Hi everyone, I'm looking to start a small trucking outfit in CT. I have been working within the industry on and off for 7 yrs, so I have some experience. Now I have a full time job but with a very flexible schedule. So I 'am looking to pick up a dump truck and haul material to start off, also I wanted to put a plow on it and plow for the state of CT with it as well. I was looking for some input if this is a viable idea or would I just be throwing money out the window. I figured start up cost of around $15000, ten wheel dump truck at $10000 (used of course), reg. $1000, initial maintenance at $2000, insurance is the variable $2000/yr? One good part about plowing for the state is they give you a guarantee payment of $7600 per truck whether you plow or not. I guess I’m looking for some input on insurance as to who to go through, what limits, and what anybody else pays in this area for a similar situation. Thank you
ok here is what I see. Your buget isn't adequate for your demands. 10k isn't going to buy a very nice truck, 10k will buy a nice plow though. Better off 2 -3x's the truck price, initial maintenance should go to 5k, rubber alone will eat 2.5k. Insurance need are going to be set by the state, they are going to say how much of what coverage you will need. In addition to truck coverage I'd expect you to need gen. liability and workman's comp. My want to check on what the penalities are for calling off. With a sign bonus I'll bet you have one call off to use all year long and if you go over you loose your $7,600. So lets "for instance" this. You have one truck and your the only driver. Snow season runs from what Nov. to April? Nothing breaks if it isn't used, so your not going to catch all your potiential problems with preventive maintenance alone. Should you be out plowing and loose a clutch, loose the alternator, anything and need towed somewhere, you could very well be called back out the next night. You can't expect to be able to drive the truck all day, work on it all night, hold a second job, and keep everything going without more help and more trucks. Shoot, you catch the stomach bug and get laid up for 3 days and they call 2x and you lost your 7600. Judging from how you posted, I'm going to assume that the 7,600 would be spent in short order for insurance and maintenance costs, its very risky to spend bonus money like that when you may have to pay it back, and in the case of a mechanical failure, don't have the truck going to be able to to it with. Thats the problems, now for the solutions. Scale back your truck size. Single axles are regularly available within your buget. Leave state plowing alone for now and concentrate on the small fish, get on with a landscaper or someone else who has commercial plowing contracts and sub under him. They may need you to haul mulch and stuff the rest of the year too. Keep in mind that at you may be required to have a sander as well. This type of work usually goes for about $100 per hr here in Pa. You may not get a 7,600 dollar bonus, but you will do alright if it snows good that year. Another thing to remember is that weather isn't guaranteed, you may only get one plowable snow your first year. Alot of times snow is just "because I have nothing better to do money," and not a real profit sector. I'd try to get on with paving companies, landscaping yards and other places and get a solid line of work lined up in the spring, run the season out and see if snow was something I wanted to mess with that winter. Keep in mind that when your runnin on bad roads, chances are higher that bad things will happen. Best of luck in whatever direction you head.
stump is right, running big trucks takes big money, trucking is a tight profit margin business to be in to begin with
Unless your construction market is better than mine, I'm thinking you're going to have a tough time finding enough work to stay solvent. I have a friend with a trucking company, he has 8 dumps. On any given day at least half of them are sitting idle and he's been in business for at least 40 years establishing contacts. Keep in mind too that any work you might get they are going to want you when they need you. If a contractor calls you for a load and you aren't available more than a couple times, they probably won't call again. Be very careful who you deal with as well, many contractors in my area are notorious for not paying their bills. I'm not trying to be discouraging, this is the reality of what your facing. Today's market is probably as bad as it's ever been, companies who have been in business for years are having a tough time just surviving today.
Thank you for your input so far. I agree with you stump, that 10k wont get a real nice truck, but starting off I will have to do with what I have. I have looked at picking up a single screw, but I figured that a tandem would be a little more versatile when it comes to hauling material. They way I thought about it was not many people are going to hire me with a truck that can only hold 7 ton on the high end. They would rather have something that can hold upwards of 13-15 ton. As far as plowing for the state, I have looked at the penalties for not coming in and you are correct they do penalize for down time, however I do have a back up driver if I were to get sick. As far as something breaking I would be taking a gamble with that unfortunately. The $7600 would be put back into the business, but I really wouldn’t spend any of it until the end of the season, just incase of any unfortunate events. I do have a line on a couple contractors that I have worked with in the past that would use my services, and I would take anything that would come my way.