After 2 mos I'm up and running again - Transfer Truck
 

I'm back, somehow my user account was deleted on here (arrgh).. anyway started working again this week with the Transfer Truck and let me tell you this work is cake! I don't think I'll ever go OTR again, lol. Anyway some misc. thoughts/ramblings/info for ya'll.

The truck: 2000 Freightliner, former fuel truck with a 236 wheelbase when purchased. Price $24k + tax and licensing (another 2k). Had frame shortened and axles moved to a 225 wheelbase, installed transfer hitch and PTO, cost $5800., boxes are leased through my company and they paid for install and wiring, so cost to build this truck was about 30k. About 1/2 the cost of purchasing one that was already build (they run 65k out here for same year without boxes).

Fuel: My OTR truck would need filled up every day (200 gallon tank), this truck used 50 gallons over 4 days of work. Huge savings for me, couldn't be happier.

Pay to the Truck: My truck earns $80 a hr. Today I worked 8.25 hrs, for a total of $660 to the truck. My OTR truck when running with MCT would get $562 for an average day with a full 11 hours of driving. This transfer truck should walk all over what my OTR truck would make in the summer, winter is another story depending on the weather here and if I can run or not whereas a OTR truck can run pretty much year round with no setbacks.

Some Costs: I pay 12% of my gross to lease the boxes, and 5% for a broker fee. Insurance runs me about $500 a month (much higer than the OTR truck!), fuel is much less, my maintance is the same.

Verdict: This job is sooo freakin easy. Takes about 10 mins to do a transfer, no more fighting with 5th wheels, tandems, no long waits to get loaded, ect. I'll be working for a couple of more months until I'm too big to drive (I have a baby on the way) and will purchase a 2nd truck to run down the road when I am ready to go back to work.

I'm new to this and by no means an expert but I'm happy to answer any questions you may have if your looking to get started in this business.

Some history on me: Licensed 1 year, 1 mo. Purchased first truck 10mos into my license, sold 3 mos later and purchased this transfer truck to run local. Haven't lost my ass yet, been running smart and making a good living and most of all I LOVE MY JOB!

:D

Congratulations, Floored. I am glad that you are up and running again, and doing something you enjoy.

Thats a good looking rig and I'm glad its making money and keeping you happy. Thats also a hot looking streetrod, its just that theres a woman blocking the view. Also congrats on the baby!!!

why do the west coasters stretch out the pup trailers like that?

Dont know you but hearing these happy stories about our O/O makes me happy as well...god bless and take..

PS
that 80$ in Sacramento its like 40$ in N.C. though..?

Re: After 2 mos I'm up and running again - Transfer Truck
 

Wow, this sounds like a great opportunity. What are you hauling in the boxes? I would love to find something like this in the metro Atlanta area.

Not to me it doesn't

Lets see........$660.00 for 8 1/2 hrs work MINUS 17% broker and rental fees comes out to..$547.80, compared to $562.00, with LESS cost in insurance for the OTR truck.

Maintenance the same, and you can tell this after only what? 2 months, you will be UNpleasantly surprised when your maintanance bill goes way HIGHER than an OTR truck.

The stress and strain of the weight and all the twisting and turning will wear the tires AND the suspension componenets like no OTR truck ever will. Your truck will need to be serviced by the hours it works, NOT by mileage, expect replacing the air cleaners quite regularly, like every other month.

Of course getting home EVERY night has its benifits, which you can't put a price on. Otherwise is see NO reason that this is a better oppertunity.

I ran dump trucks for 5 years locallly, BUT went back to OTR and regional, WHY? because as soon as I saw the botom line, it didn't make any sense to keep doing it, maintenance was too high, AND I had a newer truck than you are using.

How much do you haul with that setup?

Truck hauls up to 80,000lbs. It hauls sand, gravel and asphault. Can't tell you what rates are around the US, I'm thinking CA is some of the highest paid rates in the country due to cost of living here and the building boom we have going.

Maniac - Maintance will be less, I won't be having as much routine service done on the truck as my OTR truck needed (that is what I am refering to in costs in my first post), and I have a good running soild truck and don't expect to have anything major for some time, and if I did I have money in the bank to cover that just as I did with the OTR truck. I don't run on the same terrain as you likely did, most my work does not involve going off the road. But hey if you know it all thats cool. I know what it costed me to run my OTR truck vs this one, and I've talked with MANY other transfer owners and what they pay out a year on their trucks and what they make in return, its very good money. As for tires, according to the 10 or so other owners I have talked with (that run with my company) they use 1 set a year. My fuel bill for last week was $197, my fuel bill for a week with the OTR truck was well over a grand. The fuel savings alone make up for broker and trailer fees. The reality check you are offering is appriciated but not needed.

If you have your own authority sure you can make more running OTR, but for me coming off being leased to a carrier that paid your average "advertised" per mile rate, this is much better. So for someone in this area that wants to be home each night AND who runs their business smart this would be something to consider. As with anything, to each their own. I will continue to update as time goes on with the costs and income I experience with this line of work. Be nice if more OTR guys shared that info as well for the others on here so they know what is realistic ;)

Thanks for being upfront with the data you provided here and in the "Is $1.26 per mile OK?" thread.

Thanks for sharing your numbers, Floored. When anyone looks at any numbers you really need to look at longer term to get an accurate picture. While the numbers you presented are a good snapshot, it will be good to look at them for the first year.

Maniac your right. I been around dump trucks along time there is alot of maintance just wait and see floored. I dont want to sound like a know it all am not . that was a tractor converted into a dump that is trouble right there. More wear on tires brakes the motor up shifting down shifting all day. you will see 8)

I was asked how much we haul in a earlier post and I got to thinking and thought maybe the question was asking how much weight my truck carries in the box and trailer, not the gross. The truck and trailer carry 25 tons.

Anyway...

For those who think they know better, I'll keep updating as I go along, good or bad. And if I'm wrong and don't know what the heck I'm really doing I'll be the first to admit it. But unless your here in Sacramento, CA where I am running your past can't relate. Just like I have no idea how it is to run one of these trucks in MD.

I was thinking about all the haters in the trucking business today and came up with this, "those who fail say it can't be done". Don't take that the wrong way but really think about what I said. Think about all the guys sitting at the truck stop diners telling ya its a bad time to be a O/O, and then you ask them how they know and they say they did it and went broke and they now run a company truck. That right there is a prime example.

Those who know me know I am outspoken and don't really care what others think of me. I have done a lot in my first year and I haven't failed yet. I run my business SMART. I give a lot of my time to go back to my trucking school to talk with the students and tell them they can make it in this industry if they run smart. I am by no means a brainiac, but I've probably come up a lot faster that most the guys out there, as a prime example my first job out of school I was running at $.35cpm with a 2006 Columbia as my rig. Believe me Ive paid my dues, and being a female in a mans world has given me my tolls - but if I can do it pretty much anyone can if they think about what they are doing and make a good game plan and stick to it.

I post on here because I want to help others. I do not like shutting people down, killing hope, ect. I don't hate one people if they choose to drive OTR, local, or as a company driver for their entire career. I believe everyone deserves a shot to make something of their selves. If I fail I won't be the guy (or gal in my case) sitting there telling everyone else they will fail too. I will let those who ask know why I feel I failed (I wont blame the president, believe me, I will blame myself if that happens) and maybe it will help them run smarter. When I'm making money I want others to know what I am making, how I am doing it so it can help them in some way.

Take it or leave it, its up to you. I'm not here to impress people with my "super trucker" skills, I'm just sharing some real world experience as I earn it.

IF YOU STARTED IN A 2006 COLUMBIA THAT WAS BUILT IN 2005, YOU HAVE NOT PAID ANY DUES. You have enough experience to be dangerous. I wish you luck, but if you had run constantly since the day your first truck can off the assembly line, you are still a rookie, so please refrain from comments like I have paid my dues. Your dues are still being calculated. Congrats on your current success!

Don't mean to pee on yer Corn Flakes, but...
 

I started in a B-61 with a quad box, worked my way up into a DM 600, thinking I had "arrived"...(1978.) On to a big, long hooded DM 800, also with a set of crowbars. A few years in a screamin' 2 stroke-joke powered Road Boss, which I pulled a 24' dumptrailer with, that was a former Amoco Gasoline tractor. It had 38 rears, "Velvet Ride" (who named it that?) suspension which self destructed after a couple of years of "gently" taking it off road to load and dump, etc. Then it was a total blur after that, with so many trucks, trailers, jobs, miles, oil leaks, brakejobs, motor jobs in the driveway, electrical problems that I screwed with half the night to get lights enough to run till the sun came up, rear end jobs, again, all-nighters to get running with that load that was still hooked to the downed horse, and on and on and on and on....
I never drove a Columbia, so I still have some dues to pay, but I will say this, and it's in as gentle a spirit as I can possibly convey to you, as a newcomer to this industry...
Don't get too excited just yet about your new venture. It's OK to be proud of what you're doing, but I've been at it for almost 30 years in the arena, and a few prior to that behind the scenes, so I kind of have a clue myself.
No matter how good, gentle,or easy you are on your truck, it's difficult to take a single framed, class 8 road tractor and turn it into a dump truck that carries the majority of the payload ON IT'S BACK, and not have some repercussions. Even though you think it's working out good, just keep in mind that without a rail-liner inside that Freightshaker frame at least up to the bellhousing mount, it's going to be a game of Russian Roulette as far as longevity of the chassis components.
Dump trucks are built to specs for that application, with heavier-than-average thickness framerails. The steel temper is also a factor. light axle housings are another issue. Normally, with off-road drivelines, they use 1810 series u-joints and yokes. Your Fruitliner "probably, not definitely," has 1710 series, the next size smaller driveline parts.
Add this all up and then some, and throw in the extra maintanence cost associated with being off the road, as Maniac mentioned. You'd better be changing your air filters more often now in that dustbowl environment, and they are about 50 bucks a piece for my Pete, X2, you'll be doing service intervals about every 250 HOURS instead of 10K miles, because you're idling more and PTO time, etc., and now, if I'm getting it straight, you've got a set of trailer tires and brakes to play with now.
The big picture also shows a slow period in the winter for you guys/gals out there? I'm not sure... Here in New England, it gets colder than a welldiggers' ankles by December, so we set our dumptrucks up to yank the bodies off and bolt the 5th wheel on, and haul something else till the frost is out around April. You have to average that revenue interruption out as well, compared to other forms of trucking.
Again, I mean no harm, I'm just sharing some boots-in-the-field experience, and I've had a lot of luck, but it's mainly all been bad. There's got to be a LOT of money IN the truckin' business still, 'cause I've never gotten any OUT of it yet...

They say the BEST way to make a million dollars in the truckin' business...is to start out with TWO million... :lol:

Good luck, I hope you do well and have no bad days at it.

TiredOut

There is plenty of work so as long as its not raining we are working. Right now the weather has been holding out, I'm hoping it will stay that way until Jan. I'm prepared for the "slow season" so I should be okay. Thank goodness we don't get ice and snow like some of you guys!


For all you EAST COAST GUYS - Running a transfer truck out here is MUCH different that what you are thinking of. I do not go "off road' in this truck, a lot of my work is on PAVED ROADS, or smooth dirt/gravel roads. I don't haul out of corries. Believe me I read what everyone has to say, and I take it into consideration. However you need to realize that what I haul is not what you may have done and if it was I have enough brains in my noggin to buy a truck set up for those conditions. Before I purchased this truck I did my research on trucks running in this area, and mine is more than okay for the workloads we are dispatched. Don't believe me? If you are ever here in Sacramento go to the yard I work out of. There are 19 trucks running out of there. Many running with the company for 5+ years. Many are "single framed" trucks. I have not worked on the east coast with this type of truck, but I'm willing to bet it is VERY different than what I am pulling here.

And Load IT, if I am "dangerous" then its a good thing I sold my OTR truck and got off the road. I'd hate to take you or anyone else out with my over abundance of self esteem. :wink:

Sure I'm still paying my dues, and like I said before I am not claiming to be the know it all super trucker so many of you guys seem to be, I am just sharing real world info so others don't get discouraged by reading over and over again how "hard" it is to make money unless they have their own authority/run as a bed bugger/drive as a company driver for x-amount of years first before buying a truck. Nothing irritates me more than the super truckers of the world saying "it can't be done" or "you'll fail" because they did so themselves.

You old timers can think what you want of me, say I'm an idiot, a beyotch, don't have a clue, whatever. I run a business, it makes money and I'm not losing my ass. I am not saying I am better than anyone or that I'm on my way to making millions of dollars by any means. I am just one person sharing my experiences (which I fully understand that is what some of you are doing in reply, I choose to disagree with most of it because it does not relate to what I am hauling).

But hey, what do I know? I'm just a rookie. ;)

why do the west coasters stretch out the pup trailers like that?

Bridge laws.

Floored,I was surprised to see a 5 axle material truck hauling for $80.00 an hour. What surprised me is the rate, down in so-cal we get $83-85 hr for a 3 axle my truck & pup rate is $95 an hour. After a while try hauling tonnage sometimes you can do better that way. All the construction truckers down here are hunkering down for a slow time,some say it will be 5 years,it has been too good for too long with the housing boom. Good luck to you looks like you are off to a good start truck wise.
I also love your additude trucking is full of haters,If I had a dime for every company driver that told me "I'd do it but...." Air in the tires & fuel in the tanks (and insurance and all the CHP stuff of course!) and you are in buisness, let everyone else piss & moan we do things a bit different in CA.

I am not familiar with your application, so I'm not going to sit here and tell you a single frame will not last. However, for your safety, please keep an eye out for cracks. I have seen double frames crack on several occasions, so don't think it can't happen.

The outfit I work for has just purchased a 2000 Freightliner short hood classic day cab that we are going to put a dump body on (even though I advised against) the tractor is long enough so we don't have to do any frame work so maybe it will be alright.

Floored do you happen to know what your rig weighs?

Hey floored i am from the EAST where we are normal. lol. I do not understand these transfer trucks we do not have them out here just normal stright trucks or dump trailers. Why dont you use dump trailers??. I know a stright truck in PA can haul 73,280 If spec right you can get around 25.5 tons on for a payload. Diff weight laws i guess.

Its all about bridge law. What I dont get is: wouldn't it be easier, (plus same weight spacing) to just pull a 36+ ft dump w/ a spread?

Calf is definetly different!

Ever seen what happens when one of those things dumps in a strong wind.

That's not a pup trailer. It's a truck & transfer. You drop the trailer on flat ground, go and dump (they use tailgates that move up and out of the way instead of swing) the truck. Go back to the trailer and back over the tongue up to the front of the trailer. There are holes where the trailer fits into the truck. Then you hook up hydraulic hoses to the trailer and "transfer" the trailer box into the truck. Go dump it and come back to the trailer and transfer it back to the trailer.

And Alice is correct. They are almost always on compacted gravel or other semi hard surfaces. T&T rarely do excavation. To keep the rails safe. Dirt would likely be the only thing they ever haul back. No class #500 quarry rock or asphalt excavation.

T&T do a lot of asphalt work as it can be a tight area. They can still deliver the 25 ton load of a truck & pup, but they fit into a truck only area. Truck & pup asphalt is only good for very large areas.

See my post right above. Especially the last paragraph.

Your end dumps are used for demolition work. Hauling trees or really large quarry rock. We use belly dumps for long stretch asphalt work, like highways.

http://chuckhenry.com/trailer%20pict...Dump%20Lrg.jpg

So, Ummm, r u gonna add me to your Myspace yet? 8)

Local Bedbuggers get wayy less for local work, so I find this thread interesting. Its good to see you making great money or what appears to be). As stated above, us HHG do brag about money, but its great to see another drive from a different niche to show us another way.

Off beat: What happened to Jroqman? He'd tell ya to slap a big 'ol sleeper on that transfer truck! 8)

Colin around here we also use dump trailers to haul asphalt with.

Sorry.

I should have said, "Your style of end dumps are often used for demolition work around here.

This is a setup like we use.
http://www.kenstruckrepair.com/siteart/east3.jpg

Yeah. I've seen those everywhere but over here. :P

Our 'demo' trailers have rounded sides so nothing odd sized gets stuck coming out.

I can transfer that in 5 minutes from the time i leave the truck until i get back in it. :D

You better hope we don't have a winter like last year Sacramento was wet for months, that's why i got into gas instead. I work year round

A eariler comment was made twards my truck having to piggy back the weight of the box. Here is a photo from the company I purchased the truck from showing a tank strapped to the frame, this truck has piggybacked heavy weight on its back with a trailer its entire life. Just a FYI.

http://www.beneto.com/bulktrans2.jpg

Yeah $80-$85 iseems to be the going rate here in Sacto for transfer trucks, my truck also gets paid on a tonage rate, which usually works out to our hourly rate or a little better. It does not suprize me at all you get a higher rate where you are, everything is more in So. Cal ;)

I always check my truck out for leaks, cracks and other pending problems. Again, pretty much every transfer truck here in Sacramento is not double framed. In fact a very large transfer company only runs alumium frames as my truck is. One of these days I'll have to bring my camera and take photos of our average job site for you east coasters ;)

I can't remeber off the top of my head, I can give you my tare weight w/ box and trailer tomorrow when I weigh in (provided we don't get rained out).

My truck hauls 25.36 tons as an average with a max gross weight of 80,000. I will quote a write up I found on how a transfer truck works and maybe it will make some sense to those who don't use these in your area:

Here in CA we got ten wheelers, bottom dumps (single trailer and doubles), end dumps (always a single trailer here) and transfer trucks running.

It be easier using a dump truck with no trailer, but the transfer is not hard at all to operate and takes less than 10 mins to dump and re-hook. Unlike a truck with a 36+ ft dump the transfer can get into smaller areas.

Exactly, thank you!!

Truck has been earning $600-$900 a day so far with a average of 30 gallons of fuel used each day. Thats hauling about 4-5 loads each day.

Looks like a rough ride. Nothing like that out here that I've ever seen.

Yeah one guy where I am was telling me this past Spring was tough, he had a total of 50 hrs for one month. Still not too bad, about 4k in income, better than McD's. Again, I am not the sole provider for my family and the truck payment is low so I'll be okay if it slows down. Gotta make it while you can and be smart with the money you make when its going good for those bad times. ;)


Sorry for the LOOOONG post, been busy working and didn't get online at all for the past few days. Truck is running top notch, very fuel friendly (averaging 6 mpg) and using a little under 150 gallons for a full weeks work. As said in a above reply its been earning $600-$900 a day to the truck with the longest work day so far of 11hrs. Again, if your in this area or another area running transfers and you want to buy a truck I think one can do very well if you run it smart. I'll give you guys some actual dollar amounts once the pay checks roll in and I have some expenses logged, it will be after Christmas though since thats when I'll see my first settlement (just how my company does business, paid once a month with your first pay period held back one month, it sucks but I have cash in the bank so I'll be okay).

You'll always get good mpg with a truck & transfer. You run empty 1/2 the time... :P

Plus, you're only running at 80k. T&T run up to 105,500 up here. Dual quads, we call them. 4 axle truck and trailer both.

floored,

If you see an Interstae Oil Company truck (Silver Pete 2005) blowing its horn it will be me saying HI!!! i am usllly in truck 51 we are all over this area so i am bound to see you out there.

LOL true! I don't mind though, its so much better than using 300 gallons a day in my old OTR truck!! :)

Sounds good, I'll keep a eye out for ya! I've been running off of Hwy 50 to Hwy 99, most my loads seem to be in Elk Grove right now.

"Looks like a rough ride. Nothing like that out here that I've ever seen."

I don't think are Macks ride that bad but I drive a International 9900 with chrome so who cares about anything else. :lol:

Not talking about the Mack its self, I was thinking more about that trailer set up and where that thing must be pulling out of as far as the rough ride ;)

Just saw where you said you were pregnant congrats. :D

Thanks :)

Having a boy btw :D :D

The one thing that puzzles me with your posts is how willing you are to share how you make your living with the WORLD.

There are millions of people out there that would love to be in your shoes. With all the right information from YOUR hard work, and then posting it, you might be setting up your own competition, not to mention the guys that have been in the business for years and posted nothing.

You don't have to look very hard to see how giant corporations go to lengths to protect their business interests from COMPETITION.


I can just see Ford or GM posting.... This is how we did it and it's a piece of cake. Heck, they even disguise their new models before they are released.

You have got to be kidding me right, transfers and belly dumps are a dime a dozen around here. The COMPETITION around here is what it is and won't change Except to get worse and cheaper with all the towel heads trying to get all the work by being cheaper then the rest.

JMO
Chuck