New end dump O/O - Startup advice & feasibility

I'll soon be moving to Canon City, CO. I want to get my own authority and run an end dump. I've been running an end dump for a landscape supplier for a year now and enjoy it quite a bit. There's lots of mining around Canon City, so I figure it's a good place to be if you're an O/O hauling aggregate materials. I'm trying to get answers to questions and test some of my assumptions (see below) before starting. I'm open to any advice or input y'all may have. Thank you!

Equipment

• Need truck with a wet kit, pinned 5th wheel, preferably higher gear ratio (3.70, 3.91, etc.), and preferably 40k rears if I want to haul overweight.
• I'd probably get a steel frameless end dump trailer. Can still haul smaller materials like sand, but can handle much larger materials too. I figure it's more versatile than aluminum trailers despite being heavier. I've pulled both aluminum box and half-round steel trailers in my current job.

Getting Work

• I've had a tough time trying to get a hold of Martin Marietta. I haul out of their pits currently and would like to haul for them. Spoke to scale operators and their driver hotline and was referred to an email contact. Playing the waiting game via email, hopefully someone will get back to me.
• How else would you all go about getting work? With just a single truck I'm not sure what kind of jobs I could bid on.

 

Yessir, I figure persistence is my #1 friend at this point. Will be making a carrier packet to hand out once I have equipment.

 

Great advice, thank you. I will consider an aluminum frameless as well. Not many spread axle end dumps here in CO, but I see a few here and there so I'll keep my eye out. The strategy you described is definitely going to be what I do if I cannot get in directly with Martin Marietta. They finally replied to me but I doubt they'll be interested...I know they prefer to work with fleets that have at least several trucks/trailers. We'll see what they say.

I actually have been working for a landscape distributor two hours north of where I'll be moving. When I tell them I'm leaving (this coming week) I'd like to pitch the idea of hauling material for them, possibly on a consistent basis. This could work out well for both parties because they get a lot of material from the area I'm moving to. Seems like a win-win no-brainer to me but I'm a little biased. My fear is that they will be opposed to this idea as they seem a bit "stuck in their ways" and from my observation, may not have the best visibility of their costs/financials. Basically, I'm worried they wouldn't be open minded and consider the benefits that could come from this idea. Even so, it can't hurt to suggest it.

 

Yes, I have a spreadsheet with some ballpark numbers of ongoing operating costs as well as startup costs. I have not gotten any insurance quotes yet but I included insurance in my cost estimates. I know insurance is very high for new O/O's, so I tried to reflect that in my projections.

I also came up with some rates based on data I collected from my current job. I figured the rates needed to break even and the rates needed for a desired profit margin. This is more tailored to the routes I run currently, but I could convert the numbers to be based more on general mileage radiuses. All the rates are tied into my cost basis so even if the numbers are not entirely accurate, they'll adjust automatically once I've got a better idea of what certain costs will be.

 

85k, 80k on interstates. I rarely see tri-axle trucks/trailers aside from heavy haul low-boys. But I don't believe Colorado has any restrictions on the number of axles or their spacing.