It's been awhile, been very busy. Anyway, I think I'm about to put my 97 to work. A local guy here wants me to pick-up and deliver hay for him. It will be about a 850 mile round trip of which I could end up making about 10 trips. I'm about to change oil, do I need to add anything besides new oil and filter? The truck is ready to go with all the wqork I did to it over the summer.

Also, what should I chrage this guy to do this. I assume I should charge by the mile but how much?

Thanks!

 

is he providing fuel or do you have to figure that into the price?

 

Just oil and filter. Did you ever put a gooseneck ball in it?

 

I would figure .40 a mile if the customer is paying fuel, .65 to .75 if you are paying fuel. Pricing varies on the wieght of the load and if you are using your trailer or his. I would add .05 a mile if using your trailer. I always keep an extra cps with me, a gallon of oil and a fuel filter. Just to be safe.

-Eric

 

I will be using his trailer and I still don't have a gooseneck but am getting one. Trying to figure out how to get a goosenck out of the deal also. He said in his F250 he has made the trip a few times and it cost him about $200 in fuel. So at .75 a mile that is about $650 for on trip, is that right? It seems I've heard of guys charging way more, not trying to gouge the guy just want a fair price. It's about a 14-15 hr. round trip.

Also, the total load will top out at about 14,500 pds. Can my truck handle that o.k. and safely? I do have the trailer brakes hooked up.

 

I posted this on a cattle internet board where people talk about these kinds of things and they all said $1.50-2.00 a mile. Wow, that seems high!

 

Some people do charge more for one trip, but for ten that would be about right. I used to charge .37 a mile for hauling cattle in florida with all fuel provided but that was a 6 day a week 500 mile trip everyday for about 3 weeks once a year. You could charge more, but try to lock him in at the lower rate with more trips... works out in the long run. The truck should be fine, just don't forget to air your rear tires up all the way and I would check the rear end gear lube before going too

 

Damn, maybe I need to start hauling up here again, lol....

 

They were probably charging that for the one way loaded miles.

 

I've been running about 55 pds rear tires unloaded. What would y'all recommend for this size load on the rear tires and front ones also? The previous owner had the rear end flushed and refilled but I still want to check it. I've never done that so how do I do that?

 

I've not checked mine in a while, but if i remember correctly, there is a plug just above where the driveshaft connects to the rear end. If it were me, i'd air all of the tires up to bout 65-75 psi.

 

If you're getting 10 MPG average. you'll be making about $25 per hour @ $.75/mile barring any break downs.

Not bad, but you need to figure in remainder of the wear and tear on your truck too. ie. Tires, oil, insurance, ect. ect. Insurance opens up a whole other can of worms. What about the license plates?........my 2 cents.

BTW: If you have 8 ply tires and load on the rear of the truck is heavy you should run the max pressure listed on the tire side wall IMO. IT helps with milage and heat buildup on the tires.

 

To check rear fluid open the plug above the driveshaft and see if any runs out and what color. It should be full to there you may have to stick your finger in there but probably not. BTW that stuff stinks.