my dream to own end dump

Get a job with a sand and gravel company driving an end dump first to learn the business. The dirt business is feast or famine and I would certainly not recommend to just jump into it as an o/o.

 

I'd talk to the company you worked for and ask them their requirments to be a puller for them. If they don't use o/o find one that does. In my experience most co. will have a packet or list of stuff they require such as insurance and such. Your going to need to get your mc permit, highway fuel tax, insurance for your truck and trailer prob won't need cargo insurance as most dirt companies don't require it. Then your gonna have to think about fuel. Some companies will give you a fuel card and take what's owed out of your monthly settlements if not buying fuel will be your biggest obstical since most companies only pay once per month and starting out they may hold a month back to align with their pay periods. You need to find a place to park your truck again most compaines you pull for will let you park in their yard some will charge a fee and some won't. There is alot more I'm forgetting, it's not going to be easy. Your going to have to do some footwork to get the ball rolling.

 

Well, you have to pick your equipment.. I had a 28' framed end dump with two pushers and a 40' frameless... I never drove the frameless.. I'll be honest in saying it scared me.
The upside of the framed dump was that we could multitask it... if there was no ag to haul, we could use it for paving. The downside is that it wasn't as versatile... it was basically a big aluminum dirt tub, whereas my frameless was a steel rock tub.
You also have to know your market and see dark clouds on the horizon when they come... road building went into a slump in 07, and that put a lot of people in a bad way. I also know a lot of independent dump truck and end dump O/Os who thought they'd make big $$ in NOLA in the aftermath of Katrina, only to find out how slow the work was there. $200 for a load of hot mix sounds good, until the reality that you might only get one load every day or two sinks in.
Figure out what kind of work you're getting into. Even though I came out ahead, I regret that I didn't diversify more. I was pretty exclusive with road builders, when I should have built relations with excavation and even C&D companies (remember my frameless was a steel rock tub, after all). I got lucky and got out before things turned south in 07... at that point, it became extremely competitive for what work was available (and I wasn't embedded in the good ol boy system as well as much of competition was, which put me at a serious disadvantage), not to mention you always had to factor in Puryear, who, at the time, had some 70 +/- power units, ranging from quad axles to end dumps and a couple RGNs.

 

We hauled our own grain as i assume you do with AG as part name. Local during harvest and trucks sat after. We lived in a coal minin area so i contracted hauling coal to power plants reg runs. Had opportunity to haul rock but the risk of more trucks and drivers was overwhelming. Its seasonal all at same time. Been away from it for years. Problem is not so much contracting but the number of units needed rolling 24/7 for only half the year. We ran coal one way then did a washout and loaded from elevators to bardge. Rinse wash repeat lol. Being in a winter state limits Nov to April. Are there any mills you could contract to cover that maybe?

 

You definately need a business plan. Unless you have $ to burn lol...
Have know these things and whatifs along with plans A-Z for your dream to tranpire to reality. Banks will demand it and you will need to form your own contract proposals. Have you thought seriosly about hauling for a quarry company to learn from?

 

The quarries will load whatever comes there to be loaded... I can't really imagine a road builder would snub their noses at an end dump delivering material to their plants, unless their yard was so tight that there simply isn't an space for a tractor-trailer. Some quarries might have a truck or two of their own, or contract a sub to keep a truck on-site for direct sale deliveries, but that's a separate matter. If you buy this truck and trailer, do you have clients lined up already, or are you expecting to just wing it?