Hauling Chips

in the northwest they pay by the ton, but that is probly different than down where you are,

down side top heavy but can make a good living at it

 

up here they have a lift that lifts the truck and trailer some just trailer and dumps them out, most guys up here run at 105k

i forgot to mention they are always under the gun to get 4 loads a day some more some less depending on how far you have to drive

 

I hauled chips and logs for a couple of years for someone. I was just a driver but they are heavy and make sure the trailers are in decent shape. The DOT like to look at them harder than other trailers sometimes. The person I worked for wants me to come back and he has grown his business from about 10 trucks to about 75 newer trucks and trailers. If people see that you are willing to work at it you might pick up more business. Just my two cents worth.

 

Don't know where in GA you are, but I worked for Pritchett Trucking as a company driver for nearly 4 years, and for the last 2 I was hauling fuel wood to RockTenn in Panama City, and GP in Cedar Springs. The pay as a company driver was low, and I don't think Pritchett was making a ton either but that's their bread and butter and they have enough trucks on it where they can still make their money, and we as company drivers still did okay.

These are my observations from the course of the 2 years I hauled them:
1.Get as much weight as you can, you're typically paid by the ton.
2.Expect mill restrictions, whether it be fuel wood or clean chips, they only need so much of it and will shut down hauling in a moments notice.
3.Expect to wait in ridiculously long lines, I have sat in Cedar Springs from 1am until 5am on more than one occasion.
4.Expect to run early hours, I was on the road between midnight and 2am.
5.Expect to work long hours, the rates of wood by-product in the south are notoriously low so you have to run a bunch to make a decent wage.
6.Some places tip your loads, some expect you to walk it off. Live bottom is the norm for this job.
7.Last but not least, get a CB pushing atleast 500 watts so when you're sitting behind 20 fuel wood trucks at RockTenn, everyone in the panhandle can hear you BS'ing with all of your logging buddies!

Oh, and don't piss off the scale house lady, she can make your life a living hell.........GET TO THE BACK OF THE LINE!

 

here in nor cal tthey dump out the top or back not too sure but my dad hauled chips for years and freakin loved it. it paid well enough for a single guy to live decently. its always been my sick adn twisted dream to haul chips

 

walking floors are generally used for the hauling of peat,mulch,etc. although there are some walking floors.The walking floors just weigh too much for practicality as it is all about the weight.I live near Rome,Ga. and have pulled my share of sticks,logs,and chips over the years.anyway,most chip trls are the open tops with a pull tarp and swing open, either side to side or bottom swings out. Most all tailgates are the mesh/grated gates that allow the wind to pass thru when empty. ALL are dumped by the entire truck/trl ramps that the driver operates that take the truck up and dumps the chips into a bin that moves along a continuously moving belt.

 

I haul chips for Walsh trucking (Oregon & Washington),we get paid by the mile and a set fee for loading ,unloading,drop & hook etc.
Some other companies here pay by the hr. and some percentage of load so it varies by company.
Most are company trucks but I see a few owner op leased on and some indys,Walsh is all company owned rigs.
We have mosty possum belly trailers that get dumped by tipper platforms but we also have some live floors as well.