad want to drive again. For someone just starting out, is it advisable to purchase two trucks and trailers up front, or try it out with one and potentially buy a second one later on?

I apologize for the long post, and thank you in advance for any and all information anyone can help me with here. I do appreciate it.

 

Thank you for the reply. That's why I came here. I wanted to get some insight from people who have been doing this for a living. I would like to ask why you would not spend that much on a combo with no experience? I do get that it is pricey, but from my perspective, why would I want to buy cheaper equipment that has more potential to break down?

The truck I've had the most interest in is a lower mileage truck. It had the engine overhauled around 30k miles ago, and has had other work done to it. I have not personally talked to the other yet to get all of the specifics for the work done, but with the overhaul, and the specs on the truck, I feel like it would be a good starting point. As of right now, with the information I have on the truck, I see it as being more of a higher upfront cost with less down the road cost leading to more downtime. I do realize that anything can happen, and that in no way is anything guaranteed. I'm a mechanic now, so I know how quickly things can change.

As I mentioned in my first post, I have been looking into older trailers. My figure of $100,000 includes a newer trailer and the higher price tag. With looking into the slightly older trailers, it would put it in the ballpark of $75-80,000. Is this still more than someone with no experience should be looking at to start out?

 

That I can do. As I mentioned, I am still only looking into all of this, so I have yet to contact the seller of the truck, so I have no VIN or anything on it. I am just trying to figure out some more of the basic information before trying to jump into this head first. While the rig dig report is not something I had found out about yet, I do appreciate the reply, but could you possibly give a little more insight to your first reply? I am curious to your reasoning. Anything helps me learn here to make the best decision I can.

 

The truck I have found is a 06 W900. C15 cat, 430k on truck. 30-32k on Overhaul. Its a short wheelbase truck with the wet kit already on it. From my general 5 minute research on this (haven't done a lot of research on these yet), but about 5k to have a wet kit installed, and around 20-25k to have the overhaul done, is one of the reasons I am "more set" on this truck. Most of the other trucks in this area seem to either have closer to 1 million miles, or dont seem to be what I picture as being the ideal truck. When I say that, I mean needing more work than I would want to take on trying to start out, or too long of a wheel base for what Im personally wanting. I know that the wheelbase issue isnt really an issue at all, but I do prefer to keep it shorter. The price difference for the KW isnt much more than what some of the 10 year old trucks with more mileage are going for.

I have called a few companies around my area, and it seems like the general answer is they want someone with 1-2 years driving experience. And while it is possible I would hate it, most of the miles I have been in a truck were in a dump truck. Where I sit right now, I dont see myself hating it that much, although sitting in the passenger seat is different than the driver seat, so anything is possible.