Dump truck vs dump trailer: need advice - Truckers Report

This may be a regional thing, but I've operated all three, so can give my $0.02!

Side dumps aren't as versatile. The vast majority of customers set things up for, and expect, end dumping boxes in most scenarios.

End dump trailers can be a little risky if used on soft or uneven terrain. They also aren't suited to some residential work when you'd really just want a box on a straight truck to back into some dudes narrow driveway.

The most versatile setup used here is a dump box on body for residential and on-site work, followed by that truck pulling around a pony trailer for larger jobs that can accommodate them, and then followed by that truck pulling around a transfer for the biggest/furthest hauls.

So you'd really need to know what type of work you're expecting to get, or want, there. Another thing to consider is this, and this is probably regional also: I bill my truck out by the hour, and at the end of the day I net the most just running a truck with a dump box. The rates aren't linear with weight hauled. I never did net more money by pulling around my pony. All it guaranteed was getting potential work, instead of sitting home, but I didn't care about that and sold it. Eight less tires to care about, four less brakes, and one less thing to have inspected, not to mention huge fuel savings. The increased trailer rate barely covered the extra fuel usage.

Here's the thing I've found... The more weight you haul, and the more trailer you pull, equates to the customer running you harder, all day long. On hourly rates, I find a dump box on body is the best moneymaker. You see those straight dump trucks sitting around on a paving job, or when there's sewer or whatever other infrastructure work being done? Those are the jobs you want. Those trucks are all billing an hourly rate to just sit there. Those are the jobs you want. It doesn't happen often, but I've had jobs that I've billed 12 hours to the truck, while running it for literally an hour that day. Those moneymakers are typically always reserved for a straight truck with dump body.

This was helpful. Thank for advice. I had a quadaxle dump truck few months back but different state-different rules and equipment. I heard straight truck most popular but always have “something” in my mind. That truck what I bought was a transfer truck. So, for now I’ll install the bed on it ( it’s came without it) and start rolling

This is the truth, however, with one mistake, newbies will NEVER get on a paving job or ANY hourly rate job. Those jobs, as said, are bid way ahead of time, and generally, those jobs "stay in the family". I worked for a non-union segment of a union paving company, and was chastised for it, and there were 2nd and 3rd generations hauling schluck, and trailers are becoming more common, just because they haul more. Unless very specialized, dump work is almost always %, and I'd never do that again. With a 5th wheel, you could have a van or a flatbed in the back yard, and still haul the mail, especially in winter when dump work falls off. That van load of diapers to Miami in January might be nice. Diversity is the key today. What is the truck? Big motor, I hope, and a sleeper, or room for one, better yet.