Dot regulations
- Thread starter cjmitch
- Start date
I'm glad they persisted too. Problem is, Alexander G. Bell isn't going to be there to keep the shipper from complaining when it takes you too much time to drop the trailer, load the van and then re-connect the trailer. It's no problem if you only do small, hand-loaded freight. You can do that through the side doors, no sweat. The first time you have to load two skid, and there's no other way than to load on the skids (molds have a habit of being one piece and furiously heavy) you will find out what some of us already know: You can't use the back doors of the van until you first drop the trailer. You may not even be able to open the doors, and even if you are able to do it there's no possible way for a forklift truck to load those skids with the trailer connected to the van. Not even the most genius inventors can do it. So, you have to drop the trailer. Then, after loading you have to re-connect the trailer and then do a pre-trip to be sure the rig is ready to go. There's no getting around it. I know, I've been there with a boat trailer. It was a sailboat, the mast support effectively blocked the doors. Many house trailers sit close too, in fact you may want that to cheat the wind. Keeping the gap between van and trailer close helps to cut down on drag. You'll appreciate that at the gas pumps.
This was many years ago. Photo of my van and boat trailer.
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You mean the guy who thinks uShip is the way to become a pro on the PGA Tour?
If you want to be a successful uShiper, then a cargo van & trailer may get you there. If you want to be a successful expediter, not gonna happen.
You don't need a travel trailer to have those things.
Have you considered a camper van and a cargo trailer?
I really hope Pkoelle does it that way. If there is any chance of success, it has to be the camper van and cargo trailer. Special note: get the heaviest van. You're asking it to do an enormous amount of work, and a 3500 series van will handle it better than a lighter unit will. You're going to have to log and watch HOS anyway with this set-up, so worrying about weight of the trailer or how hard you're working a lighter-weight van is not something I want to do. Even an empty trailer will work the van hard, so get used to the maintenance issues you will have. The 3500 series vans will handle it a bit easier.
OK. I got curious and looked it up. First I looked up Shipping Wars, then I looked up Jarrett on Shipping wars. Please God, say I didn't see that. It turns out Jarrett is using the kind of trailer we're recommending here, but with one notable difference. His trailer has a ramp. Great big fat no on the ramp. If you're going to do this, get barn doors. Then get a portable ramp if you think you need one.
Second thing: It turns out the whole Shipping Wars show was probably illegal. Textbook case of the way not to do things. The fact that these guys and gals are on the road at all is as scary as it gets.
Second thing: It turns out the whole Shipping Wars show was probably illegal. Textbook case of the way not to do things. The fact that these guys and gals are on the road at all is as scary as it gets.
REgarding Van pulling a trailer, and if someone has already recommended this I apologize; why not just go ahead and get a Str8 truck with a comfortable sleeper?
Not to get too off topic here, I never saw the show but read a small article on Shipping W's in a freebie mag quoting a young lady saying she was careful to figure enough to make an offer to do the load that would COVER HER EXPENSES and then someday hopefully be able to MAKE A PROFIT! Yeah, that is scary indeed the mindset of some out here. One of the things that keeps me awake and safe while driving in the wee hours of the evening is the sweet kachingos knowing upfront what my gross less actual cost is per mile. Imagine if you were out here doing it for nothing, stressing over a tow expense or if Mickey D's is open or not so you can get a double cheese burger on the dollar value menu. http://www.expeditersonline.com/forum/images/icons/icon13.png
The straight truck has been mentioned, and-- you're right. The whole van-pulling-a-trailer bit is a lot more work than it's worth. You beat the living daylights out of the van (towing a trailer is hard on the van) and the reward isn't much more than you'd get just with the van alone. On the other hand, a straight truck with sleeper is designed to do this job to begin with. Easier on the equipment, easier on you. But, every now and then you get somebody who figures he can re-invent the wheel and here we go again.
Exactly! Once you break the 10,000# threshold and have to log, all benefits of anything less than a straight truck for expedite or dually with a gooseneck for flatbed work are very, very questionable. People arent using straight trucks and dually/goosenecks because they are status quo. They are using them because they are what works the best for the freight market they target. Anyone who thinks they are inventing something new is fooling themselves. They are spending a whole lot of time trying do something that was deemed obsolete years ago.
I have money that says my old class 8 straight truck got as good of fuel mileage if not better than a van pulling any kind of trailer will get.
A van towing a cargo trailer CAN work-- but not so well in expedite. It's a specific purpose type of vehicle. If I was a carpenter and needed something to handle my supplies and tools, something I could secure on the job site, or if I was into lawn and garden work and needed to transport the tools of that trade, it might be hard to beat a van and trailer set-up. You wouldn't have to worry about DOT stuff with that either since you rarely drive such a rig over fifty miles from the home office.
Actually, most of the trailers I've seen scare me more than a little when I think of trying this business in them. They just look flimsy, and I don't have to be told it's an accident looking for a place to happen. You have to really think about how you load that trailer, too--- it isn't as easy as it looks. 60/40, with 60% of the load being ahead of the axle-- OR ELSE! Too heavy forward and you're asking your van to bear too much weight on the tongue, too heavy on the rear and that trailer will whip from one side to the other on the road. If you've ever towed a tail-heavy trailer you never want to do that again. I haven't done it, but I've seen it.
Something else: Since we're in vans here, you know as well as I do that we get called on runs that don't weigh much. Two boxes weighing twenty pounds-- you can haul them in a Prius. Problem: You're still pulling that giant trailer, and it's making you guzzle fuel. Don't expect dispatch to only send you jobs that justify that trailer, this business doesn't work that way. So, you're stuck with that thing whether you need it or not.
I just think this idea (a) needs work and (b) makes more work than it's worth. And, that's on the camper van/cargo trailer set, which is the only way this can work at all.
Actually, most of the trailers I've seen scare me more than a little when I think of trying this business in them. They just look flimsy, and I don't have to be told it's an accident looking for a place to happen. You have to really think about how you load that trailer, too--- it isn't as easy as it looks. 60/40, with 60% of the load being ahead of the axle-- OR ELSE! Too heavy forward and you're asking your van to bear too much weight on the tongue, too heavy on the rear and that trailer will whip from one side to the other on the road. If you've ever towed a tail-heavy trailer you never want to do that again. I haven't done it, but I've seen it.
Something else: Since we're in vans here, you know as well as I do that we get called on runs that don't weigh much. Two boxes weighing twenty pounds-- you can haul them in a Prius. Problem: You're still pulling that giant trailer, and it's making you guzzle fuel. Don't expect dispatch to only send you jobs that justify that trailer, this business doesn't work that way. So, you're stuck with that thing whether you need it or not.
I just think this idea (a) needs work and (b) makes more work than it's worth. And, that's on the camper van/cargo trailer set, which is the only way this can work at all.
One of the reasons is that the campers these days seem to be those fifth-wheel trailers. A dually pick-up is the favored vehicle for that work.
Actually, most campers are loaded onto a special-purpose trailer and towed by a truck that's designed for the purpose. Occasionally you'll see a dually pick-up doing it, but more often it's a small tractor type vehicle.
There are quite a few dually's pulling campers still. I see 'em all the time. They are easy to overlook, but they are out here. I'm parked at a walmart right now with 4 of them. One is a gooseneck and the others are bumper hitch.
The OP seems a bit determined to do something with a van/trailer combo. The rv industry might work. I would suggest some research though, your gonna have to get some fuel mileage out of it. I have no idea if you could get work or not. I know the rv transfer carriers I've looked at in the past wanted dually pickups minimum. I dont know what options are available as an independent.
