Grain Hauling Business Plan

Just try it ... No one can really tell you what you can gross. I've seen rates on loaded miles vary between .86 and $2.00 a mile this year.

 

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There folks here that have been in and know the business andyou don’t seem to want to listen to them
Good luck with your plan

 

Shoot me a P.M. my dads runs grain I can give you a good company that you could lease too. They also run dedicated dispatch as well. For your own authority and have trailers for rent.

I can tell you hauling GRAIN (wheat, corn, etc etc) there isn't much money unless its coming out of the fields. The real money is in hauling feed. Ddg, meat and bone, chicken meal, bean meal, alfalfa meal, etc etc etc. Light products that pay by the ton not the bushel. You're going to be lucky if you can scale 900 bushels in a tandem hopper, running lore than 5 axles doesn't help if you're not running in states where you can gross the high weights. And all the extra you throw on the trailer goes right back out the stack with the extra fuel you're going to burn. I pulled a Tri and a tandem made more money pulling a tandem high side than I ever did pulling a Tri.

Base your rates on 25 tons if you can scale more good but your tonnage rates should be figured on 25 ton. I wouldn't think about a cornchoker. Timpte or Wilson. You will pull out of the fields on occasion. The aluminum on cornhuskers doesn't hold up every well and they're expensive. They're for the drivers who ONLY haul grain. To get a full load on a tandem high side cornchoker you have to go to an 80+" side. That can make it difficult loading in some places.

What I would honestly recommend if you're going with a very light truck would be a 43x102x78 timpte. That's a little bigger than a super cube and will give you a little more room to pack on a little more product for your payday. 2 speed traps vibrstors, and of suggest changing the tarp out. That timpte tarp is worthless. I've patched a lot of holes in my dads. Steel subframe and call it good you can handle the lights and what not. That will be a good option.

Run the truck at half tanks and get used to changing air filters. They get clogged rather quickly with all the dust.

 

For Someone Who's profile States 20yrs of Truckin'
You really should have been paying more attention the last 20 Yrs..............

 

I would say get a Wilson. Haha to each their own. I use Timptes where I work and they do just fine. Having been around both I don't think you can go wrong with either one. The only thing I like about the Wilson over Timpte would be the traps. Wilson uses straps instead of gears which seems to allow them to open easier when they are older. I also don't care for the two-speeds, but I don't have that much experience with them other than dumping for farmers coming into an elevator. Granted, if the trailer is used every day and maintained properly, the difference between the way the traps open won't make that big of a difference.

Edit: Also, as far as tarps go, I believe Wilson and Timpte come standard with Shurco tarps. So either way you should have the same tarp.

 

I like my timpte 40'x96''x78side with big doors. I like the 96'' better because the slopes are steeper. Get some air breather screen cover. my buddies that haul cotton seed from the field use t shirts to cover them. I like my 2 speed box makes it nice. with under half tanks tall 24.5s and steelies on the trailer I can get down to 28,300ish. Make sure your trailer has a air guage and dump valve, makes loading and unloading easier. I would look into getting a aluminum subframe trailer 1200lbs lighter they say.

 

Wilson makes a good trailer and just as light as a husker but you get smooth sides.

figure out what you will be hauling then buy a trailer that will work no sense in getting a huge trailer that you won't fill if a shorter or narrow one will do. Also keep in mind that ag hoppers bring a premium on resale.

 

Ag hoppers are a joke if your hauling ddg or any feed products but for just grain they are just fine