Ram 3500 vs 4500

Friend of mine has this truck for sale in Oklahoma

 

3500 pickups are easier to set up to run the road with as far as already being a complete vehicle and more highway friendly gearing specs. 4500/5500 series trucks like you say are usually found configured to be around-town vocational rigs...service bodies, wrecker bodies, bucket trucks, welding rigs, etc. Undoubtedly a more capable rig...the brakes are huge compared to a 1 ton DRW and lots of other beefier parts but like you say they are hard to find configured nicely for OTR work.

 

Undoubtedly an old Shaker with a Series 60 and a 10 speed Fuller is a better value but these can be hard to find in worthwhile shape and especially if you want a 2-axle with a sleeper you're looking for a rare truck. Guys probably figure well, I can buy this thing (a Ford or Ram little truck) off the lot right here in town and make it work for now.

 

Looks like it was spec'ed to haul hay in CA. That seems to be where most of them fancy 2-axle sleeper Petes originally came from. That's kind of a dream rig you need some cash for.

 

I started running a 3500 dodge pulling a wedge.
I was lucky enough to also own a repair shop so all the repairs were done in house but mainly at the road side lol.
It didn’t take me long to realize that a heavier truck meant for hauling was a much better option.
My Freightliner single axel series 60 sleeper runs about 3600 miles a week day in and day out with out issue during my seasonal trucking gig.
Since then there have been two other local guys who got in to hauling in my area who ask my advice and I told them of my experience with a 3500 and why not to do it.
There response was “well you started with a 3500” ?
So of course they didn’t listen and went with a 3500.
Well it wasn’t long before I received a desperate call from each one of them on two separate occasions looking for rescue help out on the highway.
So I fired up the old series 60 and went out on the road loaded there 3500 on their own trailer and brought the whole mess home for them.
I can only imagine how bad they suffered riding home in my Freightliner listening to the I told you so.
And by the way one now runs a single axel Freightliner and the other runs a single axel Volvo.

 

Depends entirely what the business model is and the truck needs to haul. 26k and under hotshotting and RV hauling a 3500 is fine and lots of them get run 500-600k without much trouble. They're easier to de-commission and sell off as regular passenger vehicles with the 14,000 GVWR. Heavy hotshot or hauling 3 cars or more a two axle class 7 or 8 is a better idea. 4500/5500 series trucks you might as well just skip right over unless maybe you're trying to put a driver in the seat that doesn't know how to drive a big truck or some other special reason like needing 4wd. Those are typically just vocational straight jobs driven around town by workers who aren't "truck drivers" per se, who need a higher weight capacity for their equipment but aren't expected to know how to drive a big truck.

 

Would it be worth my while to start with a 3500 retire it early to use for personal use? I’ll be needing a big truck anyway in the future, and I’m maybe even thinking about doing some snow plow work with said retired vehicle. How viable would it be to start small then grow if I’d like to?

 

One big advantage to the 3500 is if you don't already have an existing hotshot business or operating authority, you can buy one and insure it as a personal vehicle. 14,000lb GVWR is the cutoff, which is why none of the 1-ton DRW's are rated any higher than that. Anything rated heavier than that and it's considered a commercial vehicle and personal auto policies generally don't deal with those. You have to have an existing commercial insurance policy of some sort in place to put a bigger truck on. The catch with commercial liability coverage is that it needs to be tied to a DOT/MC # either your own or a carrier you're leased on to before they will start you a policy. They do this for good reason...so that not just anybody can go out and buy a large commercial truck just for the hay of it. The 3500 series trucks kind of straddle the line there to where they could be used either way so it's easier to get going with one.

 

So are you saying you can run it on personal insurance? Or just insure it personally until you get the business running?