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I am interested in the concept of opening up a construction trash hauling business. I have a picture of a guy that does this sort of thing in my area. He has been at it for about 8 years and started off with one truck as pictured. He now runs 4 or 5 trucks about the same size and has added a Bobcat that he hauls aroung with his biggest truck. He used to go to each site and quote the price of the haul and then send the truck out to pick up the load. Now the driver of the truck does that. Seems like a good way to make money without alot of liability. He charges 300.00 for a full truck, 150.00 for a half and a 50.00 minimum. What are your thoughts on this idea? Questions that I have are; What do businesses in your area charge to perform this task( dump fees have alot to do with this ), Why do you hire one over the next other than for price, what are you looking for in a company of this nature?
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If he's hauling around a bobcat he must also be cleaning up the site and loading the truck. Right??
How about the smaller trucks? Does he load the truck?
I, and many, if not most, around here have a rolloff dropped at the site. Although there are 20, 30, 40 yard dumpsters available, I just use a company that has 11 yard rolloffs. We fill our own, and clean up the job continuously, and just call for the pickup. When I fill up one of those dumpsters it is usually to the top and sometimes beyond and my average fee is right around $200, which includes the rental, the pull and the weight charges. I can keep that rolloff on site for about a month without incurring any extra daily fees.
*Greg,I stopped using roll-offs a few years ago. Just an excuse for strangers to help themselves and I think the bigger the receptical, the greater the tendancy to waste.I use a guy and his trucks, just as you described. He shows up, we dicker for a second or so, (mostly ritual) and he picks it up.Why him over others?He's clean.He leaves clean.He recycles. We set metal, ect, aside for him. He also finds homes for wayward fixtures and such.And he's a nice guy (cheerful) to have show up on the job.And......I call, he always shows or calls.....I'd rather give my money to a guy that hustles than a dumpster drop-off company.
*Bring him on. In my area, I pay over $400 for an 18 yard Dumpster. I'd welcome a specialist who will pick this stuff up. We've come up with many ways to reduce this cost (taking all the cardboard to the recycling center, etc.), but I think that, depending on your area and the going cost for dumping, it would make sense. What is the full service offering? E.g, what will you do for me; will you pick up the site, or merely pick up the "pile" that I leave? Do I have to load, or will you. Let's get down to some questions about the level of service and then talk.
*I stick with the same guy mainly because he's neat. Tough to find in this line of work. I call with the address , description of stuff to be hauled, and a guess at how much of a truck load it'll be. Half the time I'll guess at how huch it'll cost, and tell him to call if the price will be different. I'll make a neat pile on a tarp, he'll show usually when I'm not there, load it, sweep the site, clean and fold the tarp and be on his way. I'll pay him if I'm there.....or just a check in the mail. His truck is old and beat, but the guy himself is polite to the customers, and not scary-dirty after a hard days work.......some of the guys around here use the weekly shower method! If a bigger company like you propose would open, I'd guess they'd do very well in a short time. Dumps are getting fewer and farther. Jeff
*Depending on the job size and logistics, we either demo ourself and throw the stuff into a dumspter, or we hire a "demo" guy who does the demo "and" haul it away.One question for you guys to check on - if one of these guys screws up his back, trips and lands on a 16 penny spike sticking out of a board or whatever - on your customer's site, as a sub for you, who covers his workers comp, and/or liability if the injury is serious and he get a lawyer? You know - the knid of lawyers advertising on our TVs.Got certificates? Got a rider on your existing liability policy to cover subs? If so, what does the fine print say?
*Greg, You just descibed my business. We have 10 trucks working about 100 mi section of freeway. Did about 1500 houses last year. 95% of our contractors are on our SF rate. Our rate varies according to what services we provide, SF of house and contractors reputation (or the framers). Small production houses w/volume could get below $400.00/house. Very large customs might be $5000. Just kind of depends. We show up weekly or daily on large jobs. 4-6 trips on 1 off customs. We use a truck 1 size larger than the one pictured. That was the size of our 1st truck. We replaced a clutch a year like clockwork. 20,000 GVW truck is about right. Also go w/automatic. Easier for less skilled drivers. we carry W/C and liabilty. State licensing, individuals jurisdiction licensing too. One thing to look for is if the haulers are going to be a problem. We have had our share. We were about 2 days from going to court last summer before we reached a compromise. Good luck.
*Jason, In my area, the truck pictured just comes to the site and picks up the pile of trash left at a given location near the street/driveway. They do the pickup and leave it broom swept for 300.00/full truck.Scrapr, Aren't you a wealth of information for someone like me to come upon. Is it going to cost money to pick the heck out of your brain? I can be relentless in the search for money. What does SF mean? What are your hauling rates on a one stop full truck as pictured? Do you go through the job site and pick up the house as well? One of the haulers that I come upon picks up the pile and also sweeps up the house and the surround for a repeat builder. Where are you located? I have looked at new trucks that carry the max GVWR of 26,000 lbs. Approx. 45K with a 18-20 foot dump w/rear barn doors. I wanted to get the biggest truck that does not need a special license for my imaginary drivers. Is that really to big and are there hassles getting it around the sites? Do all of your drivers have a helper on a pickup or is it one guy per truck? GW
*Ralph, Roll offs have their place on some job sites. But if one is in the subburbs a roll off may not be practical or approved in a associated area. Alot of the high end that I work on are in closed gated communities that do not allow them. They are not pleasing to the eye(in their opinion) and they take up parking spaces.
*I don't know if you guys noticed, but in the process of taking the picture of the Specialized Hauling truck I somehow also got a picture of the Waste Management rubbish truck in my rear view mirror. It wasn't planned. What does that mean Grasshopper?
*Greg, I have consulted w/other people looking to start up. E mail me at [email protected]. I can answer your ? off line. 26 k GVW is OK. We have 3 that size. I prefer the 20 k GVW a little bit more. Any truck under 26 k is ok to drive under DOT rules on your regular license. Make sure to look at the plate from the factory so you don't get stuck. That put 1 local co out of business last year. 45 tousand is a little low for a new 26 k truck. That is about what we pay for a 20 k GVW truck. But we have a box fabricated (like a barkdust box). put an electric tarp on, air and auto. That might be a stake bed truck. I prefer our fabricated box. A one time in only load might be $ 250. Might be a little more if a walk out, a little less if remodeler helps. Hard to say w/tip fees being different. As you tell by our prices though the Square foot (SF) is a better deal for the builder. Any truck 2600 GVW or under is ok under DOT rules to drive on your personal license. Even 1 pound over puts you into a whole different class. Make sure to look at the factory plate usually by the drivers door and stamped for front and rear GVW. This put 1 local company out of business last year. I had a long post when my browser kicked off line. E mail me and maybe we can hook up by phone. Good luck.
*Thanks Scrapr, I will email you soon and get your phone number. If I deside to go down this avenue your help would be greatly appreciated. GW
*Greg, around here the waste haulers do quite well. They certainly do better than carpenters. And the learning curve is much shorter. I think most trash pickers can be taught in less than five seconds!The crews show up around here with several semis, new of course, pulling a trailer with a nice new front end loader on it. I figure that they show up with about 200k of equipment and about ten guys. They set the deal for the entire sub, charging the same for every house. In the pulte subs, the trades have to place all the trash in the bins near the road. Then they hand load bobcats, which load the trucks. It's a great business, much better than carpentry.blue
*Great idea, but wouldn't work in my area.City requires a dumpster on site for any construction jobs over 5k in value. That includes remodels, repairs, new home construction, etc... Also requires a porta potty to be on site for larger sites (like new home construction, or add ons).Since the site has to have a dumpster anyway, why pay a company to remove the debris? I still think it's a great idea.James DuHamel
*It would appear that one has very little to lose with the purchase of one truck. You could at least perform enough dumps to pay the monthly payment, insurances, dumpfees, gas and a driver. At one point you just end up owning a truck that you can sell if you want out. But like any service business, with basic business skills and minor(?) technical skills, one eventually starts getting a bigger cut of the pie. You build relationships and you are on your way to a 2nd,3rd truck. Other trucks could be purchased for other types of hauling; medium to small retail store deliveries, small commercial drops, maybe some subbing from Home Depot when they can't handle the load. The possibilities are easily there and you don't have to break your back or worry about quality control as much. There will be things one has to watch; jobsite damage, damage to goods(get insurance), but nothing like the problems one can have with Construction contracting. GW
*I have a fellow in my area ( Cleveland, Ohio) who I have been using for a few years now. He was charging $115.00 for a trip in a small dump, he now charges $120.00 ( gas prices). Comes when I need him, carrys a broom and a scoop shovel to clean up, folds my tarps if they are used to cover the debris. Just but a new home and goes on vacation every 6 months. He does well I love him!!!!
*Thanks to all that replied and to the ones that I did not read that got deleted by the server. GW
*Greg, I've had this idea for a while now, that eventually I'd like to have a design-build company, that included a trash/materials/supplies division. I hate to waste time making lumberyard trips, but on remodels where you can come across anything they're hard to avoid. With several jobs going in one area, you could have a truck continually going around cleaning up the sites, and another going around that is full of the supplies you sometimes need but rarely carry--extra caulking, hardware, whatever. That truck could also be the lumberyard shuttle, with guys trained enough to pick out a straight 2x4 so the lead guy doesn't have to go to the yard. Still have some bugs to work out, though.Maybe a rolling hardware store could be an expansion of your trash-hauling business?BTW, here in Boston we have "U-Call, We haul" which seems to do a great business hauling mostly construction debris. Are you in an area with enough construction to support the business?Mike
*Greg, I used to own a trucking business. It was semi's, and mostly longhaul, so I don't know a lot about what you want to do but I wanted to throw some points at you that NOBODY told me when I got into it, and it cost me a lot of money.1) When you buy the truck, you are buying something that's practically worthless when you sell it. Who's going to buy it? You can't really expect to sell it privately, like through the classifieds. So buy EXACTLY the rig you want. Don't buy something half way, and expect to happily move up later. Get what you want straight up, because every time you trade in you lose $$$, and you'll be spending a lot of time in the truck and maintaining it. You better like it.2)Set aside 15% of every dollar coming in for maintainence and repairs, EVEN if it's under warranty. When the warranty expires, you'll need it. If you get lucky on this 15%, it will help with what you'll lose with depreciation, or get you out of an accident problem.3)I don't know about this class of vehicle, but get ready to be taxed and regulated to death. You'll pay unexpected bills in this department, I suggest you check it out thoroughly. Each of my semi's paid a license fee of $1500+ per year, and an annual federal heavy vehicle tax of $550, and other fees in addition to staggering forms and paperwork, fuel taxes...4)One state only. Period.5)Drivers. GOOD LUCK! Workmen's comp and insurance KILLED me, let alone accidents. One good driver makes you a fair but minor amount of money compared to what a bad driver costs you in maintenance, ripping you off wasting time, accidents, hauling stuff for friends for free, drinking violations, drugs etc. BE CAREFUL, ONLY HIRE THE BEST, AND CLEAN RECORDS.......!!!!!Most drivers will let you down, bitch all the time, and you have to watch how they behave around your customers. My suggestion is to hire drivers with longhaul experience that got tired of being out on the road all the time, they will love picking up trash and ratchet-jawing with contractors and carpenters.If you have to follow all DOT regulations, including drug test screening, log books, fuel taxes, violations, GUESS WHO PAYS?6)Trucks break down ALL the time. Can't make money when it's in the repair shop, worse yet when you're waiting for a tow truck, which you may consider buying!7)Hopefully, you can find liability insurance that's tailored to this business, in other words, if your trucks back into a scaffold, knock two men down, or ruin the neighbor's lawn, or take out a power line, or hit a brand new building, etc. etc. It's going to happen! Trust me, plan for the worst, and keep all your ducks in a legally perfect row, it's the only way you can sleep at night. And if all goes well, you'll make some money, which is the ONLY reason to be in trucking, because it is NOT FUN, like carpentry can be.8) You will develop a very patient mentality. Or go postal.9) It would help if you changed your name to Louie, or Joe or Rocco. You'll be playing hardball with tough guys. Your competition is not friendly. And you'll have to be firm, if not tough, with drivers, customers, subcontractors, competitors, maybe others too.10) Going to cost more than you might think. Have a solid plan, and keep planning. Stay on the paperwork, have a good crew and good equipment. Work your ass off, and don't plan any vacations for a couple years. Plan on wearing a headset for communication, which is the key. Keep communicating, and monitoring what the drivers are doing. If they get the idea they can screw off a lot, they WILL. You might try paying them by the load...Or the run, or whatever, but hourly may not work out as well.Good luck. Email me if you'd like more, or to discuss any of my (mostly negative) thoughts.I do think there is a good market for your business, and you should be able to build up steady clientale fairly quickly. This is your strength. I would assume costs of disposing trash will keep getting higher though, and you never know if governmental regulation could cause big changes, can affect a business like this dramatically.Mad Dog
*Good post Mad Dog. Keep in mind that everyone's playing with the field level, at least around here. One of the superintendent's assistants (Marvin) owned a small stake truck. It was new and in perfect condition. Marvin told me that the weighmaster in Shelby Township, stopped him every single time he saw him (at least once a week) and checked everything! He'd then dutifully fill out the paperwork. Shelby Township had two full time weighmasters and they made damn sure that they kept their plum jobs. blue
*Hey Blue,Is that the scale near Pontiac? I never had any problems with DOT in Michigan, just didn't like the bad roads. I spent more time in Detroit than I'd care to remember. Never had any trouble there either, despite the reputation. And I slept in some NASTY areas there...I sure like the area up near Grayling, the whole UP, and the Saginaw bay area. Beautiful country.MD
*Actually Mad Dog, the entire state is getting worse about truckers. Shelby township is a northern suburb of Detroit. They have their own full time weighmasters and they are a pain in the behind...You've got to be crazy to sleep in Detroit, unless it's daytime. I'm not too fond of the big city. I currently live up near Saginaw Bay. I think I need about 45 minutes to get to the water. Grayling and the U.P. are much prettier country than the thumb area. It's nothing but farms in the thumb. We have a lot of marshy area around us, but it's mostly farm. I much prefer the big woods of Grayling etc. The roads still suck. I'm getting the hell out of this state. I'm also sick of the two seasons here in Michigan: winter and road construction season. Currently, I can't travel anywhere without running into orange barrels everywhere. I am so sick of it. It's been going on for every year of my life and I cannot wait to get out of here.blue
*You could move south to the great states of Illinois or Indiana!
*I'm not stopping anywhere in the Midwest Mad dog. In fact, I'm not stopping until the climate is suitable for Royal Palms!blue
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I am interested in the concept of opening up a construction trash hauling business. I have a picture of a guy that does this sort of thing in my area. He has been at it for about 8 years and started off with one truck as pictured. He now runs 4 or 5 trucks about the same size and has added a Bobcat that he hauls aroung with his biggest truck. He used to go to each site and quote the price of the haul and then send the truck out to pick up the load. Now the driver of the truck does that. Seems like a good way to make money without alot of liability. He charges 300.00 for a full truck, 150.00 for a half and a 50.00 minimum. What are your thoughts on this idea? Questions that I have are; What do businesses in your area charge to perform this task( dump fees have alot to do with this ), Why do you hire one over the next other than for price, what are you looking for in a company of this nature?