Newbie purchasing new dump truck.

Hi there! I own three dumps, one trash truck, and two tractor trailer dumps and broker a few more.

What part of the country? What do you want to haul? Here in OH, asphalt/millings are the highest profit dump - truck work.

I think you are smart to grab a steel bed. With how light they are made now-a-days, the advantage of being able to haul anything is well worth the extra weight.

In my opinion, for my use, until one needs the write - off, the new dumps just do not pencil out. The cost of maintenance on dumps is ridiculous. Tires, axles, lift axle bushings, hydraulic issues, bed wear and tear, ect. That being said, my dumps are my highest profit trucks, but they also are not financed, therefore, I have no payment on them. For 50k you can still get an emission truck if you want one that is broken in and ready to work. That is just my two cents, but I am also trying to grow a company as fast as possible.

Also, around here people are LOVING the Allison automatics. All the larger fleets that I broker on to will never go back. Drivers really enjoy them too, and they can get with it when you need them to. I would love to own one in the next few years (when I can buy some hand-me-downs ).

 

Do you connections for finding work? We had two dump trucks but just got rid of one. Finding work is not impossible but it is not exactly easy either. If you buy something that expensive you are going to have to run it hard and full time to make it pay out.

I don't understand your wife's logic. It isn't like if you don't buy a pre emission truck that it is going to be crushed and not on the road. If you are not driving it someone else will be. But then again most environmental types have a lot of flawed logic but that is a whole different thread.

I would recommend getting a used truck pre emission and not having so much money tied up in it so that you have a better chance of being successful. My dump that I have still is a 98 KW.

I am all for doing things good for the environment but I am not going to jeopardize my family's finances over doing some feel good thing that in the end does nothing to help the environment.

 

I hear that on the domestic happiness but beware this is a tough business and if you are making big decisions based on things like that it could crush you. It isn't something with fat margins where you can be sloppy and make a profit.

As to the 2% returns yeah that isn't great but there is a real possibility of losing money if you spend a lot on a truck and can't keep it consistently busy.

I am not trying to discourage you but you really need to put the pencil to how many hours a day, how many days a week you plan to run the truck and if it is even feasible to secure that much work. Then back out your fuel, insurance, regulatory and estimated repair costs and see how much you clear. Then you need to take that number and see how long it will take to recoup the cost of the truck.

 

See how much your wife likes that environmentally friendly truck when it's in the shop not making any money.

 

I am in a similar situation and I have put pencil to paper. I am looking for a 10k to 15k truck in halfway decent shape to run part time. For me to run the truck part time I am just looking for decent engine and drive train and I can do the tlc required to keep it running when I need it.

With insurance, plates and maintenance costs and only trying to run part time at least 30 hours a week. Can't spend more than $15k to have the truck sit half the week my plan is to average around $40k per year gross with $1800 annually for insurance and $6000 in maintenance cost fuel expenditure $6k to 8k depending on price and gross wages at around 26k to 28k year part time running local from the quarry.

 

Having been in financial planning for over 20 years, this brings a few questions to mind. You said you recently retired at age 57.

• Would you incur any penalties for withdrawals from a tax qualified account prior to age 59 1-2? If so, the standard 10% early withdrawal penalty needs to be factored in along with the regular income taxes.
• Have you considered how taking a large withdrawal will impact your income tax burden in the year taken? The large distribution could put you into a higher bracket, thus impacting tax on an amount greater than the amount you withdraw.
• Be sure to consider the tax impact on top of the 2% return you noted. When you consider the tax generated by taking a distribution, you must liquidate more than $1 to net $1--perhaps as much as $1.25-1.40 depending on your total tax situation, age, and the types of investment accounts.
• Additionally, your investments may be growing tax deferred if they are in qualified accounts. This reduces the future tax deferred growth potential of the account(s) as well.
• The point is you may be shooting for a return greater than 2% in order to break even when taxes are considered.

I'd suggest asking your accountant.

 

I would also refrain from taking money from a retirement plan at age 57 it's not like you are going to want to work 20 years to catch back up my suggestion find someone to drive for see if you will like it if you than want to buy a truck you should have saved the money up from driving since your wife is working and you have a retirement draw you can save all you truck driving money to buy a truck

 

That is a very good idea even if it is not a long-term plan go work for somebody else driving a dump truck for a couple months it will let you figure out a lot if you like it you will learn the inns and outs of the business and probably more on the specifics of what kind of truck you want.