Flatbed / Moffett carriers

Thanks King That is something i will look into

 

I am not saying i know all there is to know, but when someone says i'ts too small and it may not lift my boxes, i know they dont know what there talking about is all i was getting at. I did not mean to come off rude or anything, and i have contacted Princeton, they only manufacture the moffett and also trailers and offer them for sale. they couldn't point me into the right direction of a trucking company that offers these. i have no problem finding a truck,trailer, and moffett for purchase. but that's not what I'm trying to do. i just want to find a company that can contract me a dedicated team or find an owner / operator that needs some work. Thats all.

 

You had better think again. I run Moffetts every day, and a regular, stock moffett will not handle an 8 foot by 5 foot by 7 foot container handily, without modifications. Weight is OK, but it will be hard to balance and control, but I get the feeling it is hard to tell you anything.
Most truck mounted lifts are owned by delivery companies for their OWN product, and I know of very few companies that offer the service for hire.
I get a minimum of 50 bucks every time I take the machine off the trailer to use [ even if only 1 pallet ], 75 bucks to unload a trailer and spot the pallets close. More if it takes over an hour.

 

no look I'm not hard to tell anything to, im not hard headed. I just don't like bad advice.

I do have a question for you since you do run a moffett, in which ways would it be hard to use the moffett? My containers are 4 way. (meaning it can be accessed from all 4 sides) I personally have ran a moffett to load these onto a truck and unload them at the warehouse where I use to work. The moffett i ran had 8 foot forks on it with variable width. I ask because I only know what i used to use which was a M5000, and never had a problem handling any size container the company i worked for had. and i have pretty much the same size containers.

Maybe during my search i can be aware of problems i may face due to equipment. which type of moffett do you use?

 

Have several I use, all Moffetts. That is what I am talking about, 8 foot forks.That is a modification. And remember, at the warehouse all surfaces are flat. You start moving around peoples houses,yards, streets, etc., you will not be on flat terrain. The boxes will tend to dip, slide, get off balance when you hit a hole or a bump.Dip and tip.I usually use a M5500 Moffett, 3 years old,all wheel drive, cost around 42 new. Plenty of lift power, just gets hard to manuver with bulky items such as your bins, when you get off even pavement. Operating around fancy homes with septic tanks,bushes, drive-ways, walks,mail boxes and so on gets tricky with large containers. And these homeowners are just waiting on you to mess up and hit something, or mess up their lawn.:smt071It can be done, but some changes to the basic lift would work better. Needs stabilizing on forks.
Now is a good time to purchase a lift, many construction places have folded, and re-po's abound. I see them for starting around 6 grand for a decent used one here in Florida.

 

Ill be honest i don't want to purchase as I don't want the maintenance and upkeep. I do see what your saying about bumps and such with box on lift. and im not denying that it is difficult to maneuver. who knows i may have to buy one, but before I opt to do that I will continue to search for a company that can do this for me or an owner / operator. It may be hard to find it but I'm sure someone can and will be willing to do it. If i cant find someone though i just may purchase, or find an alternative provision that makes sense.

 

They don't really exist in the owner operator world. However I used to work for a lease/operator pulling a 35' trailer with a moffett on the back. We ran home deliveries for Home Depot and while we didn't take any outside work, I know that some of the other Home Depot lease operators in this area do take outside work. But when they did, it was only after the HD work was done for the day, so no morning or early afternoon deliveries for the outside work, and some days no time for outside work at all. So being able to pin them down to a set schedule wouldn't work. And that's here in Michigan. I know that in Indiana, Home Depot doesn't use any outside contractors for deliveries, its all done in house. And in other regions they contract with mega-carriers instead of independent lease/operators.

Honestly, if a moffet on a flatbed is what you need, I really think you're going to have to supply it yourself. If you can't afford to buy new, maybe look for deals on used or possibly a lease deal. Either way I think getting your own is the only way you're going to get what you need.

 

Yeah money isn't the issue I can buy the equipment, my issue is I am a start-up company in a very competitive market, I just don't want to purchase the equipment and my company not do as well as I liked and be stuck with equipment that I may have to try to sell. down the road if things are running well then it may be more feasible for me to buy the equipment. but for now for my start-up phase i don't think its a wise move. but who knows i may have to buy, I just don't want to jump to that conclusion yet. I mean i can only look for soo long before I have to figure something out. At the least I can look for a company or someone that can do this for me. Never hurts to try.

 

Keep in mind should this happen and you buy, you will be in a position to where you market this as you suggested; o/o for hire work. Also, on days this equipment is not needed, you could easily make money doing this. I do understand your points as the business not doing well as you hoped at the beginning. You want to be successful and not loose everything you put in. I wish you the best of luck on your business endeavors.

KH

 

This is true, but honestly as it stands right now with out this setup I'm still pretty busy, for the past 2 months i have worked Saturday every weekend. as far as the flatbed / moffett it may or may not be used daily if i owned it but i would have no time to Use it on the "side" so to say. but i do see your point. lol who knows if my business fails and i own a truck trailer and moffett I just may have to start trucking LoL Nah I don't think company will go south I just want to be real and like to be prepared if company doesn't make it.