tossing around idea of buying a used older semi or small dump truck

[400exrider69]

just wanted some thoughts

I'm looking around a few used semi's under 8k range and a few single and tandem dumps..

If i do get something I have driver. He said he Could get work for sure if i got truck he's tired of his current job as a trucker he's worked way to hard for not enough..

I've saw a few nice trucks lately for some good prices tractor trailer wise.
I'm done some figuring and if i came out $1,000 ahead a month after everything i'd be happy Mainly because i'd need truck on weekends to make outta state trips with flat bed to pick up trucks i'm buying.

There's some other sweet deals on single and tandem dumps even a few tri's.

I know there's no much work with a single for sure.
But if you were to lease onto a bigger outfit or another owner operator truck or two and go thru union there's a fair amount of work.

I'd like to be able to have truck paid for in a year and more less have it paid for it's self and make a lil extra?

[eastcoastpro20]

the biggest thing is maintnance, $1000 a month may sound nice now but when somethin goes worng or breaks it aint gna be cheap to fix so be sure to put the first few months money into savings.

[SpasticR450]

I been thinking about buying one to an old cheep one. I have my eyes on a 60s Peterbilt with a Detroit 2 stroke engine that been sitting for years I think I can get really cheep it's not for sale but been sitting for at least 10 years in the same spot. Why buy a big truck when you can buy a semi haha. :macho Instead of needing a CDL I would mod it a little brakes and what not to make it considered a RV.

Exact same as this one but orange
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[400exrider69]

eastcoatpro20-- I'm basing my 1k month profit off $1,000 month maintnance. So i in theroy would have extra left over.Monthly

spasticr450 that's a sweet pete

[SpasticR450]

What $1000 a month maintnance!?? :huh ?? How? If it's that much a month then screw buying that pete :ermm:

[400exrider69]

1k a month is figured high for tire blow outs new clutch brakes and anything else that could go wrong. Its never bad to have a lil extra on repair wise the truck would be on road 5 days a week so i will expect some repairs.
Sent from iphone

[jgar]

Old trucks always have lots of problems when you buy them and always need repais when you run them. Do you have a shop big enough to pull the truck into, with most of the tools needed to make minor to major repairs? Do you have the time, money and know how to do the repairs yourself in a safe manner? If so.... It might be worth a shot. If not you will have gray hair in 6 mo. If you do buy make sure you can get parts and a dealer is not to far away. Good Luck!!

[extremetrucker]

if you plan on using the truck for your own use, whether it be another business or personal, if you have a truck leased to a carrier, most of them will not allow YOUR truck to haul anything but THEIR freight, unless its a smaller company and they are ok with it, but legally you will need to fill out a bill of lading showing them as the carrier. otherwise you will need your own authority, and 1,000 a month cleared profit....you are not greedy enough, i wouldnt WRITE and MAIL the checks for that. if this guy thinks he can find all this work, why isnt he doing it himself? an 8-10k truck isnt eating that much hay to have it sit for your own needs. you will still need a dot number and file IFTA, but you wont need an icc/mc number as you will use it for your own private use.

p.s. you think quads and race cars are bad for break downs? wait til you buy a truck. every one of these damn things are a POS! lol

[416exmx]

Tractor/trailer combo with a driver will cost you roughly $1.30ish per mile to operate. There is a lot more to it than just buying a truck and putting a driver in it. Your biggest expenses are going to be fuel, labor, insurance, plates, maintenance and possibly a truck payment. From there you still have smaller associated expenses that add up. You'll have to carry workman’s comp on the driver, subject to random drug/alcohol testing, on the road dot audits and internal (paperwork) dot audits and tons of paperwork/recordkeeping to keep up on. Sure you can half-*** it and get by, but as soon as you get into a major accident with the truck, you can kiss everything you’ve ever and will ever work for goodbye! Anymore a truck has to run hard and a lot of miles to be able to turn much of a profit.

[400exrider69]

I have unlimted acess to my fathers former boss of 19 years fully setup shop. His former boss retired and shop is empty. Between my father his former boss and my possible driver who worked for my dads former boss i should have my i's and t's covered. The only reason my possible driver isnt in his own rig is because he lives in a small house in town and went thru a nasty divorce over last 2 months.

The amout for truck would be paid in cash so i woulndt have payments..

With my dads former boss he can easily teach me anything i dont know..

I just wanna be my own man with a lil coin in my pocket. As long as truck pays for itself in 2 years and i have an extra income and a hualer for the weekends id be happy..

[416exmx]

There is no such thing as having all your I's and T's crossed and dotted when getting into the trucking business. Trust me everything sounds better on paper than what it is in reality. It's hard to make a go at it right now with the bad economy. Look how many rigs are setting and how many huge companies went out of business over the last few years. I wish you the best of luck and am not trying to discourage you but I did the same thing 4yrs ago. Jumped into the trucking business thinking I knew it all. Ended up with 5 trucks runnin for hire within 2yrs, then the economy went to hell. Had all kinds of driver trouble and a few costly repairs. All I can say is I wish I had all the money back I LOST in the trucking business in them 4yrs!!

[400exrider69]

Thankd fOr adviice 416exmx
the main reason i need truck in first place is to haul ford trucks i part out from outta state back to home. Im still gonna do some thinkin on all of this .

[derekhonda]

I'm in trucking. My advice would be to not to it. 20 years ago, everyone and their brother could have opened up a trucking company and have it be successful. Through de-regulation...drastically lowered freight prices...csa2010 (or 20never as we call it)...high fuel prices high insurance etc etc, it sucks. It just isn't like it used to be. It isn't just as simple as buying a truck and hiring a driver, however. Best of luck to you.

[extremetrucker]

Originally posted by 400exrider69
Thankd fOr adviice 416exmx
the main reason i need truck in first place is to haul ford trucks i part out from outta state back to home. Im still gonna do some thinkin on all of this .

have you been hauling them yourself as of now? if so, check with some auto transport brokers, the rates on moving a vehicle flat out suck, (for the carrier) i bet you can have them hauled cheaper than than you can haul it yourself, by time you figure fuel, time, wear and tear and maintenance.

[slightlybent47]

When I was driving a truck I would have to put at least 2 new sets of tires on per year. That alone is $6000.00 a year, plus commercial insurance isn’t cheap either. Plus a set of breaks a year is another 3-4 grand depending on what needs replacing.
It really doesn’t mater what year or what manufacture you go with nothing on these things are cheap. Then you have D.O.T. to deal with so it’s not as easy as just buying a truck and going to work. When I was in business and I had two tree digging machines and an 18 wheeler and two drivers plus myself and my overhead for one month was 20 grand and that’s if nothing broke down. And that bill comes rain or shine so weather can wipe out all your profit real quick.