Hey all - I bought a beautiful 2017 F350 diesel dually to haul a 48' 30k trailer for my business: Thing is we only get that trailer on the road 8-10 times a year, so most of the year the truck is sitting or not being used in its capacity, which is 32.5k towing capacity.
I'd love to hire someone/invest in another trailer to have a side business for it. Hauling cars, cattle, horses, anything else? I don't want to invest much time in this endeavor myself, so wanted to hear if y'all had any thoughts. We're based in Vermont. Thank you!

 

At at a minimum you'll need your DOT numbers more than likely.. Unless you try to fly under the radar.. but if you advertise, they'll eventually catch ya.

Hauling livestock, you'll also likely want insurance. Especially horses. They're 1000 lbs on 4 legs looking for a new way to try to kill themselves. With any livestock, you've also got to maintain a bio-secure trailer. Which means washing it down between loads with bleach, or one of the other cleaners made for the job. There can be good money in hauling horses, especially if you target the private rides sector and have a good reputation. But there's a lot involved with it.

If you're doing it as a side business, I'd stick to getting either a box or equipment trailer and haul stuff. Heck - just sit at your local Lowe's with a sign that says "I'll haul your stuff" and all the idiots that show up with a Prius to buy a fridge can pay you.

 

Also, if you don't already have it you'll need commercial vehicle insurance. You don't want to find out the hard way after the fact that your insurance company won't cover an incident.
I once had an F150 with graphics on the doors and rear window for my business. It was strictly advertising, as I had a bucket truck with commercial vehicle insurance that I pulled my business trailer with. My F150 was hit head on by another driver in a snowstorm on a city street. My state is no fault, meaning my insurance company pays for my damage and the other guy's pay for his damage. If they decide to go after each other in court, they do that after the fact. They paid my claim reluctantly, then promptly issued me a cancellation notice when they cut the check, saying that I should have had commercial insurance on that truck.
Fortunately I had a great agent. They went to bat for me but no go. They found me a new company and paid the difference in the slightly higher premium for the first year.

 

I move a tractor and a mini excavator for a contractor using his gooseneck and bumper pull. That being said, i've known the guy my entire life, i run 2 businesses so i have a flexible schedule and have yet to be unable to move the tractor for him. it's fun and easy work.

this extra side work was partly the reason why i went up to a 3/4 from a 1/2 or even the diesel titan. Plus, hauling a dump trailer daily with a half ton gets old real quick

the commercial insurance comment is spot on as well. do your research and make a decision knowing the consequences, people see commercial vehicles and see dollar signs for getting into an """""accident""""

 

Since you already have a business and a trailer associated with it, I'll skip all that other stuff on the assumption you are just looking for ideas of things to haul part time.
One thing to do is search the web for different kinds of load boards. As an independent hauler, you can join various load boards to search for 5th wheels and bumper pull campers. If you have a gooseneck, you could transport three or four autos at a time for dealers.
I pull campers for a transport company in Indiana. Going this route doesn't pay as much as if I were negotiating my own loads, but it removes a lot of the uncertainty and most of the headaches. I simply check the company load board whenever I want to pull a camper and call my dispatcher. About 40% of the line haul pay goes toward fuel. Other costs, such as tires, oil, filters, etc. get factored in at tax time. Since I have a couple retirement checks coming in and continue to work part time for state government, I only pull two or three campers a month these days. When I was averaging 10,000 miles per month, oil and filter changes were adding up quickly. Now I'm only driving 2 or 3 thousand miles per month, and that requirement has dropped dramatically.

HTH

 

 

Thanks for the suggestions, guys! We already have DOT number and commercial insurance set up, as we use the truck for my legit event business across state lines.

Looking to have an employee do this side work. I like the suggestion about load boards. Do you suggest any boards in particular for the Northeast? We're based in Vermont.

Thanks again!

 

 

 

 

If never had horses, i would strongly advise you against it...

You can charge a lot for mile, but you'll have to drive all over the country (and keep up with all the different state regulations), constantly have to answer calls from owners and getting a horse trailer that can last the abuse can cost a pretty penny.

Also, it will get pretty frustrating when you go pick up a horse and it will take 1 hr to load it in the trailer... (thankfully mine load in 1 min or so)....but you'll never know till you get there

 

[QUOTE=twrenegade;18350486]Hey all - I bought a beautiful 2017 F350 diesel dually to haul a 48' 30k trailer for my business: Thing is we only get that trailer on the road 8-10 times a year, so most of the year the truck is sitting or not being used in its capacity, which is 32.5k towing capacity.
I'd love to hire someone/invest in another trailer to have a side business for it. Hauling cars, cattle, horses, anything else? I don't want to invest much time in this endeavor myself, so wanted to hear if y'all had any thoughts. We're based in Vermont. Thank


yes I got pullled over today in my f350 and hauling my personal trailer with a gvwr of 7k pushing me to about 19000 truck and trailer. I do have a business but this trailer has nothing to do with the business he still gave me a paper to sign saying I will get my company name and dot registration numbers on there wtf

 

I hope your good with horses. I used to live on a huge horse ranch I have seen many drivers get f___D up by some geldings

 

Not for nothing, but you do realize this thread is over 2 years old and hadn't received a reply since 12/10/18?

 

1st they try and load the fridge with it still in the box. Then you see them un-boxing the fridge, only to see the same results LOL