Processed stone isnt on the federal exemption list. Ruble might be, thats the slabs that are drilled and blasted out of the hillside then breakered to size for treads and such. I hauled ruble but only locally. In tennessee quarrying and logging are looked at as AG and kinda get away with just about whatever, you stay off the interstate and never really get any grief.
Heavy haul as part time business?
Discussion in 'Heavy Haul Trucking Forum' started by ichudov, Mar 23, 2019.
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Personally I think you need to stay out of it. You don’t know enough about what you are doing, and are only going to help the decline in rates. Thus hurting everyone including yourself.
roshea, SL3406, cke and 1 other person Thank this. -
The other reason I am skeptical, is that getting into one more line of business is one more hassle for me and even more phone calls, with which I already frankly overwhelmed. (machinery moving). I have to work, drive etc and keep getting phone calls that I simply CANNOT miss.
Regarding rates:
I generally think that "trucking business" in general, sucks as a business model, because everyone competes for the lowest dollar and it is mostly commoditized.
My experience with machinery moving is that I do NOT need to compete on rates to get business and, fact, I charge more and still take business away from my competitors for many reasons. I try to convince phone prospects to not even bother calling other riggers. The way I got into this business is I opened a website and started getting phone calls. The other riggers did not have good websites, SEO and web presence. I did have an experienced rigger working for me so we had some good experience on staff.
My general strong side is that I do not stand up my customers and generally show up as promised. Not all Chicago machinery movers/riggers are like this and some are outright flakes, promising low rates and then NOT showing up. Since a lot of times a truck needs to be unloaded or some such, these no-shows are a disaster for customers. This helps me retain customers.
With heavy haul, I see myself this way also. If I cannot command good rates I do NOT want to be in this business. I would just open a Chicago heavy haul website and use my phone skills to get business when prospect customers call me. If I have to compete with super low rate gonzos, I would rather do something else.m16ty Thanks this. -
I got a plan to increase my margins this year.
I'm gonna cancel my authority and everything that goes with it.
I'm gonna write the shipper a check upon loading so that I own the freight. Then sell it on the other end and make bank.
Seriously though. A local scab farmer tried that very thing hauling for hire under farm plates.
It works till you piss people off enough that they go after your ###.
I'm not saying that is your operation but I suspect there are similarities.SAR, peterbilt_2005 and cke Thank this. -
Part time work is not enough to justify all the extra cost that come with for hire work. Also local moves are hit and miss. Especially off of a load board. I say stick with what you know and leave the other to those that do that. In my line of work I see people flipping machinery and doing quite well at it. At times I’ve thought about getting into it myself. But the fact remains, I don’t know enough to jump into it, and I don’t have the time to invest in it. It sounds like you have a good thing going, why get involved with something else? All it will do is take more money and free time away from your life.
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Humblepie, your argument is very condensed and yet it is very good and logical. I agree that staying with what you know is usually the best strategy. Incidentally, I do flip equipment.
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Contact your local equipment dealers and rental houses. Find out what you need to be on their outside carriers list. Their needs come and go, but it might match up with what you wish to do
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Badmon, cke, Oxbow and 1 other person Thank this.
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Right. The thing is, I already have a lot of what is needed for business. A private trucking company, a warehouse, yard, two tractors etc. All I would need is get another semi trailer, authority and insurance. At least for first time. Authority is cheap, insurance is not, but overall it is not a huge investment. There are pluses too such as being able to take on more types of business related to moving industrial machinery.
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I worked for a scrap yard that made quite a bit of money with a landoll and a 5th wheel tow hoist and sounds a lot like your operation. I did sales. the markup was fantastic. As a scrap yard the clientele who call are willing to take what the yard dictates for a price. Youre buying it at lowest price, retrieving, cant lose unless non ferrous plummets, park the item in fenced lot and seek out high bidder, often bundling in delivery fees with the sale.
The biggest downside was that lots of capital can be tied up by surprise, and some things can sit around longer than youd like. Also its easy to get bogged down in fixing equipment that would be worth quite a bit more working than broken, there were two mobile mechanics there almost daily and its hard to know when to say when on a repair.
My boss did not have authority but he kept the truck busy with local equipment moves for hire. I think a lack of staff who want to live in the truck was what always kept him from going long haul. He had all the equipment. I'll be interested to hear how this goes for u. Id be glad to be my old bosses OTR guy, we are like family.ichudov Thanks this.
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