Starting a Dump Truck Bussiness
 

Hey folks......I'm new to the forum ....

My best friend is starting a dump truck bussiness in the Washington Dc area..... There is so much work here, and he has a in to keep his single truck operation plate full. His hope is to have one truck pay for the next and on and on. I just retired and I'm looking for some extra cash. He thinks me working for him 3 days a week would be perfect. My question is what could I realisticly expect to make as a driver three days a week? He also said i could become his partner if I wanted. Keep in mind I've known this guy 26 years and he is closer then family. ANY advice is needed and welcomed. BTW...the CDL manual is VERY dry material

-Alan

My family has been in the dump truck business for over 70 years. My dad had a dump truck for over 25 years I even had my own for 2 years. Dump truckin is a ruff business. If your friend thinks 1 truck is going to pay for the next he is mistaken. The profit is very VERY small. Around philly PA a driver can get anywhere from 18-21hr.

wait until you read the DOT regs :)

My friend was told in the D.C. are the "average" dump truck earns around 600.00 a day in season........200 for fuel, 200 towards the driver, 200 towards the company. If those figures are correct....what would the company's profit be after vehicle coast etc etc??????

Tell your friend to go and drive some one elses truck and learn the buisness, same for you, if it was that easy everyone would be doing it.

$600 a day keeps my truck parked

600 a day is about right. Thats what i was making. I hauled out of the local quarry and getting paid tonnage. Some days i made close to 800 and other days were 500. If i did do hourly work we were getting 80/hr for the truck. Its sounds easy on paper. But once you jump into it you will see the light. 200 for the driver, 200 for fuel and 200 for the company. If it were only that simple.

that 200 to the company will get eaten up real quick. Tolls, insurance, tires, brakes etc etc. By the time you pay all that there may be enough money left over to buy a case of beer.

I always tell people. With 1 truck and you being the driver you can make a living. You will not get rich by any means. If you try to get 2-5 trucks on the road you will go broke. Mosy guys around me have 1 truck or 15+. Its hard to try to make it with 2-5. I can go on and on. lol

Exactly.

Like Mackman says all you are doing is buying a job with maybe average compensation and alot of BS.

Plus with most dump truck work when it rains you don't work. In the winter you get real slow. There is work out there in the winter but it pays peanuts.

Hey Ox i didn't mean to scare you away lol

Sorry to bring back old thread. I'm in the Philadelphia area and looking to get started in the Dump Truck business (tri axle), owner operator and will be the driver. I've heard the money is decent in this area whether driving for quarries (tonnage) or hourly. The one person I know in the area doing this says he's busy everyday and average gross is $600 and average daily mileage of 120/day. Seems pretty good even with all the expenses one has (fuel, maintenance, truck payment, insurance...etc), obviously there are always unforseen maintenance costs that one needs to take into account.

I know some days will be better than others as you mentioned and also need to take into consideration no work when it rains and slow winters. I'm trying to do as much research as possible and from multiple sources. Any and all insight would be appreciated. My plan is to get my CDL now during the winter and train with my friend during the winter without quiting my day job. So by end of winter (Feb/Mar) I can started on my own. I'm not getting into this with expectations to be rich, but to earn a better living than I'm making now.