3/4 ton truck with 16 foot heavy duty trailer

The opposite is also true.
Choose your work for the equipment you have.

What is wrong with this guy taking on some small jobs you wouldn't be bothered with so he can try to buy better equipment and work his way up? Most people don't start out on top, they claw their way up inch by bloody inch, MYSELF INCLUDED

You remind me of the guys who scream about Mexicans taking their jobs. LOL If a 15 year old illiterate Mexican comes across the border with everything he owns in a backpack and takes my job I need to point the finger at the ####ty choices I have made, not him. If you honestly believe this guy with a 16' trailer trying to get his foot in the door is gonna affect your bottom line you have much bigger problems you need to look at.

I give him praise for trying to do anything that keeps him from working some dead end minimum wage job.

STOP PI$$ING ON THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT.

 

Have you calculated ALL the math?

Food cost
Fuel cost
Shower or hotel cost
Maintenance on equip.
Required insurance
How much you will yield in a year?
The grief of trading in that truck every 12-18 months, because it I'll depreciate rapidly?

I didn't think that spending 65% of the gross on the road was as good for me as it was for the vendors. The margins for the 3/4 - 1 ton solution, were just not right for me.

I personally decided there were better opportunities, by taking the CDL route. Then work a plan to move to a successful business plan. It's not fast, but a safer bet with more options over time. This is just one guys opinion...

 

Something a class 6 truck had allowed me to do was drive it in/out of the city for multi purpose use, which is a bit tough for a class 8 truck.
Also, one can park a class 6 truck legally in my neighborhood while in the city, not so with a class 8 truck. (storage savings)

While running the hills, I admire class 8 power for sure. Start wishing I had more gears, tailwinds, voodoo, etc...
Probably getting around 7-9 mpg loaded, maybe 11-13 unloaded or light... which is pretty nice.

Air brakes make a world of difference in the mountains as does a 10/13 speed OD over a 9 speed, straight.
Make sure your rear end gears are the right combo for the running your route. J

 

ROTFLMFAO...$1000/week with "not much physical labor"? So no tarping/untarping, slinging chains, or anything else that might cause you to work up a sweat? And you want to do all of this in a little pickup and 16-20' trailer? Good luck with that.

First off, the regular old insurance you get from your car insurance agent ain't going to fly. You need a commercial policy or you may as well not have insurance at all (because if you wreck while using it for work...even delivering pizzas...your car insurance co can DENY the claim). Then you need operating authority, and if you leave the state, apportioned plates and fuel tax licenses. All of that costs money...plus the fuel that you're going to be burning.

If all you're looking for is $1000/week, you'd do better cutting hair because by the time you get done paying your operating expenses, there won't be much left.

 

First off, you need a commercial policy to cover your auto liability needs. This gets pizza delivery guys into trouble all of the time, because they have liability coverage on their car that covers them for personal use, but as soon as they put that pizza hut sign on their roof, that policy no longer covers them. Your regular auto liability insurance covers your commute to work, not your driving around professionally FOR work.

For starters, you'll need Public liability insurance (bodily injury/property damage/environmental restoration) - $750,000 minimum coverage, unless you're going to haul hazmat in which case you'll need $1-5 million, depending upon what & how you're hauling it.

There's a lot more to it than that, though...look up § 387 in the little green book and start reading.

 

I don't breed 'em, I drive 'em...