Starting a dump truck business.

I suggest you go to work for a dump truck outfit for a little while before you jump right in and buy one. Around here the dump truck business is pretty tough. Maintenance cost can be pretty high compared to other trucking jobs. Job sites can be brutal on things like tires, and getting stuck. Can you spread a load of gravel to where somebody doesn't have to come back behind you to straighten it up?

Dump truck market may be hot now but it won't last too long. I've seen it all before. You've got a bunch of big projects going on in your area and there aren't enough trucks around to handle the volume and rates are high. Everybody in their brother that has a CDL goes out and buys a dump truck to get in on the action. Eventually the market is flooded with trucks, things slow down a little, and rates drop like a rock.

 

I never thought about that, but that's a good point dump truck could be feast or famine. Probably some big dump truck companies have contracts with there buddies and they get all the work and stay busy when times are slow. Maintenance would be my big thing you have a hydrolic line or what ever break and it could cost you nothings cheap with these big trucks. I would love to see the company I work for there fleet maintenance budget it has to be a huge chunk of change.

My question is where are you getting your work from for your dump truck business? I have zero interest in doing dump truck well I would drive snow plow for ODOT, but that's about as much dump truck as I would ever want to do it's just not on my radar, but I mean are you passing out flyers to construction companies saying "Hire Me" or do you go to some gravel yard and they drop some gravel in you and hand you a slip of paper and say go meet Joe and ABC Road Construction and you just go back and fourth from the gravel yard all day?

I'm kind of ignorant to the ways of the dump truck world. However just keep in mind maintenance will cost more then you want and if you have a driver working for you forget it they break everything I don't mean serious things, but stupid stuff they shouldn't be messing with or break they will break.

I had a small town car service and I had three cars well my friend drove for me and he was very well meaning, but he broke one of my rear view mirrors pushing it out and pulling it back in. Well a power mirror on a modern day car is quite expensive. You hire drivers they will break things, it's just what they do. Either that or if they don't break anything big they will throw garbage and trash around the truck no problem. I don't know what it is I could drive my car just fine and not have a problem throw the keys to someone else and they will tear it all up. It's just a strange phenomenon.

 

I don't know what the pay structure is where you are but here they pay by the hour per axle. so the more axles you have the more the hourly pay because you can haul more payload.

 

Yup I would suggest like everyone else say go try working for someone else see how it goes it not as easy as you think you can go broke real fast like if you have a headgasket goes out $8000 to $12000 then make sure you going to get regular work is it seasonal work there are you getting pay hourly or by the tons etc.
Like I say a truck you have problems with can take you to the cleaner.

 

Around here trucks usually work out of the rock quarry or work job sites.

Quarry work usually pays per ton with more depending on distance. These people mostly work for the quarry hauling their loads as they come and they will also pick up some gravel customers of their own. Quarry work pays the best and is the most stable as the quarries only allow so many trucks on the list and they take care of their best ones with some people requesting certain trucks when they call in.

Job site work is almost always hourly work and is usually the bottom of the barrel. They will take anybody with a dump truck and if they can find somebody to work $5 a hour less than you, they will send you packing. Sometimes they will pay you per load on a dedicated haul, this usually screws you because they know there will be delays on busy job sites and is why they don't want to pay you by the hour.

Dump truck work slows way down during wet or freezing weather. If you ever have a load of gravel or dirt freeze in the bed, you've got problems. Asphalt work usually shuts down in the winter also.

 

Over here in Pennsylvania dump trucks are lucky to make 65 bucks an hour to the truck. I'm not sure how that compares to right next door in Ohio. That doesn't really sound too lucrative

 

I didn't know that individual trucks would access the contracting bidding process, usually the contractor bids on the work, hires the truck or other companies to do the work.