First lemme start by saying hello and introducing myself. My Name is Dennis and im 21 years old Living in sunny Southwest FL. Little bit of background information about the area I live in Cape Coral, Ft myers, Bonita Springs, Estero and Naples are all amongst the very top of the list with regards to rapidly growing communities in the US. Big Dump trucks Hauling Dirt, debris, concrete etc. is something that is pretty prevelant on our roads and By the looks of it no end is in sight. My cousin from up in Rhode Island gives me a call and hes lookin to move down here. Hes been drivin trucks for a few years now up there. So I get to thinkin about buyin a Dump Truck and havin him drive it for me, and splitting the profits. But I dont even know if its even feasible and was lookin for some advice. So my questions are as follows:

1. Is having someone else driving a truck u own privately a common thing in this business?

2. How much would/could you be paid per load of dirt/stone/etc?

3. How big a truck would I need?

4. I personally am a car salesman and know better than to buy new cars but with the ammount of miles these things get put on them is buying a new one a better idea?

5. Whats the best brand to buy?

6. Do CDL's transfer from state to state?

7. Whats a months typical expenses look like gas/insurance/etc?

I appreciate any and all input/advice as I pretty much have no experience regarding dump truck hauling.

Thanks
Dennis

 

May I simply say "NO...this isn't a good idea."

All your questions could be answered with a bit of driving experiance. You're coming across like a foolish young man....but I admire your interest and enthusiasm. Maybe you can pull it all off. After all...anyone owning a Dump Truck in Florida has got to have more business than he can keep up with, and reassurance of future business, a very solid outlook. Running a business is just more complicated than having the downpayment on a piece of equipment.

It's to me like asking me...as a former Building Contractor. Hey...I can afford to buy a hammer and a saw....can I build homes now?? How much will the nails cost me.?? :?

 

CDLs do transfer, but you need to give up one to get the other, its against the law to do otherwise (you cant have 2), and now they can check (they(states)are linked up).

You might wanna run a DMV background check on the would be driver to make darn sure of his record, I know hes your cousin but insurance rates what they are, well you get the picture.

As far as insurance rates just check, get the guys DL number and call your agent and just give him a model your thinking about and he will give you a price, insurance costs are so different in every city and area.

Diesel fuel if you drive every day all day approx 200/300 dollars a week not cheap.

What you can charge again could be 50.00 a load to whatever, how far is it going and what are you hauling.

As far as size of truck, the bigger the better (you can charge more).

Now the real problem comes in when you send invoices and set and wait for you GREAT customer to give up the cash, good luck on that one.

Good paying customers are few and far between, and normally people in the business know who they are and are in line for there work, line forms to the left..........and yes that's your cousin at the end of it.

Trucking is like every other business collections,collections,collections.

Now what truck to buy, everyone got a story, might want to ask your cousin which one hes used to driving and stick with it. Since hes going to be in a new city, and then if a new style truck could be trouble, again think ins .

New or used, New always , but they aren't cheap, if used get it checked out by a pro first, could be a costly mistake.

In the end just set back and watch that money trickle in.
GOOD LUCK

For now we will for go the input about, actually starting a company, the IRS, state and local tax's, Health Ins, Being sued personally and other great stuff

Oh its also good to be a diesel mechanic, if nothing else YOU learn how to do a pre trip, If you get pulled and checked, hundreds of dollars in fines and thats not including getting it towed, AAA need not apply.

And yes its normal to pay someone to drive your company truck, but most drive there own.

Then find out if your cousin will still be friends if you fire him, if not dont hire him, which is what your doing, oh and dont forget unemployment insurance, and the dreaded workmans comp, agin think IRS.

Driver and equipment rules have really tightened up recently esp in Fla.

You almost need to have been a driver to actually go into business in trucking, theres alot to it, and Ive just scratched the surface.

If you dont know.how do you check the driver if he knows, and if he dosent you pay big bucks, and a law suit can cost you everything you own and more, trucks are targets for lawyers, esp small companies without the cash to hire big bucks defense lawyers.

Not to scare you off, but you need to know before diving in the deep end.