Hopper, Dump O/O's & Drivers

What was I thinkin a couple months back when I got into this hopper biz. Call me crazy but I still like it and not going to back out now.

Lookin pretty slow in the future around here maybe have to throw the bed roll in the bunk and hit the road.

 

Cowdoc, what is the latest in your area? Hope everyone is safe. Looks like more water coming down the Mississippi.

 

Yep use to go there quite a bit.
Set there 22 hours once to load.
Longest to unload 4 1/2 hours.
Not always that bad.
Got to watch for LINE JUMPERS.
They don't have the number system like Wichita.
When Wichita is busy they use to be notorious for the first local there pulling numbers for all of his buds that come in an hour or later behind him, putting them ahead of trucks that come in between them.

 

Hauled some soy hulls and meal out of Cargill in Sidney,Oh. this week,nice place too. Helped a couple of farmers clean out bins for wheat room so got some straggler bean loads to Cincy and deadheaded up I75 to Sidney. Had to break out the 'ol dust mask and found out just how bad of shape i'm in with all the ''scooping''


Happy Mothers Day to all the great 'moms' out there

 

Fellas, I was wondering if you are seeing the same trend as we are in Colorado. Seems like lots of farmers are buying sand trailers and water trailers to get in on the oil boom. You guys seeing any of that out your way?

 

I talked to one Thursday, driver was asking me for directions for a certain road and we got to talking on the radio and he said he worked for a farmer that has two trucks and pulls belly dumps. I asked if they were staying busy and he said yes but the farmer told him he was going broke. I just said well if he is going broke you need to bail and find another job. It use to be mostly oilfield trucking companies that were doing these type of hauls but everybody and their cousin, brother, uncle bought a belly dump and went trucking.

I know of two guys that have been in this business for over thirty plus years and seen the rates get cheap at times. I checked into this before buying the hopper, I could have hauled for one outfit but have seen this business go up and down so many times and couldn't see buying a $40k dollar trailer and never know one day from the next if their will be work. It maybe more money then pulling a hopper but you are going to take that extra money earned and put back into fixing your equipment, those county and lease roads are hell on a truck. Look back in late 2008 and early 2009 when things got slow and no hauling to be had in the oil field they couldn't give those belly dumps away and the banks ended up with some and other oil Field related equipment. It is good now but how long will it last. At least with a hopper it is steady and I can haul other products then just three.

Also look at the frac sand haul in pneumatic tanks that were going big a few years back and the guys were making a ton of money and not running hardly any miles, they were making their money on wait time at the rigs to unload. Well now everybody has bought a 60k dollar tank and became a sand hauler and look at the rates today. They may still be decent but nothing like they use to be.

 

Big John,how's the ISX holding up?

 

As seen on the back of a sleeper of a Kenworth W9 and he was pulling a shiney hopper. I would like to put this on the back of my trailer.