After spending many years doing residential work, I have recently began doing some commerical work. Does anyone have an idea what a single axle dump truck should be worth by the hour? I can haul 10 tons with no problem. It is taking me about 50 minutes to turn a load, & that is the problem. The guy running the job wants me to charge by the hour, but I used to charge by the load in residential work. I have a guy driving the truck, & he loads it with my loader. I do not want to overcharge, but I do not want to leave money on the table either. I am located in West Virginia. If anyone has any suggegtions, I would love to hear them.
Our single axle 5 ton rate is 60-69 per hour the truck should haul 6 yards of sand or gravel easily I don't think I would want to put 10 ton in a single axle Charge by the hour if the round trip takes 50 minutes charge for a full hour the customer or contractor your hauling for is charging the customer for the trucking. Usually for us a single axle doesn't get much work because for 79-80 dollars you can have a tandem axle hauling to the site at 12 yards a load over 6 yards. If your hauling repetivly charging by the hour is better if your doing a single load your being called out to deliver one load then charge by the load.
Smalltime, that's a hard question to answer. Many situations are different, and I know, in my case atleast, I feel funny posting what I charge for what I do on the forum for everyone to see. We have discussed this topic though, previously, and you might get a sense of the range of rates out there by checking this thread out. Your area and personal situation will dictate what you need to make, but it's nice to have some idea of what you could expect. I hope this helps somewhat. Good Luck.:thumbsup
I agree with what Ford charges. Maybe a little more. just be sure to cover your overhead and make a profit.
Keep in mind the 69 per hour (sounds like a sex act) :bouncegri is in CND funds so its probably a little less in American but you probably could charge 69 per hour US funds. I don't know what you pay your employee but for us its minimum 15 per hour especially if the driver can operate equipment aswell. Any time on a gov't job the company has to pay the driver gov't rate its around 22 per hour. You have to calculate in fuel burned a day the drivers wages the site conditions is your truck getting banged around are your truck tires getting abused from the rocks or rough ground. Loosing a tire on a jobsite ruins the profit for the day. Is the hauling getting any breaks during the day like for lunch is it one load after another thats tiring for the driver. Is the contractor your working for a good person or is the person a d***.
I had a conversation this morning with a friend who hauls cattle. He told me that he made two short runs for a customer who had his own cattle trailer, but also owned some belly dumps and some various heavy equipment but he didn't have anyone free to make the run himself. My buddy said the two runs were 200 miles total(50miles one way) and he charged him $6/mile loaded($600 gross). He was afraid the guy was going to be pissed when he gave him the bill, but the guy looked at the bill and said he couldn't have afforded to have his own employees run his truck and cattle trailer for that amount, and he was happy with the bill. It was a win-win apperantly, but it also shows how different the amount people need to charge is for the same job. I'm not sure if the customer would've been losing more money from taking a driver off another job, or if he simply had so much more overhead that it would cost him more than that to do the same job.
Flat rate or hourly--it's still based on time.Actually,the GC is'nt too bright because if you get in a traffic jam for instance,the clock is still ticking.Anyway,I get $70 an hour,but if I were you I'd also charge him for your loader.If you had to rent a loader,say if yours was down,you would be hurtin with your present deal.
Geez, we get $70/hr for tri-axles in my area.
Thanks for the help everyone. I am going to make a few calls to trucking companies & see what they are charging. The driver has to be a teamster, which may boost the price up a bit more. Thanks again, & if you have any more advice, please keep it coming.
smalltime what did you pay for the truck? how long will it last? what will it cost to replace it? how busy can you keep it in a yrs. time? what are you paying your driver? what do repairs and maintenance cost you in a years time? what does licensing and insurance cost you in a years time? this should be a relatively easy calculation for you to come by on your own. on the internet, you deal with too many variables. my cost of operation no doubt in south dakota is considerably cheaper than someone in downtown manhattan. the biggest business mistake you will EVER make is worrying about what the competition charges...know YOUR costs....know what profit margin YOU want to make..bid accordingly
Our tandem axle rate used to be 65 per hour for the longest time but when the price of fuel and expenses went up the rate went to 79 per hour. We are paying 3.33 to 3.36 a gallon we were paying upwards 3.70 per gallon. Tires were around 400 dollars each for drive tires thats recaps new deep lugg virgin tires cost more. As for drivers rates we are all non union and thats the way we like it no need for them. Employers treat there workers fair enough around here its a small community if you screw around you get a bad rep same goes with a bad employer.
Why not?
well, 10 ton = 20,000 lbs....now throw in the weight of the truck, a little above and beyond the call of duty for a single axle truck, isn't it?
Uh, No - Not hardly... A 15,400 lb empty weight truck tagged at 40,000 lbs.... It's done here every day.
here, the d.o.t. would have you pulled over here cost you a buck a pound Vehicle Weight Regulations Axle Group Limitations The maximum allowable weight for all individual axles and axle groups is limited by statute: Group Type - Maximum Allowable Weight Single Axles - 20,000 pounds Tandem Axles - 34,000 pounds Tridem Axles - 42,000 pounds Other Axle Groups - based on the Bridge Weight Formula. Tire Limitations The weight supported on a tire may not exceed 600 pounds per inch width of tire, if that tire is on: A steering axle; An axle equipped with dual tires; or A trailer towed by a vehicle with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 11,000 pounds or less. The weight supported by tires mounted on other axles may not exceed 500 pounds per inch width of tire. http://www.sdtruckinfo.com/sizeweight.asp
For us we are only allowed 20,000lbs on a single rear drive axle and 12,000lbs on the front axle. With a single axle truck usually you have allot of weight over the rear axle. Legally we can only gross 35,000lbs with a single axle. We have put 10 ton on a single and thats friggin heavy not something you would want to do every day. The biggest problem is trying to stop single axle truck lack braking power. Been there with single axles you need a engine with a JAKE brake to help in the stopping dept.
I routinely run 12 ton in my 33K GVW truck.It pulls it fine and it stops great too.A lot has to do with the fact I'm the owner-operator--I'M CAREFUL.I know the difference between safe and not--I would NEVER jeopardize the safety of others sharing the road.Can all single axle trucks handle 10-12 ton?No--you need the beef of the right equipment which I have.So saying a single axle truck can't handle 10 ton is a fallacy.And I don't have a jake break either.These weights are typical in my area--we're all running heavy according to the DOT-and maybe once every 3 years I'll get a $2-300 fine--Cost of doing biz.
I usually run 10 ton on my single axle, I am the only one to ever drive it, I take it easy. My single axle stops better with 10 ton on then our tandem would stop with 15. I like the single axle better, I do wish I had a jake though. It would be nice.
I too run 10 ton or more on a single axle never had a problem with the cops or stopping but it is a R600 Mack that was a tractor made into a dump.
Something to think about. My truck can burn 14 gal/hr/ @ $3.00/gal that is $45.00 for fuel Driver gets $20/hr plus befits UI, and SS comes in @ $37.00/hr Maintenance about $0.50 / mile Truck payment I figure mine should cost about $1.00 /mile (My has been paid for for about the last 5 years but I still figure for replacement.) Admin fees. ie. Book keeping. $0.50 mile I like other self employed people would like to make a profit. I like 30% insurance cost 17% of gross. Federal tax is 35% of gross Hard costs come in around $84 per hour not including profit, insurance, and tax. So to make any money just trucking I would have to charge over $110/hr. Now I don't charge that much so who suffers? My profit!!! To make up for the difference When I deliver a load of dirt I also mark it up 30% as I buy it and run it through my books, have to pay tax on the profit. Book keeping fees, etc. If the truck is not working that day I still have to pay tax, insurance, truck payment, some maintenance, and storage. this has to be figured into the cost per hour also. If your profit is less then the truck drivers wage then you are better off just driving for someone else. But as the saying goes "Dump Trucks are a necessary evil" You have to have one to support the other equipment that you run so they can make a profit. Dwan
Yikes Dwan your truck burns allot of fuel in a 8 hour day you would burn 112 gallons of fuel. We run one Ford 9000 tandem with 400 Cummins hauling 8 hours it would go all day on the 80 gallon tank. We would have 1/4 to almost 1/2 a tank left and we are carrying 15 ton and pulling the steep grades. For us the UI comes off your wage same with SS so if you make 20 per hour gross the employeer takes it off. So more or less the your take home wage is 14 per hour after the employeer takes off the taxes the UI and SS. The only thing the contractor has to pay for the employee is workers comp other wise nothing else. If a employee cost a contractor 37 per hour nobody would be working here. The only employees that make that kind of wages is lineman that work on hydro lines. Maintenance is something you should do on your own you can save allot of money that way. The driver should be greasing the truck after the day is done or have a school kid come and do greasing on the equipment you can usually pay them 9 dollars per hour. The life of the tires all depends on the driver with a tandem got to watch the tight turns with a loaded truck. Driver shouldn't be backing or driving over sharp rocks or sharp busted off tree roots both can take out a tire. Making sure the tires air pressure is correct is a must. Idling the truck for hours isn't good for your fuel economy at lunch time turn the truck off instead of letting it run for 30 mins. Trying to progressivly shift the truck and keep the rpms down saves fuel two different drivers can make or break fuel mileage. Speeding doesn't help fuel consumption the truck is getting paid by the hour a loaded truck usually has its own comfortable speed all depending on the power. I still can't figure out how you guys can run single axles carrying 10 ton the truck is overloaded. Usually 8 ton is max we will put on a 35,000lb gvw single axle. Any of the drivers I know hate single axle trucks they don't handle worth a damn they can't stop. Going down a 10% grade with a overloaded single axle is something you got to be carefull about. Once you over heat the brakes your in trouble. A truck without a JAKE which most single axles are your gearing down big time decending the hills really slow trying not to touch the brakes. You go down a 10% grade in a loaded tandem axle you drop 2 or 3 gears flip on the JAKE and just use the brakes to keep from over revving the engine.
I still can't figure out how you guys can run single axles carrying 10 ton the truck is overloaded. Usually 8 ton is max we will put on a 35,000lb gvw single axle. Any of the drivers I know hate single axle trucks they don't handle worth a damn they can't stop. Going down a 10% grade with a overloaded single axle is something you got to be carefull about. Once you over heat the brakes your in trouble. Must be the superior brand of truck--CHEVY:bouncegri
Dawn, my old Mack will run 8 hours on 40 gallons of fuel or around $120 or $15 per hour. If given the choice on single or tandem truck the price to purchase close to the same I would take the tandem hands down. Next time around I will buy a tri axle. Bigger is almost always better.
As I stated it can burn 14 per hour with a full load crusing at max RPM. I normaly only go through 40 to 50 gal on a hard 8 hr day. but still I price things as though they are at there highest. Also in this situation I would also charge off the hour meter on the loader without operator as I would be gitting paid for truck time when it is getting loaded. Ford, on a Davis Bacon job here the pay is around $28. an hour. I do not hier drivers but do the driving myself and also the wrench twisting but I deserve the same pay as any employe would get. plus a profit for the business.
Do any of you guys charge a combined rate? Like so much per hour plus a certian charge per mile. It seems like it would be a more accurate way of charging the customer and still making sure to cover you own costs. Any one have any opinions on this?
I would never put more than 6 tons in our single axle on the road, but if you read about our equipment you would know why, any more than 8 tons and you’re over the rails.
The truck handles the 10 tons as well as it handles 7 tons. The truck is licensed for 36,000 pounds & I have never exceeded that. I am sure a tandem would be better for this paticular job, but this is only the third time in about 5 years I have needed a tandem. They were using a guy with a tandem, but he was only hauling about 17 tons & he had to haul it almost 60 miles (one way). I am going 27 miles round trip & hauling a little more than half of what he was hauling, so I am a little more effecient. I just need a ballpark price so I do not screw myself or the general. I would like to continue working for this company. My figures put it around $ 85.00 - $95.00 per hour, but that seems a little steep for a single axle according to you guys. On a union job site, the driver takes up around $40.00 dollars an hour (with payments to the teamsters) & the truck is drinking about $10.00 per trip. I need to charge at least $50.00 to break even. Thanks & like I said, please keep the suggestions coming
If right now you are chargeing by the load and you know the turnaround time already just put it in hourly terms instead of per load.
Damn unions paying a driver 40 dollars per hour is totally outrageous if they want you to pay the driver that much you should charge 95 per hour. You have to make money with the truck. Your lucky you can get away with a single axle I know in my area a single axle doesn't even get hired. Truck has to carry 12 yards or 15 ton of material.
I should clarify, the driver does not actually make $40.00 an hour. He is making around $20.00. The other $20.00 is including the payment to the union for every hour he works (to cover health & welfare stuff) & the government stuff. It just works out to around $40.00 per hour.
I can't figure out how you pay your employees down in the states because in Canada the employee makes 20 dollars per hour and the union dues etc all gets deducted off the employees paycheck. If the employee makes 20 per hour gross after deductions the employee makes 16 dollars per hour. The only thing the employeer pays for is the medical plan and workers insurance. Take for instance I make roughly 1200 dollars every pay period after deductions I'am down to 800 dollars. I calculated my take home wage to be 16 dollars per hour thats after taxes etc and I make 20 dollars per hour.
Well, we came to an agreement, but it is not as good as I had hoped. I will still make about $20.00/hour after driver & fuel costs. I am not sure that is enough, but I guess it will have to do. Do you guys think $20.00/hour is enough to maintain a dumptruck?
Ware is your profit? I am replacing a disk brake on my L9000 ford as we speek and the parts alone for 1 wheel is over $1000 without freight. and the parts won't be here for a week. I am out of business for that week with the dumptruck. It is called down time and anyone in the business knows you cant make any mone with down time. Now if I was to have the brake repaired by a shop it would still be down a week waiting for parts and cost me someware around $3000 to $4000. $20 an hour may be enough money to suport a dump truck but it does not make a profit for you nor does it pay for the added bookwork that has to be don because you are self employed. It also does not pay the $1,500 to $3,000 for your ilib. insurance on the truck or the compeny lib. insurance. If all you were doing was driving your truck for someone else and making a wage plus fuel plus the $20. per hour and had no other expences then I suspose you just might get ahead. if the truck was paid for and you drove with no insurance and never had a brakedown. I don't want to discourage you from running your own business but the truck driving is the easy part. (almost anyone can do that) but running a business is by all means much harder then just driving a truck. I suspose you have nothing to loose so give it a try for say 2 or 3 months. If you wind up with all of that $20 an hour for the truck still in the bank then continue with what you are doing and if you wind up with no money in the bank then it is not worth it. 1 more thing if you do wind up with that money for the truck in the bank don't blow it on any toys likd boats or snow machines but instead reinvest 1/2 of it back in your business and keep the other 1/2 for truck repair or replacement. You say you are going to make a wage for driving that truck then that is tha money you have to live on. if you can't live on that wage and start barrowing from the truck fund then that is like robing Peter to pay Paul and this only makes Peter sore, and we all know we can't do business with a sore Peter. Good luck in what ever you do.
Well said Dwan.:yup
I called 2 local quarries to see if I could get subed out from them. What I wanted to do was get a truck on the road, and when I get laid off Ill drive, untill I get back to work, and then just pay a guy to keep it going and hopefully make a few bucks. After running numbers I cant see how it would even be worth my time. It would barley be worth it as a owner operator. But If you had to pay a guy to drive, it doesnt work out. I guess hauling out of the pits is the pits. I see all these brand new Kennys, Petes, and Macks out on the road hauling out of the pits and doing snow work in the winter. I figured there was good money in it, guess not.
What I have found out is the stone quarry's charge a much higher price for single truck operators than they do multiple truck operators so it comes down to buying your material cheaper. Also trucking companies that own gravel pits make money. The more you haul the better pricing you get and the more you make. So if I am hauling my own stone because I just can't wait for someone else to bring to me than I do so but just break even. If I am hauling gravel then I make more per hour because I have a better price on gravel but a higher price than bigger truckers on stone. So basically it depends on the material. You have a fixed price that the customer is willing to accept as reasonable for material so you have to be competitive. As far as by the hour $75 -$85 per with tandem. Very hard to sell that much an hour with single axle, no one here would go for it. Most everyone doing trucking has tri axles, again it is about moving volumn.
Trucking is not my full time job, nor will it ever be. I have been doing excavation work on the same job site for a couple of months & the general needed some1 to haul all the dirt that has accumulated. He knows I do good work & he can depend on me & my equipment, so he asked if I would do this for him. I just wanted to make sure I would not screw myself of the general contractor because I do not have much experience hauling dirt. I usually only use my truck to pull the equipment & maybe sell a load of topsoil or two a week, not charge for just trucking dirt. We are almost done with the job & I doubt I will take something like this on again, I will just tell him to hire someone with a larger truck. We have already hauled 62 loads & have atleast 20 more. I cannot wait to get it finished!