lease-on deal I was looking at

No it's a 350 DRW but it's a cab and chassis not a pickup so has the heavier springs on the back. 7.3 era 450's were probably 14.5-16.5k depending on the configuration. Too heavy for non-CDL although I wish I had one anyway. Nice 7.3 era 450/550 trucks are very rare.

 

If you know for sure it's a cab and chassis that might be the case. I think those flatbeds could be installed on the wider pickup frames as well.

 

I know it's been discussed in a thread around here before but cant remember off the top of my head. I think most wont re-rate them after it's in service but a few were known to if asked. At some point I speculate the FMCSA will squash non-CDL trucking and it won't matter because they'll require a CDL for anything 10,001+ lbs such as with the HOS and medical card laws. That is the main reason I don't want to toss the CDL and downgrade to a normal license. They've made it harder to get one now too.

The thought had occurred to me that maybe I could just buy his trailer I end up using if it's a good one and I am happy with how it works after trying it for awhile. But I have no idea at this point what it looks like or what brand it is or it's condition. He did say he bought a kingpin adapter though so that gets me off the hook on that one. That one for $9k in Valparaiso looked nice but I'm not signing up for that quite yet. I will have to see how it goes using his for awhile first.

Tow Piglet I think went out of business because the insurance got too high, but I have watched some of his videos and it seemed like he did pretty well just as a 1-truck operation. He always struck me as more of an opportunistic business guy who figured out he could make a better than average income driving a truck rather than a die hard who drives because he doesn't prefer to do anything else. But he seemed like he knew the game pretty well and I have learned some stuff watching him.

 

Regarding 2" ratchet straps...local farm and home joint has 27ft ones for $12.99. Not bad but the 30 foot ones jump all the way up to $29.99 each...quite a bit more. He said the 27 footers were fine in an email reply but his list of stuff suggested the 30 footers. Is that extra 3 feet really a big deal? Any certain brands that are better or USA made vs China or is there not much difference in how they hold up with use? He also suggested the flat hooks were better than the double J hooks and that 10 should be enough for a 30 ft trailer. Figured I'd seek a second opinion before actually buying anything to hopefully get it right the first time. There might be questions about the other rigging supplies too but the straps are a good place to start.