Dump Truck Business Start Up

I'll give you an example.

I'm sitting in my office right now typing this to you because the brake chamber / s cam bracket on my right rear driver is now in 2 pieces, and I'm letting it cool down a little bit before I tear it apart, new part will be at the Peterbilt dealership tomorrow around 11 (extra $ overnight shipping), which is conveniently about 1 hour and 15 minutes away one way, their parts runner only comes by once a week on Monday (who breaks trucks over the weekend!?), and oh yea I was smoking new pads and drums that I put on a month ago for about 30 minutes to get myself back to my shop.

You'll have days like this...

 

Hello. First post.
Had to start here instead of the welcome wagon. i recently started driving a dump truck. A 1995 Ford L9000. Tandem, One non steer floater axel, no engine brake, 3406 Cat, 526,728 miles and 8 speed with 3rd in the 4th slot. Not sure what that is but someone at work called it a " military " pattern. Not sure.

Anyway, it is a great truck and the only issue has been brakes. Now I know I am a novice and I am sure I have leaned on them while I was honing my downshifting. Having said that, my truck has been the most reliable, productive, cost efficient truck in our fleet, which consist of 1 2000-2003? Sterling 4axel, 2006 Sterling 6axel both have CAT in them and both have about 600k on them and a 2013 Mack 6axel.

If I could buy that Ford I would drive it back and forth to work. Fantastic truck!

A friend of mine that just retired from driving dumps in the DC/ Baltimore area said that I could come there and increase my wages by 2-3 $ and hour.

@Dash, sorry for the rambling post and I hope you get the answers you need. Maybe I will come drive for you next year.

 

I should add that I have only had one drive axel brakes replaced in the 6 months and 25k miles that I have driven her, along with one repaired broken spring. Those are the only two repairs. 1gal oil and 1gal of coolant every 2k miles.

 

Don worry, I blew the service lines out of a 379 out today when I had to stab because a rear loader was hotrodding across an off road worksite today.
Line just about exploded at the base of the valve and traveled all the way to the grommet coupling towards the trailer.

Dude came screaming out of a wooded area, must've been doing 25+ when we almost coupled. Missed me by about 10'ish feet. I was going around 15 (service road.)
Newer operator, he said "I didn't think anyone was here on the jobsite this late." We're tearing out an old manufacturing building for a rezoning project.


Boss is pissed, but what's new? Truck's gonna be down until Tuesday, probably. Which means I get to run Residential sanitation Tuesday. Whoop-#######-iee.
But at-least I get tomorrow off because of it

 

Well how much does business insurance cost? I'm assuming if you own a dump truck even if you are a one man show then you still must be a legit business with insurance. Am I correct in assuming that? That's been a hang up I'm having. Some of the dump truckers I talk to on my regular route tell me to just buy a dump truck and be working on it while I'm not at my day job until I'm comfortable enough to go full time. I just didn't know if that was possible if I would have to spend like $2,000 a month on business insurance. Can someone set me straight on that? And anyone have any tips on how you get work for your dump truck?

 

Have fun with that. Be ready to play games and politics, and have some thick knee pads!

So as a new guy, probably with a used truck, you want to run for 5% cheaper than everyone else. That 5% may not sound like much but it sure adds up and could go towards mostly truck maintenance (have I mentioned there will be a lot of this?) and the ever needed 'rainy day fund'.

Cutthroats come and go, those who run their business like a business will stick around and usually prosper.

I've seen this in my 5 years at this, and for pretty much my whole life growing up with my dad being in the dirt business or dirt trucking business.