Fellas, I am completely new to this site and I am not very knowledgable with this industry. I have a good friend that owns a small construction company and due to rising prices of excavating services in Ohio (or at least the excavator that he has used in the past), he has decided to purchase his own equipment. He has asked me if I would be interested in helping him operate his equipment which I'd gladly do and he posed the question about me purchasing a truck and trailer so he could sub me out to haul his equipment and the use of the truck. He purchased a Deere 331G as well as a Deere 50 series mini excavator which for the two pieces of equipment it looks to be 24,000 pounds. I found a Freighltiner M2 112 tandem axle with a 14' dump bed for sale that looks very nice. It appears to have a 52,000 lbs. GVWR. If I were to purchase the M2 and a trailer that has a 38,500 lbs. GVWR, would the truck have any issues with pulling that kind of weight? The truck has 330 hp Mercedes. It also doesn't have a pintle hitch, is that something easily installed? Thanks and I know there a lot of questions here but I am completely green in this field
Does that truck have a MB 4000? If so drive away find a tavern and have a beer to thank yourself for asking questions. Don't touch it. If it has a MB DD13 not so bad. But for starting out I would look for a Mechanical Tier 1 engine. Or a Tier 2. JMO.
First of all Welcome to the Forums Gunrunner! Second take TS's advice and haul ass away from the Mercedes engine and have 2 beers even if you don't drink, knowing you don't own a Mercedes powered tandem.
very good advice above
Thank you for the heads up, the listing has it as an OM926 Mercedes 330 HP. I'll keep looking at other trucks. One of my concerns is looking at trucks with 60" sides, might be a stretch to get dirt in the bed with a skid steer and mini ex.
How are Macks, that's another brand I've been eyeing as well? I'd love to have a Pete or KW but they come with a price tag and since I'm just starting, I want to keep my cost down for now to get going.
You said it has no pintle hitch. I assume that means it has no air connections, no lighting connector wired, and all the in cab valves and stuff that is needed for trailer air brakes. Another cost to consider.
yea, I knew that would have to added and I have no idea what that cost would be. Hitch, airlines, glad hands, and the valve in the cab I'm sure won't be cheap.
Welcome to the forums, there is a ton of useful knowledge and incredibly helpful people here… Just to reiterate, the guy who wants you to buy the truck and trailer has bought a track skid steer and a mini excavator that will probably be working, hopefully, five days a week. He wants you to buy the truck and trailer so you can move his machines around when needed, or have you supply and drive the truck when he needs materials hauled? You should probably get pricing on insurance, registrations, proper license, and maintenance costs before you commit to this. I personally feel that there isn’t a lot of money to be made moving machines and hauling material once in a while… If you’re doing it every day,that’s a whole other ball game, in this situation it seems like the guy who owns the equipment would be better to buy his own truck and trailer and hire you to do the driving....this is all just my two cents from reading what you’ve posted so far...
I agree with Tags. It almost sounds like the guy with the equipment can't afford to purchase the truck and trailer to haul his equipment and wants you to front the costs. Is he going to keep you on a retainer so you're ready to haul his machines when he needs it? What does help him operate mean, you'll do it as a favor or get paid going rate? Is he expecting you to keep your truck and/or trailer busy when he doesn't need you? Were you looking at starting your own trucking business? What if you're busy with another job and he needs you? Insurance is a big question too. If you haul for yourself is one thing, if you haul for others requires different insurance that can be quite a bit more expensive. Dump truck insurance will be expensive to start with. Your friend may have good intentions but unless you get a guaranteed monthly rate to cover all your costs and make a living, it doesn't sound like a very good idea when you break it down.
I can forsee this going south in a big hurry.
You open the hood in the morning and dump a sack full money in there-shut the hood and drive all day, then start the process over the next day.
For that iron a 1 ton pickup or 26k bobtail dump and 14k trailer will work, one piece at a time that is. A lot smaller investment if it doesn’t work out.