"Dump Truck Is What I Want...Where Do I Start"

I operate both a tri-ax and tandem. Both trucks are macks. If you are really dead-set on starting up on your own, I would highly recommend driving for a local outfit to gain experience in dump work. It is VERY possible to land a job without experience. The only tough area would be milling and paving as there is a little bit of a learning curve to that line of work. But looking for an excavation company willing to train you out of the gate on either a tri or tandem, will give you experience hauling demo, dirt, stone, mulch, topsoil and other things. Alot of these are dumped with different technique and learning them is beneficial. Learning to keep a neat pile and not one that is dragged out the length of the truck is crucial to keeping customers happy. If you deliver residential in someones driveway a load of mulch, and dump it sloppy, you can be sure your never going to get called again by that customer. I always ask the customer if its something other than stone, if they have a tarp they would be interested in putting down the load can be dumped on. They usually pick one up or have one on hand they want it dumped on. Simply asking shows you have their property in your interest. If a load I deliver spills onto a lawn or landscaping by mistake, I do my best to shovel the most I can back onto the pile. I know most of my deliveries the day or two before I do them, so I make it a point to check the site for low hanging branches/wires, width of driveway to make sure I can fit down, and problem spots in the driveway a loaded truck would possibly to damage to. I pride myself on incident free drops. Nothing is worse than going to a job, and finding you cant fit in the driveway, or there are obstructions prohibiting you from delivering, or even worse, cracking the driveway apart from the weight. For these cases, I keep a good reputation with another outfit with some single axle rigs I can subcontract the job out to. In return, they throw some larger jobs they cant handle my way. There are alot of tricks to the dump industry, and rushing head first with no experience into it as an O/O can either go off without a hitch, or prove to be disastrous.

 

I just finished cdl school and looking to purchase a tri-axle and few more as time goes on. I plan to go work for some company for 6mths to a year to gain some exp. I live in Lexington Ky and just looking for a few tips or advice if you have any for a newbie