New Guy Here! Want to start with hay hauling.

You don't indicate where you're from.

I've hauled LOTS of hay from SW Ontario into the US. The loads were all 3'x3'x8' bales. American dairy farms can't/don't typically grow good quality dairy cow hay (alfalfa) like we can.

I'm not sure that a one ton dually and a goose neck trailer will haul enough BUT maybe you can create a niche market in your area.

 

Ben, you're 2 years off going to the US in a commercial truck, their minimum age is 21, just so you know.

Yep, timothy hay goes to Florida. Guys haul it there in 53' reefer trailers and bring produce back. You won't get the tonnage on with your combination that those guys do. And you'll have to tarp it.

Let me tell you about some of the other drawbacks of hauling hay to Florida. Loading the hay can be very time consuming UNLESS the shipper/farmer has a crew of GOOD guys that are willing to work. If not...it's a full day affair and you get a loose load of hay (no tonnage) and the buyer in Florida is angry with you. They want a FULL and tight load.

Ben, there's LOTS of hay that is grown commercially just west of you. You get on the west side of the 400 and that's where it starts and goes through to Lake Huron. I've loaded hay out of Orangeville, Shelburne, Walkerton/Hanover, Clinton, Cambridge and St. Thomas among countless other places. All of that hay went to dairy farms in NY, PA and Mass.

 

If you weren't hauling a trailer or anything on the trailer, no one would look @ you.

I don't know where the US hay market is as I have been out of it for over 8 years. I know back then one of the advantages we had was the American dollar was worth .50 more than the Canadian dollar. It made doing business easier in US funds and it made your money go further. It was also a huge bonus for the hay seller also.

Ben, there's a magazine out there, the name escapes me right now...but it is a hay grower magazine. If you can subscribe to it you may find out what the market place is doing>Maybe you could find a commercial hay grower that could help you.

If there's ONE piece of advice I can offer you is this>If you do haul hay get paid for the freight (and the hay sometimes) BEFORE it comes off the truck! Hay guys are notorious for trying to get out of a deal AFTER the hay is in the barn. They don't like the quality, the hay is musty, the hay is blah, blah, blah. Get paid in CASH.

 

OK>what is the GVW requirement for an AZ in Ontario and a CDL in the US?